Farmhouse type villa; probable life c 240-380. No mosaics or tesselation, but considerable hypocaust probably in baths. (1)

Mr S Revill was consulted; he has excavated this site each season since its original discovery in 1951. The original building consisted of 3 rooms forming a rectangular block. There had been at least 2, probably 3 rebuildings, among which was included a corridor and hypocaust, the latter formed the source of a bath system and was not concerned with house heating as such. Much pottery, building material and isolated coins have been found, also a hoard of 40 coins of the latter half of C4. No mosaic or tesserae have been discovered. The building may be typed as a "villa-farm" incorporating a later bath-house, the whole being included in the period 280-360 AD. Traces of another building have been found (M 1848) and it seems probable that the 2 may form a portion of a larger complex. No excavation report has yet been published. (2)

A portion of this excavation is still open and the rooms, the hypocaust and iron furnace working floor are visible. The earliest portion excavated has now been filled in. (3)

During a geophysical survey, an area of magnetic noise associated with some large dipolar areas and some positive linear features was recorded, -10 to 10 nT/m, -100 to 100 nT/m and 1 to 2 nT/m respectively. These features very likely represent the location of the formerly excavated Wood Meadow Roman Villa, with the linear features potentially relating to its walls. (7)

A long linear/curvilinear negative feature to the south, -1 nT/m, may represent a drainage feature. It could potentially relate to the former Roman villa. (7)

See L 1758 - linear features nearby, M 1848 - later villa.

Data Held: Aerial Photograph (Aerial photograph). SNT2645.

1 BW print, ADM 10, SMR

<1> EMAB eds, 1959, East Midlands Archaeological Bulletin, pp 13-4 (Published document). SNT153.

<2> Revill S, 15/10/1960, Pers Comm (Personal comment). SNT1186.

<3> Colquhoun FD, 1960, Pers Comm (Personal comment). SNT575.

<4> Thoroton Society, 1961, TTS, p 6 (Published document). SNT375.

<5> EMAB eds, 1961, East Midlands Archaeological Bulletin, p 15 (Published document). SNT155.

<6> CUCAP, Air photos (Aerial photograph). SNT594.

Other Refs: ADM 10

<7> Robert Evershed, 2021, Archaeological Evaluation Report: Geophysical Survey by Magnetometry on Land West of Thurgarton, Nottinghamshire (Unpublished document). SNT5915.