Archaeologists Uncover Two Roman Villas, WWII-Era Airfield in England

Archaeologists in the United Kingdom have unearthed what they believe to be two previously unknown Roman villas in England’s West Midlands, per the BBC.

Researchers conducting a pioneering survey at the 18th-century Attingham Estate in Shropshire uncovered the remains of two separate villas located on a road leading out of Wroxeter.

Wroxeter—roughly the size of Pompeii and one of the largest cities in Roman Britain—was founded in the middle of the first century A.D. as a legionary fortress town. The area was particularly appealing to settlers for its position near the confluence of two rivers and its immense agricultural opportunities. Wroxeter was relatively undisturbed by future settlers, and today its original form remains remarkably well preserved.

Villas were known in the Roman era to be the dwellings of high-status citizens, though only six confirmed villas have been found in Shropshire. Little is known about the most recent discovery, as researchers have only gleaned a rough floor plan of the structures at this point. The dwellings’ internal room divisions, as well as their overall structure, tipped archaeologists off to the fact that they were villas.

In addition to the villas, researchers also discovered the presence of a Roman-era roadside cemetery. They also found four previously unknown historic farms believed to be from the Romano-British or Iron Age, in addition to a World War II-era airfield.

The “geophysical survey” was carried out by the National Trust utilizing non-invasive, innovative scanning and mapping technology which allowed huge swaths of land to be examined at once.

Previously on the grounds of Attingham Estate, researchers have discovered similar evidence of prehistoric human activity, urban and rural Roman-era settlements, Anglo-Saxon banquet halls, and farming systems which evolved throughout medieval and post-medieval periods.

National Trust archaeologist Janine Young said the recent findings paint a “fascinating picture” of Wroxeter’s Roman inhabitants.

"We've seen tantalizing hints of these remains over the years with evidence showing up in crop marks, aerial imagery, and through small surveys and excavations," Young explained. "But until now what lies beneath the surface of the ground has never fully been investigated."

The National Trust is planning to undertake a further excavation later in July, which they hope will unearth new information that will piece together Wroxeter’s complete history.