Ancient Roman villa more than 1,500 years old discovered underneath an English farmhouse
- 8 years ago
WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND — A British rug designer just wanted to lay electric cables to his barn so that his children could play ping pong inside, but in doing so he unearthed what may be one of the biggest Roman villas in the United Kingdom.
Workmen digging at a farmhouse in southwest England last February discovered a hard layer 18 inches below the surface that turned out to be pieces of a mosaic. Property owner Luke Irwin said he sent a photo of the mosaic to the local council. He told the New York Times that within 24 hours, a team of archeologists were on his property.
Archaeologists then began an eight-day dig at the farmhouse and in the field next to the house. Only a few test pits have been dug, but according to the New York Times, archaeologists say that the existing walls seem to be more than a meter tall.
The farmhouse appears to be sitting on a slab of marble in the middle of what was a Roman villa, which measured about 50 meters long by 50 meters wide and was probably about three stories high. According to the Guardian, the building was built between AD 175 and 220 and has not been touched for at least 1,500 years — withstanding the collapse of the Roman Empire and the Saxons.
A whole range of artifacts have been found on site during the excavation, including a child's tomb, oyster shells, brooches, animal bones and coins, suggesting that the owners of the villa were wealthy.
Artifacts from the dig have been taken to the Salisbury Museum, while the dig has been covered up until archeologists obtain more funding to do a proper investigation.
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Workmen digging at a farmhouse in southwest England last February discovered a hard layer 18 inches below the surface that turned out to be pieces of a mosaic. Property owner Luke Irwin said he sent a photo of the mosaic to the local council. He told the New York Times that within 24 hours, a team of archeologists were on his property.
Archaeologists then began an eight-day dig at the farmhouse and in the field next to the house. Only a few test pits have been dug, but according to the New York Times, archaeologists say that the existing walls seem to be more than a meter tall.
The farmhouse appears to be sitting on a slab of marble in the middle of what was a Roman villa, which measured about 50 meters long by 50 meters wide and was probably about three stories high. According to the Guardian, the building was built between AD 175 and 220 and has not been touched for at least 1,500 years — withstanding the collapse of the Roman Empire and the Saxons.
A whole range of artifacts have been found on site during the excavation, including a child's tomb, oyster shells, brooches, animal bones and coins, suggesting that the owners of the villa were wealthy.
Artifacts from the dig have been taken to the Salisbury Museum, while the dig has been covered up until archeologists obtain more funding to do a proper investigation.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
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Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
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