Barcombe Roman Villa - 2003
- David Rudling & Chris Butler (March 2004)

In 2003 the excavation at Barcombe concentrated on the area immediately to the east of the main villa building (Building 2), and the area stretching to the south-east where last year we found the tessellated floor in a new building (Building 3). A number of exciting new features were located during the excavation.

To the east of Building 2 a number of large pits, of uncertain function, were found. Some of their infills are thought to comprise cess, which may have come from the small room 12 in Building 2, which might have been a toilet.  Other discoveries from the pits include a complete pot in the bottom of one pit, suggestive of ritual practices, and two dog burials.  The pit that contained the two dog burials was sealed by mortared flints, perhaps a rite of termination, although the dogs themselves seem to have been simply thrown into the pit with little dignity.  Demolition material to the east of these pits is dated to the late third century, with one sherd of possible fourth century date.

Building 3

Building 3 was initially revealed in 2002 when the chalk foundations for a courtyard wall and the north-west corner of the building were located.  In the north-west corner of room 1 of Building 3 was a reasonably well-preserved area of in-situ red tesserae flooring.  In 2003 a small patch of such flooring was also found along the western edge of room 3, and the recovery of large numbers of loose tesserae indicate that such flooring may once have been present in other parts of this building.  A further discovery in 2002 was a small, dispersed, hoard of approximately 120 late third century antoniniani coins centred on the north-east corner of room 1.  It is unfortunate that the hoard had been disturbed by ploughing and/or stone robbing since it may have been a foundation deposit or a money hoard buried beneath a floor.  Other dating material from the area of masonry building 3 includes pottery sherds which have been dated to the late third or early fourth centuries.  The rectangular building, which is some 17 m wide, has one large and two small rooms at its northern end.  To the south, and continuing into the area to be investigated in 2004, is a large room with possible side aisles (rooms 2 and 6).  An unusual constructional feature for Barcombe of Building 3 was the use of ironstone blocks at some locations in the otherwise chalk filled foundations.  The use of such material is also recorded at Beddingham where it was used in the lining of the well and as quoin stones for the main villa building.  As in the case of masonry building 2, the foundations of building 3 were also excavated by the builders down to the bottom of any earlier disturbances (pits etc) of the construction site.

The precise function and dating of the aisled Building 3 will we hope become clearer after the excavations in 2004.  It would appear however to be a relatively high status building, with at least some tesselated floors and well constructed foundations.  It would appear to be contemporary with the main Building (2) to which it is joined by the courtyard wall (note: there is an entrance in this wall just to the north of the aisled building).  Possibly this is a second high status residential building (perhaps for a son or an unrelated farm manager), or it may have an administrative function.  Adjacent to the north-west corner of the building is an earlier clay oven, and the whole site of the building may be located within a former ditched enclosure of uncertain date.

A new roundhouse (Roundhouse 5) was revealed in 2003 to the east of the masonry wall, which defined the eastern side of the courtyard in front of the winged corridor villa. This fifth roundhouse, which is as yet undated, may also be post-Conquest.  If it proves to be late in the site’s Roman history, it may have been deliberately located in order to be screened by the adjacent masonry wall.  If so, and if domestic and not for animals or some other purpose, was this structure occupied by servants or slaves?

Post-Roman activity

After the abandonment of the Romano-British villa complex, which is thought to have occurred c. AD 300 (perhaps due to the real or perceived threat of Saxon and pirate raiding along the south coast), the site appears to have been abandoned until the late Saxon period when possible squatter occupation is suggested by a large cesspit and some post-holes to the south-west of the entrance to the winged villa.  A large depression/?building to the east of Roundhouse 5 may also date to this period, and the total excavation of this interesting feature will occur in 2004.  Subsequently, starting in the eleventh/twelfth centuries, the walls of the villa buildings were robbed to provide materials for the construction of local buildings, including (probably) the nearby parish church of St. Mary.