Information for record number MWA1701:
Site of Roman Villa 500m NE of Snowford Bridge

Summary The site of a Roman villa, known from various archaeological excavations carried out throughout the 20th century. A corn drying kiln was uncovered and it is believed the villa also had a bath house. It is located south east of Hunningham.
What Is It?  
Type: Villa, Bath House, Corn Drying Kiln
Period: Romano-British (43 AD - 409 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Long Itchington
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 39 66
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 About 500m N of Snowford bridge near the E bank of the Itchen, Roman brick, tile and pottery were found.
2 Accession Card.
3 Roman building site. c1925: trial holes dug by some schoolboys. Fragments of building material were found together with some sherds of pottery dating to the 3rd century. 1951: Small fragments of Roman building material and Romano British potsherds were found on the surface of the ploughed field centred at the above grid reference.
4 1959: Trial trenches have shown very few remains of buildings - apart from roofing tiles - and it seems that they have been destroyed by ploughing. It appears to have been principally a 4th century farmstead.
5 This site produced 109 sherds of pottery during fieldwork in 1979. The majority of these are coarse grey-wares. Wappenbury appears to be the major source of supply of pottery. The datable rim forms belong to the 2nd century. The site also produced some roughly worked pieces of local white lias limestone. The discovery of coarse tesserae, roofing and box-flue tiles, and pottery imported from the Nene valley, Mancetter and Oxford all indicate that the owners had some pretensions. The report suggests that crop marks to the S indicate a large winged corridor building (but see PRN 1648).
6 Accession Card description.
7 Excavations in 1925 and 1959 failed to produce any firm evidence for structures although quantites of of tile and coarse tesserae were recovered. Analysis of box flue tiles suggest they came mainly from Chase Wood, Kenilworth, and to a lesser extent from a kiln at Lapworth.
8 Transco pipeline Excavations revealed two corndrying ovens built within a flimsy post-built building were identified in an area that was later used as a rubbish heap or midden. Linear features relating to a Romano British villa field system and hypocaust tiles were also found.
9 The early Roman period was represented by a small sub-square enclosure and connecting gully that cut across the former Iron Age enclosure (MWA8828). It appears to be part of a wider complex of activity outside of the Excavation area. The principal features excavated from the main villa phase (3rd-4th Century) were the two corndriers. Most driers were housed within some form of structure to protect them from the worst of the elements however there is no such evidence at this site, although it may have existed outside the restricted area available fro Excavation. The site appears to have been levelled in the late 4th century.
10 Letter from 1955.
 
Sources
Source No: 9
Source Type: Archaeological Report
Title: Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon excavations on the Transco Churchover to Newbold Pacey gas pipeline in 1999
Author/originator: S C Palmer
Date: 2006
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 0611
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Long Itchington Parish Survey
Author/originator: Wilson P R
Date: 1979
Page Number: 38
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 1, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Doubleday H A & Page W (eds)
Date: 1904
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 1
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Roman site at Long Itchington
Author/originator: WM
Date: 1955
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: WMANS
Author/originator: Hemsley R
Date: 1959
Page Number: 4
Volume/Sheet: 2
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: Archaeological excavation Churchover/Newbold Pacey pipeline, Interim report
Author/originator: Stuart Palmer
Date: 2000
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 39SE2
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1951
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 39SE2
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title:
Author/originator: WM
Date:
Page Number: A2
Volume/Sheet: Accession Card
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title:
Author/originator: WM
Date: 1983
Page Number: 3547
Volume/Sheet: Accession Card
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 90
Author/originator: Wilson P R
Date: 1980
Page Number: 80-2
Volume/Sheet: 90
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
source TBAS Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
source WMANS West Midlands Archaeological News Sheet, a publication that was produced each year, this later became West Midlands Archaeology. The West Midlands Arcaheological News Sheet contains reports about archaeological work that was carried out in the West Midlands region in the previous year. It includes information about sites dating from the Prehistoric to the Post Medieval periods. It was produced the Department of Extramural Studies at Birmingham University. Copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique excavation Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by erosion, construction or changes in land-use.

Depending on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are, excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery. Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.
more -> 		back
technique Trial Trench A small regular hole that is usually square or rectangular in shape. Archaeologists dig trial trenches to discover if there are any archaeological remains at a particular location. See also excavation. back
period Neolithic About 4000 BC to 2351 BC

The word ‘Neolithic’ means ‘New Stone Age’. Archaeologists split up the Neolithic period into three phases; early, middle and late. The Neolithic period comes after the Mesolithic period and before the Bronze Age.

People in the Neolithic period hunted and gathered food as their ancestors had but they were also began to farm. They kept animals and grew crops. This meant that they were able to settle more permanently in one location instead of constantly moving from place to place to look for food.
more -> 		back
period Bronze Age About 2500 BC to 700 BC

The Bronze Age comes after the Neolithic period and before the Iron Age.

The day to day life of people in the Bronze Age probably changed little from how their ancestors had lived during the Neolithic period. They still lived in farmsteads, growing crops and rearing animals.

During the Bronze Age people discovered how to use bronze, an alloy of tin and copper (hence the name that has given to this era). They used it to make their tools and other objects, although they continued to use flint and a range of organic materials as well. A range of bronze axes, palstaves and spears has been found in Warwickshire.
more -> 		back
period Iron Age About 800 BC to 43 AD

The Iron Age comes after the Bronze Age and before the Roman period. It is a time when people developed the skills and knowledge to work and use iron, hence the name ‘Iron Age’ which is given to this period. Iron is a much tougher and more durable metal than bronze but it also requires more skill to make objects from it. People continued to use bronze during this period.
more -> 		back
period Roman About 43 AD to 409 AD (the 1st century AD to the 5th century AD)

The Roman period comes after the Iron Age and before the Saxon period.

The Roman period in Britain began in 43 AD when a Roman commander called Aulus Plautius invaded the south coast, near Kent. There were a series of skirmishes with the native Britons, who were defeated. In the months that followed, more Roman troops arrived and slowly moved westwards and northwards.
more -> 		back
monument FIELDWORK * A usually temporary earthwork or fortification, the latter constructed by military forces operating in the field. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument CORN DRYING KILN * A building found in conjunction with a WATERMILL, used for the drying of corn after harvesting, with a slatted drying floor set above a kiln. back
monument OVEN * A brick, stone or iron receptacle for baking bread or other food in. back
monument KILN * A furnace or oven for burning, baking or drying. Use specific type where known. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument MIDDEN * A refuse heap. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument FLUE * A passageway, duct or pipe use for the conveyance of heat, gasses, smoke or air. back
monument GULLY * A deep gutter, drain or sink. back
monument BATH HOUSE * A building equipped with facilities for bathing, and occasionally public baths. back
monument FARMSTEAD * The homestead of a farm consisting of a farmhouse and working farm buildings, with yards, other working areas and usually a garden to the house. back
monument HYPOCAUST * A Roman under-floor heating system in which hot air heated by a stoked furnace, flowed through channels, created by either raising the floor on pillars of brick and tile or cutting channels into the concrete floor and tiling over them. back
monument SQUARE ENCLOSURE * A square shaped area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier. Small square enclosures (with sides of less than c.20m) have been interpreted as the remains of square barrows of Iron Age date. back
monument VILLA * A term for a type of house, with varying definitions according to period. Roman villas were high-status and usually associated with a rural estate, whereas Georgian and later period villas were often semi-detached, town houses. back
monument LINEAR FEATURE * A length of straight, curved or angled earthwork or cropmark of uncertain date or function. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument FIELD SYSTEM * A group or complex of fields which appear to form a coherent whole. Use more specific type where known. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument WOOD * A tract of land with trees, sometimes acting as a boundary or barrier, usually smaller and less wild than a forest. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument PIPELINE * A conduit or pipes, used primarily for conveying petroleum from oil wells to a refinery, or for supplying water to a town or district, etc. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record