Information for record number MWA2299:
Site of Roman Villa 100m N of Hill Farm, Lighthorne.

Summary The site of a Roman villa. Various finds, including fragments of tile, bone, pottery and part of a whetstone, have been found at the site. Enclosures and boundaries are visible as earthworks. The site lies 500m south west of Chesterton Wood.
What Is It?  
Type: Villa
Period: Romano-British (43 AD - 409 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Lighthorne
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 33 56
(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  

2 Enclosures and linear features show on air photographs.
3 The site occupies an elevated position on a ridge of lias with clay capping. Finds have been collected from the field over many years, but mainly since c1970. The field was regularly cultivated up to c2-3 years ago. Most of the finds were recovered while the field was under plough. The finds are mainly Roman. Aerial photographs taken by the MRCU (Midlands Road Construction Unit) show complex traces of a settlement site. Two convergent circles lie S of a roughly square enclosure which seems to be marked by broad ?banks on the N, E and S, and by a wall on the W. Within this Enclosure are further banks marking Enclosures. A number of possible buildings are also visible. The evidence of photographs and the quantity of surface finds would be compatible with a settlement of villa type. Occupation seems to have been intense in the 4th century, but probably went on throughout much of the Roman period. Finds of possible Roman date include a ?whetstone fragment, fragments of animal and human bones, nineteen fragments of tile, some of which could be Roman and 908 sherds of Roman pottery including a range of wares.
5 Sketch Plan on SMR Card.
6 Mentions Hill Farm as one of three small family Farms likely to have existed in the Roman period with the others at Heath Farm (? Lighthorne) and Lighthorne Rough (unspecified location). Also details a Britsh made dolphin brooch found near Hill Farm, dating to AD50-150; this now in Warwickshire Museum.
7 RB sherds, a piece of quernstone and a bone weaving comb were found in 1983 at SP339566, and brought to the Museum.
8 Four more sherds found including one of Samian ware.
9 Sketch plan showing the location for most of the finds.
10 Sketch plan of features that showed as parch marks on APs.
11 Annotated map.
12Not mapped by SE Warwks and Cotswolds NMP as they did not view the only photos of this site.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title:
Author/originator: J Pickering
Date: 1962
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP4489 C/D/E/X
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: WM
Author/originator:
Date: 1984
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Accession Card
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Descriptive Text
Title: Hill Farm, Lighthorne
Author/originator: Booth, Paul
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Museum Enquiry Form
Title: WMEF 1648
Author/originator: WM
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Map
Title: Hill Farm, Lighthorne
Author/originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Note
Title: Hill Farm, Lighthorne
Author/originator: Booth, Paul
Date: 1986
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Plan
Title: Hill Farm, Lighthorne
Author/originator: Sanderson, Carl
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Plan
Title: Hill Farm, Lighthorne
Author/originator:
Date: 1978
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Plan
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Foster P W
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 2299
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: The Incomplete History of Lighthorne
Author/originator: Hinman, P
Date: 2000
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 12
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm.
Author/originator: B Gethin
Date: 2013 onwards
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: R.C. Hingley personal comments
Author/originator: R C Hingley
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
source WM Warwickshire Museum Aerial Photograph Collection. A collection of oblique and vertical aerial photographs and taken by various organisations and individuals, including the Royal Airforce, The Potato Board, Warwickshire Museum. The collection is held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
source WMEF Warwickshire Museum Enquiry Form. These are forms that are filled in when a person brings an object to Warwickshire Museum to be identified. Amongst the information recorded on the form are details such as a description of the object, where and when it was found, and in some cases a sketch or photographs of it. Copies of the form can be viewed at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique Earthwork Earthworks can take the form of banks, ditches and mounds. They are usually created for a specific purpose. A bank, for example, might be the remains of a boundary between two or more fields. Some earthworks may be all that remains of a collapsed building, for example, the grassed-over remains of building foundations.

In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky than during the other seasons, earthworks have larger shadows. From the air, archaeologists are able to see the patterns of the earthworks more easily. Earthworks can sometimes be confusing when viewed at ground level, but from above, the general plan is much clearer.

Archaeologists often carry out an aerial survey or an earthwork survey to help them understand the lumps and bumps they can see on the ground.
 		back
technique Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. 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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. 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 FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument DOLPHIN * A cluster of piles for mooring a vessel. 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 MUSEUM * A building, group of buildings or space within a building, where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artefacts are housed and displayed. 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 FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record