Information for record number MWA9191:
Roman Villa site at Nolands Farm, Pillerton Priors

Summary A quantity of Roman material including fragments of pottery, mortaria and box flue tile, was recoved from a field to the south of Nolands Farm, Pillerton Priors. Subsequent geophysical survey and excavation revealed a villa site with mosaic floor.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement, Mosaic, Villa, Bath House
Period: Romano-British (43 AD - 409 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Pillerton Priors
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 31 46
(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
Picture(s) attached

 
Description

 
Source Number  

1 In Spring 2002 a quantity of Roman material was recovered from a field to the south of Newborough Farm. The material indicates that this may be the location of a Roman villa. Following the identification of the presence of a possible mosaic, some initial recording work was carried out in these fields. The excavated mosaic was decorated with a swastika type border in grey/blue and white with a roundel having a ropework type design enclosing an urn containing flowers? In red, blue, cream and white.
2 Plot of resistivity survey and reference to find of mosaic.
3 Plot of finds recorded from field walking.
4 Series of plots from magnetometry carried out in 2002/2003. Also included are a number of plots of finds recorded from fieldwalking, as in
3.
5 Site featured in Stratascan's newsletter. It is suggested here that the anomalies recorded by the magnetometry relate to an extensive settlement Site in the environs of the villa, possibly Bronze Age to Romano-British.
6The Site is reported on in the Bulletin of the Association for Roman Archaeology, with a particular focus on the excavation and recording of the mosaic, undertaken in September 2002. Resistance survey was carried out following fieldwalking; an aisled villa was identified. The plan of the villa appears to be that of an aisled house on a north-south axis with a wing linked to the north-east corner forming a reverse L-shape. The location to be excavated was chosen to correspond with a concentrated scatter of tesserae located during the fieldwalking. Intact mosaic flooring was found immediately underlying the ploughsoil. The design of the mosaic is based on a crater (wine mixing bowl) and can be related to the Corinium school of mosaicists. An interlocking Greek key design forms the border, and is interrupted by two inset panels of guilloche along each side. The mosaic floored room appears to lie between a corridor to the south and a series of small rooms to the north which may indicate a suite of baths.
7 A series of plans showing the location of the mosaic at Nolands Farm.
 
Sources

Source No: 2
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Pillerton Villa
Author/originator: David Sabin
Date: 1997/1998
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Pillerton Villa
Author/originator: David Sabin
Date: 2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Finds Plot from Field Walking at Nolands Farm
Author/originator: David Sabin
Date: 2003
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Museum Enquiry Form
Title: WMEF 4887
Author/originator: WM
Date: 2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 4887
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Graphic material
Title: Geophysical Survey Plots and Fieldwalking maps from Pillerton Priors Roman Villa Site
Author/originator: D Sabin
Date: 2002/2003
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Newspaper/Magazine Article
Title: Stratascan - Newsletter for Archaeological Prospection, September 2004
Author/originator: P Barker
Date: 2004
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Plan
Title: Plans of mosaic at Nolands Farm, Oxhill
Author/originator: Sabin D
Date: c.2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Serial
Title: ARA, The Bulletin of the Association for Roman Archaeology
Author/originator: Gollins, D M
Date: 2003
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Issue 14
   
Images:  
Part of a mosaic found during the excavation of a Roman villa near Oxhill
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Click here for larger image  
 
A mosaic found during the excavation of a Roman villa near Oxhill
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Click here for larger image  
 
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 Geophysical Survey The measuring and recording of electrical resistivity or magnetism in order to determine the existence and outline of buried features such as walls and ditches. Geophysical techniques include resistivity survey, magnetometer survey and ground penetrating radar. View Image back
technique Resistivity Survey A resistivity survey measures the electrical resistance of the soil and any buried features within it. Where there are buried pits and ditches, there is less resistance to the flow of electricity. Where there are archaeological remains made from stone, for example a wall, the resistance is greater. These differences in resistance are measured and recorded by archaeologists using a resistivity meter. The measurements can then be used to plot features that exist below the ground. See also geophysical survey. 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.
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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.
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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.
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monument MOSAIC * A picture or pattern produced by cementing together small pieces of stone or glass of various colours. May be in the form of a floor. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument BORDER * A strip of ground forming a fringe to a garden. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument SCHOOL * An establishment in which people, usually children, are taught. back
monument FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. back
monument URN * A garden ornament, usually of stone or metal, designed in the the form of a vase used to receive the ashes of the dead. back
monument FLUE * A passageway, duct or pipe use for the conveyance of heat, gasses, smoke or air. back
monument BATH HOUSE * A building equipped with facilities for bathing, and occasionally public baths. 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 FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument AISLED HOUSE * Use where the intervening arcade is closed but timber-framed. back
monument BATHS * A building, usually open to the public, containing a number of areas for bathing. In the case of such a complex containing baths for swimming, also index with INDOOR or OUTDOOR SWIMMING POOL. back
monument SPRING * A point where water issues naturally from the rock or soil onto the ground or into a body of surface water. 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

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record