Crofton Roman Villa

The Villa Rustica in Crofton (also Orpington Villa ) is a former Roman villa ( villa rustica) in Crofton, a residential area in Orpington, which is located in Bromley, a city district in south London. In antiquity, the villa of the provincial capital of Londinium was about 19 kilometers south (present-day London), but there was apparently no ancient streets nearby. The next more important roads are seven and ten kilometers from the villa. The villa is situated in the valley of the Cray. The villa is located in an area that has long been used for agriculture. Today it is a suburb of London.

Excavations

1870 a railway line and station were built here, the construction of which destroyed parts of the villa. The archaeological remains are obviously not been recognized as such, or at least not reported. The villa was discovered in November 1926 during the construction of a road. 1927 saw the first excavations, of which but little is known. The results were not published, but some photographs are obtained from the excavations. First scientific excavations took place from 1955 to 1961, which affected mostly held on weekends and only a strip along the road. Further and more extensive excavations there in 1988 and 1989. Residues were classified in the meantime, as " ancient monument ". On them a car park was to be built. Archaeologists were called that were allocated twelve weeks for the study of the radicals. However, the remains of the villa presented themselves as more extensive than believed and were obtained under pressure from the public.

The remains of the villa are now covered and can be visited.

General

Although the building had suffered from stone-robbers, parts of the walls were still relatively well preserved. This may be mainly because the villa is situated on a slope and soil from the hillside buried the ruins of the Villa quickly. The walls of the villa are built of local flint, which is a popular building material in this area. They rested on foundations, the wide dug about 50 to 60 centimeters into the ground and were from gestammpften lime. A wall was found overturned along with the window opening, sitting 1.2 meters high in the wall and the "Period II" the villa belongs. West of the villa, there were also numerous tiles that are obviously fell after the collapse of the building there. In all phases, at least parts of the rooms were decorated with wall paintings. There were a total of 956 painted plaster fragments. The plaster can be divided into seven groups (A -G). The fragments take today about eight square meters. Once the painted surfaces but should have taken about 500 square meters. In one room there remains the verstürzten the wall plaster found in larger contiguous fragments, causing the wall decoration can be reconstructed well at least in a room. These murals were simple and show red framed boxes on a white background. Other painting fragments show the remains of plants and even a fragment remains of painted architecture.

West of the villa was a ditch that was once but at least 25 feet, probably 50 feet long. He was about 2.50 meters wide and 30 to 70 inches deep. It probably dates to the end of the third century. He served perhaps to derive rain water that came down the hill. In addition to the ditch there were a number of pits, which are dated to the second century. It may be the remains of a fence.

Excavations covered only a small part of the villa. Three elements that are typical of villas, are missing. There were previously no remains of a bath house, there are no remains of a barn and it lacks a cemetery. The villa is the largest Roman building in the Cray Valley and it is likely that was managed from here most of the surrounding land.

Development of the Villa

Remains from the period before the construction of the villa

The villa was used about 350 years. During excavation several reconstruction phases could be distinguished. First settlement remains that indicate a villa, date from the middle of the first century AD It is ceramic, a brooch and a moat, which once included the presumable house. From the actual villa, there were no leftovers.

Period I

About a hundred years later ( about 170 to 200 AD ) a stone building was erected, which was about 30 × 10,40 meters. There were four large and one smaller room. In the West there was a corridor along the entire villa. Most of the rooms had a dirt floor. During this time, a terrace was dug into the slope of the hill in front of the villa, where the villa is located, which created a flat surface in front of the villa.

Period II

At the end of the century the villa was enlarged (Period IIIa). Some rooms were signinum a new floor from Opus. One room had a floor of clay. Here, a pit found in soil, lay the skeleton of a sheep or a goat ( the bones of these animals are virtually identical). There seems to be a victim.

Period III

In the first quarter of the third century the building was greatly expanded. The villa was in a corridor east and south of an extension was built with various rooms. The building was now about 37.5 meters long and 14 meters wide and thus took an area of about 562 square meters. The number of rooms is increased from six to 12 or 13. In the middle of the century there were in turn smaller conversions. At least one room had a floor of red tessellatum Opus, another was designed with Opus signinum.

Period IV

To 225 AD there were minor modifications mainly in the south of the building.

Period V

At the end of the third century (period V) is the northern half of the villa was demolished and only the southern part was used. It created new spaces that had partially hypocaust. Two types of hypocaust were applied in the villa. In two rooms (room 10 and 16) of the floor lying in a number of posts, between which the hot air is circulated. In a room, even the walls were heated. This was done with the aid of ceramic tubes, which were incorporated into the walls and hot air transported. In other rooms (room 6, 13B and 14D) there was, however, for the warm air only individual channels under the floor. The Feuerungsloch and the fireplace are located on the north side of the villa ( in room 9 ) and found still well preserved. Two coins of Arcadius indicate that the villa was until the beginning of the fifth century in operation.

Gallery

14 room with hypocaust; Channels under the floor

Space 16 with Hypkaust

Hearth for hypocaust

Wall decoration reconstructed

Small finds

During the excavations, there were only a few small finds, on the other hand a lot of ceramics. The findings come mainly from the areas adjacent to the villa, while the actual building was fundarm. Probably finds have been collected at the first excavation. Among the small finds include two brooches, a finger ring, a bracelet and an ear cleaner. There were only 13 coins to light. The earliest dated under the Emperor Hadrian. However, the majority of them belongs to the fourth century. Among the pottery finds include fragments of Samian ware. There were fragments of Mortaria and numerous fragments rather simple ceramic ( about 10,000 sherds ), which mostly comes from potteries in Britain. Numerous finds of Roman glass show that most of the windows were glazed. There was a piece of glass with ground letters.