HER 2554 DESCRIPTION:- SP18911627. The site of a Roman villa in a field called "Chessels" is partly marked by a rough rectangular platform about 240ft (73m) by 80ft (24m) and up to 4ft (1.2m) high. Building stone lies scattered on it and concentrations of nettles extend easrwards for some 450ft (140m). Surface finds in private possession include hypocaust and roofing tiles, sandstone roof-slates, fine and coarse tesserae (some in concentrations suggesting pavements in situ), opus signinum and pottery ranging from late C1 & C2. Samian ware to C3 and C4 types including Oxfordshire rosette-stamped colour-coated ware. Iron slag was also found.(From {4}{5}{7}).{1} SP18941634. The site was under plough at the time of investigation but recognisable as a roughly level area approx 13m West to East by 11m transversely. Over the area, extending some 35m to the south, there was a dense scatter of stone and some brick. Two fragments of bone and a small piece of green glass were found on the surface. The fragment of glass was deposited in Gloucester City Museum. M Watkins, the archaeologist identified it as Roman window glass.{2} Mr Gascoigne recalled that the platform was L-shaped in plan before ploughing and (in 1975 wrote) "...as far as I can ascertain there has been no further investigation of this site" (presumably since the OS visit of 1969).{3} Romano-British pottery, roof and flue tiles, tesserae, groups of tesserae suggest recent damage to a pavement.{9} As described by the RCHM {4}{1}. The mound is prominent though probably lower than 1m high and littered with building debris. The surrounding field has a dense scatter of Romano-British pottery.{10} Certain apparently destuctive processes were less damaging than the surface remains might suggest, for example, ridge and furrow ploughing at Great Rissington caused accumulations of ridge-soil actually to protect the mosaic pavements, but the plough-shares probably skidded on the hard surface of the tesserae in the furrows. Roman Villa (SP189163), in a field named 'Chessels' which formerly was covered by broad plough-ridges, but now is almost levelled by modern ploughing, stands at the edge of the Middle Lias and some 8ft (2.4m) above the level of streams which flank it to the north and south, these flow into the River Windrush, 200yds to the west. The villa is partly marked by a roughly rectangular platform with rounded edges, approx. 240ft (73m) long by 80ft (24m) wide and up to 4ft (1.2m) high. Building stone lies scattered on it, and concentrations of nettles extend from it eastwards for some 450ft (137m) on a natural shelf, beyond which the ground rises gently. Surface finds, in private possession, include hypocaust and roofing tiles, sandstone roof-slates, fine & coarse tesserae (some in concentrations), opus signinum, and pottery ranging from the late C1 and C2 samian ware to C3 and C4 types, including Oxfordshire rosette-stamped colour-coated ware. Iron slag was also found.{13} AREA ASSESSMENT :- All site ploughed.{8} 2005 - The site was recorded by a member of the public who fieldwalked it after harrowing on 14-15/05/2005. Domestic vessels, terracota roof and floor tiles, oyster shells, a piece of freshly broken Samian and a fragment of Roman glass were retrieved. {Source Work 484.} HER 53609 DESCRIPTION:- 2019 - This monument was previously recorded within the Historic England National Record of the Historic Environment. That record, formerly held within the AMIE database, is quoted below: “(SP 18911627) The site of a Roman villa in a field called "Chessels" is partly marked by a roughly rectangular platform about 240 ft long by 80 ft wide and up to 4 ft high. Building stone lies scattered on it and concentration of nettles extend eastwards for some 450 ft. Surface finds in private possession, include hypocaust and roofing tiles, sandstone roof-slates, fine and coarse tesserae (some in concentrations suggesting pavements in situ), opus signinum and pottery ranging from late 1st cent and 2nd cent. samian ware to 3rd and 4th cent types, including Oxfordshire rosette-stamped colour-coated ware. Iron slag was also found. (Visited 2 10 69). (1) "... as far as I can ascertain, there has been no further investigation of this site." (2) SP 18941634 The site was under plough at the time of investigation but recognisable as a roughly level area approximately 13.0m west to east by 11.0m transversely. Over the area, and extending some 35.0m to the south, there was a dense scatter of stone and some brick. Two fragments of bone and a small piece of green glass were found on the surface. Sited at 1:2500 on Antiquity Model. (3) The fragment of glass was deposited in Gloucester City Museum. Mr Watkins, the Archaeologist, identified it as Roman window glass. Mr Gascoigne recalled that the platform was L-shaped in plan before ploughing. (4) The Roman villa referred to above (1-5) is not visible on the available aerial photographs, viewed as part of the South Cotswolds NMP survey, that correspond to an enclosure or Roman villa. On the pre 1974 aerial photographs the field in which the villa is supposed to be located were two blocks of extant ridge and furrow (SP11NE 30/HOB UID 1508142). The ridges are in an N-S direction in the southern block and in an E-W in the northern block. This may explain the lack of evidence visible on the aerial photographs. (6-7)” {Source Work 4249.} |