Summary : A Roman bath house with "very slight vestiges of a villa" were discovered, and the bath house excavated, in 1824. Finds included quantities of building material, pottery, and two skeletons. Exploratory trenches in 1960 confirmed the location of the bath house, and noted several phases of use/construction. Examination of aerial photographs by RCHME in 1996 revealed no cropmarks of a villa or bath house in the area. |
More information : A Roman bath-house "and very slight vestiges of a Villa", were seen, and the bath-house excavated [AO/LP/63/332], on the west bank of the river Witham at North Stoke, in 1824. Much building material, pottery and two human skeletons, one just inside the south wall and one just outside, were found. Exploratory trenches cut in 1960 [at SK 9297 (5) and SK 9299 2872 (6)] by M.J. Polkinghorne, late of Kesteven Training College, rediscovered the bath-house, which is apparently of several different periods. (1-4) The site of the 1960 excavation is still visible at SK 9302 2872. The trenches have been filled but there is a heavy surface scatter of RB. brick, tile and potsherds. (5)
An examination of all the available photographs revealed no evidence of the bath house or villa refered to by the previous authorities. (6) |