| Summary : The site of a Roman villa, located 120 metres east of Abinger Hall Stables. An excavation in 1877 revealed three rooms all paved with coarse red tesserae. Finds such as coins, Samian and other pottery were retrieved and deposited with Guildford Museum. Excavation continued in 1946 by R Goodchild. Additional indications of activity in the area have included Roman brick, tile, a statue of Bes and blue glass beads. Further investigations were undertaken in the late 20th century, revealing the layout of the villa complex, evidence for a hypocaust system and the design of a mosaic floor. |
More information : (TQ 10624746) Roman building (R) (site of) (1)
A small excavation at Abinger in 1877 gave promise of a large Roman building, but the work was carried on. A plan published in 1878 shows that three rooms were uncovered, one 11 feet square, the other two 11 feet by 7 feet 6 inches, all paved with coarse red tesserae. (2)
Roman villa at Abinger. Finds in Guildford Museum include coins of Hadrian, Allectus, Constans, Constantine II, Constantius II, and Samian and other pottery. (3)
(TQ 10584740) Roman Villa (part of). Site proved by R G Goodchild in 1946. (4)
A mile-long leat which took water from a Leith Hill spring to the Roman villa at Eversheds was revealed during widening of the Guildford-Dorking road near Crossways Farm. (5)
The site of the 1946 excavations was indicated at 'A' TQ 1064147465, by Mr H Corke, who adds that Ro brick, tile and pottery is still found in the vicinity. A piece of Samian dish, form 18 and stamped SVLPICI, is retained by him as well as 20 blue glass beads, probably late Ro or Saxon, which were found in his garden at 'B', TQ 1061847401 in 1965. The leat, referred to by Lord Farrer, is probably a misidentification of one of a number of drainage channels exposed in the side of the road between Crossways Farm, TQ 10854735, and Eversheds, TQ 10664738. In any case Leith Hill is on the opposite side of the Tillingbourne Valley. (6)
TQ 10624746: A statue of Bes was found very close to the villa by Mr H.T Corke. This is one of the best known provenanced finds of Bes in the country. (7)
SY 1 Listed as the site of a Roman villa. (8)
The site of a Romano-British villa , located 120 metres east of Abinger Hall Stables. The site represents the domestic focus of the villa estate and survives mainly as buried masonry foundations. The villa was first investigated in 1877 and most recently in the late 20th century. The site comprises the remains of a series of villa buildings constructed around the northern and western sides of a courtyard. The most substantial structure revealed so far represents the northern range of the complex and comprises a rectangular dwelling house built of ashlar. The main structure was divided into at least 8 rooms with tessallated floors and painted plaster walls. Some of the rooms were heated by a hypocaust, and the dining room (triclinium) at the centre of the house had a mosaic floor, dated stylistically to the 4th century AD. The house was flanked to the south by a verandah, accessed via the triclinium and the adjacent room. Further, possibly earlier, buildings stood against the outer face of the western courtyard wall. An enclosure ditch bounds the villa to the north and east and a terrace lies to the west. Pottery evidence indicates that the villa was occupied from the late 1st century or early 2nd century AD to the early 5th century . Scheduled. (9) |