More information : TR 0208 6172: A Roman winged corridor villa, showing four periods of construction and dating from 75 to 300 AD, was excavated in July 1965 by the Reculver Excavation Group. The site overlay a Belgic enclosure, probably a farmstead, and a field system probably dating from 50-70 AD. (1)
Excavation report. This previously unknown site had been exposed by bulldozers. The walls and floors had been totally destroyed but foundations survived and the ground plan was recovered. Four phases of construction were detected. The first villa, probably of late 1st century date, consisted of a simple range with penthouse on the east side; this was extended and corridors added. The third phase consisted of the additions of wings, the south one containing an apsidal dining-room with at least one mosaic floor heated by a channelled hypocaust.
At about 200 AD, the south end of the villa had been rebuilt. Much
painted wall plaster was found and several of the rooms contained hearths. Beneath the villa were found shallow ditches relating to a settlement of Belgic date. More ditches and pits were found to the south and west and an extensive site is indicated. (2)(3)
No remains, the site is now occupied by the playing fields of Queen Elizabeth's School. (4)
The majority of pottery from the Iron Age features on the Faversham villa site was classified as "late Belgic" by G. Clewley in the excavation report (Authority 2) but Rodwell stated that some of the vessels were clearly earlier and may be La Tene II; the remainder spanning the whole of the "Belgic" period. (5)
A complex of post holes in front of and under the Faversham villa (PH 1-12 on Authority 2 plan) were partly interpreted as forming a timber veranda. Rodwell however could not altogether accept this view on the limited evidence and as at Lockleys, Herts (TL 21 NW 2), he saw the posthole complex as possibly representing part of a late Iron Age or early Roman building, ante dating the villa. (6)
TR 0208 6172: ROMAN VILLA [R] (site of) [NAT] (7)
TR 021 617: An Iron Age potin coin was found at Faversham during excavations by Brian Philp in 1965 (see Authority 2). (8)
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