Cocks Farm villa, Abinger

Further episodes of fieldwork co-ordinated by N Cowlard and directed by D Bird for the Roman Studies Group of SyAS to investigate the villa and its environs. Initial test-pitting was followed by excavation of features identified in a magnetometry survey carried out in 2008–9 and in a resistivity survey by D and A Graham of SyAS. A section across a main east–west field ditch produced a considerable amount of pottery, indicating that it had probably been deliberately backfilled in the 3rd century, implying a change of land use (finds associated with the villa indicate that occupation continued well into the 4th century). A smaller linear feature ran parallel to the ditch on its southern side. It seemed to be stratigraphically earlier than the main ditch fill, and may have been a palisade or perhaps hedgerow trench. Partial excavation of a large anomaly thought to be a kiln proved that it was a limekiln. The fill of the kiln produced only three undiagnostic pottery sherds, but a Roman or medieval date for the feature is assumed most likely. Further magnetometry survey was carried out across the villa site and in two fields to the south of the villa beyond the A25. Excavation of the site of the villa located an area of 19th century disturbance including a deep trench that is almost certainly the eastern of the two dug for Charles Darwin in 1877. It was placed alongside a north–south wall to the west of which was the remains of the make-up for a tessellated floor (presumed to be Darwin’s ‘atrium’). Two other wall lines were located with some evidence for stratigraphy and it is now possible to link the current work directly to that carried out in the SyAS excavation of the site in 1995–7, and place the discoveries from 1876–7 in their correct location. (Bulletin 422)
Year: 
2010
ID: 
2202
Site code text: 
CFA
NGR: 
TQ106474
Periods: 
Borough: