Rockbourne Roman Villa - Overview

Overview

Rockbourne Roman villa is located at West Park, near the village of Rockbourne in Hampshire. It is 5 km north-west of the town of Fordingbridge. The villa once stood in the centre of a large farming estate, and is the largest known villa in the area. The villa was discovered in 1942 by a farmer digging out a ferret, and finding quantities of oyster shells and subsequently a mosaic floor. Recognising the significance of the finds, the land was bought by A. T. Morley Hewitt who conducted excavations every summer from 1956 to 1978. Early excavators sometimes failed to excavate adequately or make proper records of the finds, which hampered attempts to understand the chronology of the site. Many animal bones and pottery fragments were also discarded during this period. Hampshire County Council bought the site in 1979, and it was the limited re-excavations led by I. P. Horsey during the period 1978-82 which allowed a better understanding of the many changes to the villa over its 400 year history of occupation.

The villa may have formed a pair with a villa discovered at Downton 8 km to the northeast. Rockbourne and Downton may well have controlled extensive pasture land on their respective sides of the River Avon. Excavations approximately 1.5 km to the southeast of Rockbourne at Allen's Farm show that pottery was being produced in kilns during the late 3rd century. Such a close proximity to the villa at Rockbourne suggests that the pottery kilns may have been part of the villa estate.