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Monument details

HER Number:TQ 56 SW 4
Type of record:Monument
Name:Shoreham Roman Villa or Bath House

Summary

The hypocaust of a probable Roman villa discovered in 1947-48. Finds of tile and red tesserae indicating walls and floors of a building below the turf level and a rotary quern-stone was found in the river bed. There are now no visible remains of this building which was interpreted as the bath block of the villa.


Grid Reference:TQ 5216 6227
Map Sheet:TQ56SW
Parish:SHOREHAM, SEVENOAKS, KENT

Monument Types

  • BATHS? (BATHS, Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • HYPOCAUST (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • TESSELLATED FLOOR (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • VILLA? (VILLA, Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • INHUMATION (Roman to Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 300 AD? to 600 AD?)

Associated Finds

  • QUERN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • TILE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • SHERD (Roman - 75 AD to 225 AD)
  • HUMAN REMAINS (Roman to Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 300 AD? to 600 AD?)
Protected Status:Selected Heritage Inventory for Natural England: Roman villa or bath house. Finds include much hypocaust tile, red tesserae and mortar

Full description

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[TQ 5222 6234] ROMAN VILLA [NR.] (site of) (1) The hypocaust of a probable Roman Villa was discovered in 1947-8 at Shoreham (Long 0 11' 6", Lat. 51 20' 20"), - "much hypocaust tile, red tesserae and mortar. Flint and chalk foundations nearby are cut by the River Darent, and there is much pottery from beneath water level at this point. Probing indicates walls and floors of a building 120 ft. long, 2-4 ft. below turf level."(2). A rotary quern-stone was found in the river bed at TQ 523623. (3) There are no visible remains of this building, sited by Lt. Col. Meates to TQ 5216 6227 (a), and considered by him to be the bath block of a probable Roman villa. The present whereabouts of the various finds from the site (including the quern) could not be ascertained. (4)

In 1982 the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit carried out a test pit survey of the field. A structure was located in what appears to have been the north east corner of the field. The building had been heavily robbed. It was 8.8m long and 5.5m wide and consisted of three rooms, one with an apse. The westernmost room appears to have had a hypocaust. The site was not fully excavated. A double grave had been dug through the middle of one of the rooms, at some time after the building had been demolished as it cut both the floor and east wall. The inhumations were of adults, one of which was probably male, but poorly preserved. Pottery from the site dated form the late 1st century to the early 3rd century. (7)


<1> OS 6" 1961 (OS Card Reference). SKE48369.

<2> Arch Cant 61 1948 181 (E Greenfield Lt Col GW Meates & E Birchenough) (OS Card Reference). SKE35327.

<3> Arch Cant 77 1962 202 (KD Hore) (OS Card Reference). SKE35617.

<4> Oral Lt Col GW Meates (OS Card Reference). SKE47944.

<5> F1 ASP 05-OCT-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE41949.

<6> Field report for monument TQ 56 SW 4 - October, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE2968.

<7> Philp, B & Chenery, M, 2006, Lullingstone and Shoreham: Discoveries at the Roman Villa Site 1982-86 (Bibliographic reference). SKE24002.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>OS Card Reference: OS 6" 1961.
<2>OS Card Reference: Arch Cant 61 1948 181 (E Greenfield Lt Col GW Meates & E Birchenough).
<3>OS Card Reference: Arch Cant 77 1962 202 (KD Hore).
<4>OS Card Reference: Oral Lt Col GW Meates.
<5>OS Card Reference: F1 ASP 05-OCT-64.
<6>Bibliographic reference: Field report for monument TQ 56 SW 4 - October, 1964.
<7>XYBibliographic reference: Philp, B & Chenery, M. 2006. Lullingstone and Shoreham: Discoveries at the Roman Villa Site 1982-86. [Mapped feature: #52568 roman building, ]