Record Details
| NHER Number: | 3254 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | West Newton Roman Villa Site |
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Summary
Excavations between 1949 and 1951 revealed part of a Roman villa and bath house. Tiled floors, a hypocaust, a limestone chimney flue and bricks were revealed, together with a refuse pit containing pottery fragments and oyster, mussel and cockle shells. Other building materials recovered were coloured plaster, floor and roof tiles and window glass. Small finds included pottery fragments, iron slag, part of a shale bracelet and beads. The dateable evidence suggests the site was occupied in the 3rd and 4th centuries.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TF 6997 2762 |
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| Map Sheet: | TF62NE |
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| Parish: | SANDRINGHAM, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
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Full description
Ordnance Survey plot 54. East of West Newton Farm Roman villa.
Revealed by plough November 1949.
Trial excavations 1949 to 1951 by I. J. Thatcher and C. H. Lewton-Brain on site of bath house (TF 699 276) (Thatcher's original plan destroyed at his death; plan by J. O. H. Nicholls 1953 at NCM).
Area about 21.3m (70 feet) east to west and 12.2m (40 feet) north to south excavated to a depth of 1.2m (4 feet).
Materials : - brick with a limestone chimney flue. Tiled floors, hypocaust, opus signinum. Refuse pit 4.6m to 6.1m (15 to 20 feet) long, 2.4m to 3m (8 to 10 feet) wide. Contained pottery, oyster shells, mussels, cockles, sealed by clay with traces of burning.
Deposits of soot, other building materials included, wall plaster in eight colours, floor and roof tiles, window glass, tiles with slanting holes (?for external face of walls). Small finds included: Castor Ware with white slip and scroll design; fragment of kimmeridge shale bracelet, jet bead, fragment of glass bead with incised decoration; late Roman; iron slag.
What is dateable suggests 3rd to 4th century.
All this material is at York Cottage Estate Museum, Sandringham. One tile at NCM.
Photographs by Thatcher NCM.
Colours of painted plaster (commonist) white and crimson, also violet, brown, blue, yellow ochre, terracotta, sage green, bright green, mottled blue green, dark green.
R. R. Clarke (NCM).
Press cutting, and sketches and plans in file.
July 2008.
Management Statement signed.
See (S7).
D. Robertson (HES), 20 August 2012.
Monument Types
- BATH HOUSE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- FLOOR (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- HYPOCAUST (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- PIT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- VILLA (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- WALL (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
Associated Finds
- ARCHITECTURAL FRAGMENT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- BEAD (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- BEAD (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- BRACELET (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- FLOOR TILE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- METAL WORKING DEBRIS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- MOLLUSCA REMAINS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- ROOF TILE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- WINDOW GLASS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
Protected Status
Sources and further reading
| --- | Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TF 62 NE 4. |
| --- | Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. |
| --- | Article in Monograph: Gregory, A. 1982. Romano-British Settlement in West Norfolk and on the Norfolk Fen Edge. The Romano-British Countryside, Studies in Rural Settlement and Economy. Miles, D. (ed.). British Archaeological Reports British Series No 103 pp 352-376. pt ii, pp 351-376. |
| --- | Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Roman. |
| --- | Secondary File: Secondary File. |
| <S1> | Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1949. [Article on the finding of West Newton Roman Villa Site]. 10 December. |
| <S2> | Serial: Norfolk Research Committee. 1950. Archaeological Research in Norfolk. Archaeological Newsletter. Vol 3 No 2 pp 38-39. p 39. |
| <S3> | Article in Serial: 1950. [unknown]. Journal of Roman Studies. Vol 40, pp 104-5. |
| <S4> | Serial: 1950. Norfolk Research Committee Bulletin. Series 1 No 2 (for 1949). |
| <S5> | Article in Serial: Clarke R. R. 1952. Roman Norfolk since Haverfield. A Survey of Discovery from 1901. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XXX pp 140-155. p 149. |
| <S6> | Article in Serial: Clarke, R. R. 1957. Archaeological Discoveries in Norfolk 1949-54. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XXXI Pt IV pp 395-416. p 401. |
| <S7> | Unpublished Document: Norfolk County Council. Norfolk Monuments Management Project Management Statement. |
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