History at Brading Roman Villa
The History of Brading Roman Villa
50AD - 2nd Century AD
Early Romano-British farms often developed from Iron Age farms. Evidence of an Iron Age settlement has been found in the immediate area surrounding the Villa. The Villa you can see today probably developed from a small stone building occupied by a British or Romano-British farmer. During Roman occupation, the British adopted many of the Roman building styles and techniques. Traditional round thatched houses of the Iron Age were replaced by Roman-style rectangular buildings. These were usually modest wooden crofts of two or three rooms in a row. Later they were often rebuilt in stone with additional rooms, as appears to be the case at Brading.
The Roman Era
2nd Century AD - AD340
By the mid 2nd century the farm had developed into an impressive villa with stone and wooden buildings on three sides of a central courtyard or garden. Brading Roman Villa was sited to take full advantage of Brading harbor situated between Sandown and Bembridge the main port of the Isle of Wight. Produce farmed at the villa may have been shipped to other parts of Britain and the Roman Empire in exchange for Samian ware from southern France, quernstones from Germany and wine and olive oil from Italy and Greece.
Calm waters around Brading Haven provided good fishing, including oysters, cockles and mussels the shells of which have been found around the Villa.
The forest that covered the northern land of the Isle of Wight was a rich source of food. Storks and cranes were hunted. The forest floor provided a home for wild boar, red and fallow deer. (the tusks and antlers of which have been found at the Villa). The sheep that grazed on Brading Downs provided wool and food. The peasant farmers tended both the sheep and crops such as wheat, barley, rye, oats and beans. Several ards and iron shoes, which formed wooden ploughs, have been found at the Villa and are now on display.
Probably no more than waist high, the stone walls of the Villa would have supported a stout timber frame, infilled with wattle and daub. Some walls were built with large boulders carried straight from the beach. Corners, doors and windows were constructed from blocks of Bembridge stone. The roof was tiled with limestone and clay tiles. Inside, the walls were finished with brightly painted plaster. Surviving fragments show floral and woodland scenes, a hanging basket of flowers and a peacock. Windows either often had iron grills, or small panes of misty green glass and heavy wooden shutters. The front door of the Villa had a grand lock faced with a large brass plate, and its key was later found in the remains of this once great house.
The Decline of Brading Roman Villa
AD340 - 1879
The Villa suffered a disastrous fire in the 3rd century AD. Despite this the site was still used for farming purposes for another 100 years. The decline of Brading Roman Villa started after about AD340, when estates in southern Britain suffered frequent raids by barbarian pirates. Life and trade were both at risk, yet Roman coins excavated at the site indicate human activity continued at Brading until the twenty-eight year reign of Emperor Honorius began in AD395.
In the chequered corridor of the main house, a deep stokehole was dug for a corn-drying furnace. The magnificent mosaics in room 12 survived, possibly buried and protected by stored grain. How long occupants continued to live in this sub-Roman style is difficult to tell. Once a building was abandoned, anything useful would have been scavenged. In the 5th century the Villa collapsed and was covered by a deep blanket of soil and leaf mould. By the time the undergrowth was eventually cleared for agriculture, the name and position of Brading Roman Villa was lost to sight and memory.
Discovery and excavation
1879 - present day
In 1879 Captain Thorp of Yarbridge began searching for Roman antiquities in the fields of Morton Farm. Mr. Munns, a local farmer, also became interested. One evening whilst using an iron bar to make holes for a sheep pen, he struck the Bacchus mosaic floor. The following morning he and Captain Thorp had uncovered the Gallus panel.
By spring 1880, half of the Roman villa had been excavated on farmer Munns’ land. The remainder of the site extended beyond the field and onto the Oglander estate. Lady Louisa Oglander then purchased the entire site so that excavations could continue. Now as a registered charity, the Oglander Roman Trust is continuing the story of Brading Roman Villa and its unique mosaics into the 21st century.