Hot Baths for Wealthy Romans at Itter Crescent, Walton,
Peterborough
(by Dr Rebecca Casa
Hatton)
A grand Roman villa has been recently
excavated at Itter Crescent, Walton, Peterborough. For nearly 2000
years the villa had been lying under former allotments owned by
Peterborough City Council. The land is currently being developed by
Bellway Homes who, according to planning regulation, have funded
the archaeological excavations in advance of construction, with
contributions by Peterborough City Council. The excavations have
been carried out by Oxford Archaeology East.
The discovery was unexpected, as no Roman
villas are known in Peterborough. In the wider area, evidence for
the presence of substantial Roman buildings on the high gravel
terraces have been recorded in the past, including the majestic
‘praetorium’ or palace at Castor excavated by antiquarian
E.T. Artis in the 1820s and, closer to Itter Crescent, the series
of buildings at Werrington (to the north) investigated in the 1960s
and relatively-high status settlement remains in the Ravensthorpe
area (to the south-west) known from antiquarian observations and
more recent excavations.
At his site visit Roman specialist Dr Steve
Upex of the Nene Valley Archaeological Trust remarked: “The villa
is certainly one of the most unexpected sites that have been
uncovered in Peterborough recent archaeological past, and is now
the only major villa to have been excavated anywhere in the area
under modern excavation conditions. The last work on villas of
similar size and status was undertaken by Edmund Artis in the
1820s. Thus, the developers need to be congratulated for funding
the work. Oxford Archaeology East, under the direction of Dr James
Drummond-Murray (Project Manager) and Alex Pickstone (Project
Officer), have undertaken a brilliant investigation, and
Peterborough City Council ought to be congratulated for their input
and concern over the site”.
After due consultations with Dr Will Fletcher,
English Heritage Regional Inspector for the Ancient Monuments, on
whether to excavate or preserve the site, it was decided that the
Roman villa at Itter Crescent was worth a full investigation, its
degree of preservation allowing an unprecedented understanding of
layout, construction details, function and role in both local and
regional contexts.
The villa at Itter Crescent consists of the
remains of a substantial, high status, two-floor courtyard villa
with rooms on the sides of a cobbled courtyard. The villa was built
in local limestone with fine mosaic floors and wall plaster painted
in bright red and green
colours. Its residents enjoyed the
ritual of bathing in a hot and sauna-like bath, as indicated by the
remains of the sweating chambers and under-floor heating system
(hypocaust). A range of lesser stone-built buildings was located to
the north. These buildings were probably structures associated with
farming activities carried out on the villa estate. Further
buildings, also decorated with painted wall plaster, lie to the
east. A small stone-built structure to the west was a tile kiln
where the tiles for the roof and other parts of the villa were
made. Besides the floor mosaics and the fragments of painted wall
plaster, the excavations have produced a wealth of bronze finds,
including coins, brooches and dress/hair pins, fine ceramic vessels
for ‘special occasions’ and pots and storage jars for every-day
use.
At the centre of a road network and river
system, the Peterborough area has long been regarded as
representing a strategic location for the movement of the Roman
army and supplies and, later, for industrial production and trade.
Peterborough sits on the edge of the fen, which may have
represented an imperial estate directly owned by the Emperors in
Rome and run by their administrators and/or military officers
possibly residing at Castor ‘Praetorium’.
“Archaeologists do not find remains of
imposing Roman villas on every site”, said Dr Rebecca Casa Hatton,
Peterborough City Council Archaeologist.
With the exception of the Castor-Ailsworth
(and Chesterton) area, Roman settlement in, and around,
Peterborough has been traditionally described as consisting of a
general pattern of dispersed, relatively small farms and lesser
villas.
“Even allowing for damage caused by the
expansion of the town, evidence for Roman occupation in
Peterborough is scanty, almost giving the impression that the
‘important’ people passed through but did not want to stay. By
contrast, the site at Itter Crescent indicates that some 2000 years
ago Roman or Romanised members of the high class decided to make a
statement of wealth and status at this very location”, added Dr
Casa Hatton. “With the recent discovery of a late Roman stone-lined
‘ritual cistern’ off Bretton Way, some 2km to the west, the
excavations at Itter Crescent have shed new light on the nature of
Roman occupation in the Peterborough area and in the region as a
whole, also offering the opportunity to fully record a newly
discovered site by means of modern techniques of
investigation”.
The Roman villa was probably built in the
2nd century AD but traces of earlier occupation have
been uncovered, including an impressive later Iron Age settlement
(c. 100BC) enclosed by a substantial circular ditch and
including timber round-houses, ovens and domestic pits.
“The Roman villa is impressive, but the Iron
Age settlement is equally impressive, clearly indicating the
importance of the site even before the Roman period of occupation”,
said Dr Casa Hatton.
The villa was abandoned in the 4th
century AD and many of the walls were robbed of the stone to be
re-used elsewhere.
The finds from the excavation will be
deposited and preserved at Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery that
will host a display in the foreseeable future. Bellway Homes have
kindly donated some of the original Roman building stone to the
Friends of Itter Park Association who are planning to re-use the
materials in the park.
The excavation has been made possible thanks
to Bellway Homes who have also kindly sponsored a series of events
aimed at community engagement and school education. All excavations
and events have been run by Oxford Archaeology East, with the help
from local residents and students from Peterborough University
Centre. “Bellway Homes were happy to assist with the funding and to
work alongside the archaeological teams dealing with the excavation
in what has been found to be such a significant finding within
Peterborough City”, commented Gary Mills, Divisional Managing
Director of Bellway Homes East Midlands.
The last event is scheduled for SATURDAY
28th JANUARY at PASTON & GUNTHORPE COMMUNITY CENTRE,
between 12.00 and 15.00. It is a display event open to the members
of the general public who will have the opportunity to see some of
the best finds from the site and talk to the archaeologists from
Oxford Archaeology East.