BWAS: Visits & Excursions 1998

· Visits and Excursions; 2003 ·

27th July - Frocester Court Roman Villa
The first excursion was on 27th July to the Frocester Court Roman Villa excavation near Stroud, which have been in the course of excavations for over 39 years and may well continue into the future.
We were welcomed by the Director of excavation and Owner Mr Eddie Price who explained that he site was visited by Mesolithic hunters, and the agricultural potential of the area subsequently attracted eolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age settlers, followed by three major and six minor Roman sites, of which the site visited here is one of the major. The site shows the transition from Iron age into a Romanised one, and by the late third century its development included a stone house built with a walled front courtyard and formal garden, with a smaller yard at the rear. The house was eventually burnt down following a peak of prosperity in the late fourth century. There is evidence of strucures occupied until the sixth century before the site was abandoned to the plough.
Two major reports have been published by Gloucester and District Archaeological Research Group, and are available from Eddie Price.
On our return, we were able to fit in a visit to Gloucester Docks and enjoy a variety of locations of varied interest including the newly opened Museum of the Gloucestershire Regiment. The Gloucester Docks are well worth a visit in their own right.
17th August - Piddington Roman Villa
The next excursion on 17h August, was to the ongoing excavations of the Piddington Roman Villa, situated a few miles south of Northampton, where theDirector of Excavations Mr Roy Friendship-Taylor has been conducting research excavations since 1979. The site again shows a late Iron age settlement superseded by proto villa, and subsequently by a surprisingly wealthy and pretentious winged corridor villa, before some misfortune and deliberate slighting reduced it to a largely derelict squat in the fourth century.
Roy escorted us over the site, and explained everything in great detail, and drew our attention to the amount of finds, which included a Roman pen knife (sent to the British Museum), and other finds indicating the names of possibly two owners. There is also a possibility of a vexillation fortress in the adjoining field where some massive foundations are being uncovered. The site is well worth a visit, and a Museum in the village is shortly to be opened by Tony Robinson of Time Team.
On our return journey, we stopped over at Tripontium near Rugby, where Mr Jack Lucas showed us over the bath-house site, pointing out the latest fine-tuning excavations at wall junctions, and similar tricky to understand areas. A major reoprt is nearing completion and will be published shortly.

· Visits and Excursions; 2003 ·

27th July - Frocester Court Roman Villa

17th August - Piddington Roman Villa