- A magnetometer survey of an English estate near a known buried Roman city revealed two previously undiscovered Roman villas outside of the city.
- The property is owned by England’s National Trust and houses the Attingham Estate in Shropshire.
- The discovery includes evidence of roads, helping form a fresh map of the ancient site.
The Attingham Estate in England, an 18th century mansion open to the public with 200 acres of parkland, invites visitors to stroll through the buried ruins of the Roman city of Wroxeter.
Now, there’s even more of Wroxeter to unravel.
Archaeologists conducted a geophysical survey using magnetometer research and uncovered two previously unknown Roman villas, a roadside cemetery, farmsteads, and a web of roads that all provide a robust story of the 2,471 acres under the care of England’s National Trust.
“We’ve seen tantalizing hints of these remains over the years,” Janine Young, National Trust archaeologist, said in a statement, “with evidence showing up in cropmarks, aerial imagery, and through small surveys and excavations. But until now, what lies beneath the surface of the ground has never fully been investigated.”
A magnetometer survey records subtle changes in a local magnetic field, allowing for the surveying of large areas in a relatively short time. The survey of the Attingham Estate property established a “comprehensive ‘map’ of what is below our feet,” Young said, “providing us with a fascinating picture of the estate’s hidden past, revealing previously unknown sites of importance.”
The vast grounds of Attingham in Shropshire feature the estate, parkland, forested areas, and farming. In addition to Woxeter and other Roman activity, studies have previously found prehistoric human activity as well as Anglo-Saxon architecture and farming through medieval and post-medieval periods, according to Newsweek.
Earlier research helped tell the tale of Wroxeter. The land was first occupied by what the Romans called the “Cornovii,” who used the landlocked area for farming. With no evidence of warfare, the inhabitants managed cattle and sheep and, instead of pottery, used vessels of leather and wood.
The Roman army first arrived in the late 40s AD and constructed a fort for the 14th legion south of Wroxeter. A decade later, that fort was replaced by a new one built less than a mile north. The fort became the backbone of the future city and likely the demise of the local population, as the soldiers took over extensive amounts of land to construct a new fortress, large enough for 5,000 troops and 500 cavalrymen, along with many workshops, stores, and a hospital. The city grew around the fortress in the 90s AD.
“Although we know a great deal about the city of Wroxeter in Roman times from surveys carried out in the 1990s,” Winn Scutt, senior properties curator at English Heritage, said in the statement, “the wider area around the site still has much to reveal.”
The National Trust says that, while additional research is needed to fully understand the two new villas, previous discoveries in the country show these types of villas often used the popular Roman style of heating known as hypocausts (an underfloor heating system) and featured bath houses, mosaic flooring, and painted plaster walls. A Roman villa is not dissimilar to an English estate, and there are many strewn across England, including six in Shropshire.
The newly discovered villas reveal evidence of at least two construction or occupation phases, with floor plans showing internal room divisions and properties that featured associated outbuildings.
Finding the two villas outside Wroxeter on a road leading away from the city shows how the ancient city may have grown. The archaeologists also found farmsteads they believe are from the Iron Age or Romano-British time, which would have helped supply food to the larger city. The team also discovered roads that help map the region, as well as the roadside cemetery.
“Attingham Estate has always been known to have high historical and archaeological significance,” Young said, “which has now been confirmed.”
Tim Newcomb is a journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. He covers stadiums, sneakers, gear, infrastructure, and more for a variety of publications, including Popular Mechanics. His favorite interviews have included sit-downs with Roger Federer in Switzerland, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and Tinker Hatfield in Portland.
