Lullingstone Roman Villa

Here in late August we are visiting the excavated remains of Lullingstone Roman Villa

It is not too far from home but due to extensive new roads and junctions for the latest Channel Tunnel terminal on the other side of    the River Thames we managed to take the wrong exit (why do we not trust the sat nav more) and added some miles to our journey

I personally do not like the coloured lights but they were in cync with an overhead commentary

especially when viewing these fine mosaics below

The following history written in smaller script was taken from the English Heritage website

Evidence of the villa is first recorded in about 1750, when the fence around Lullingstone deer park was being renewed, and holes for posts were dug through a previously unknown mosaic. (1) These events were reported by John Thorpe in 'Custumale Roffense', published in 1788, when Lullingstone Chapel was also illustrated having been drawn in 1769.

EUROPA MOSAICS

First, the central core of the house was radically altered when an apsidal dining room or 'triclinium' was built across the line of the western corridor, splitting it in two. This dining room, with its attached audience chamber, and the mosaics within the rooms, demonstrate the increasing prosperity of the villa. 

Within the triclinium, which has been claimed as a 'caenaculum', where diners would have reclined on a single crescent-shaped couch, the mosaic tells the mythical story of the Rape of Europa, who was abducted by the god Jupiter disguised as a bull. One of the accompanying cupids attempts to intervene by holding on to the bull’s tail.

The main mosaic panel in the audience chamber tells the story of Bellerophon, Prince of Corinth, on the winged-horse Pegasus, killing the Chimæra, a fire-breathing she-monster. 

 

The first building for which we have evidence was certainly constructed by AD 100 and perhaps as early as AD 80–90.

In the second half of the second century, possibly around AD 150, but perhaps as late as AD 180, the simple winged-corridor house was substantially enlarged. Such development normally suggests increasing prosperity on the part of the owners.

Skeleton of a baby, late 2nd century

From the Paganism of early times Christianity took over and we see here a chapel within the villa

an early house church

Dog skeleton, 364-378

To the right of this photo we see a deep well hole

standing next to it and looking over the fence felt quite scary as it was so deep

Map of the Roman Empire which was the first Western Super State

It was at it's greatest AD 117

Brittania was a province of the Roman Empire for nearly 400 years

I have made this photo larger in the hope you can see the different commodities being produced around the empire at that time

England is metal, wool, animal skins and wild animals

Hope you found this interesting

We will go into the local village and have lunch (next post) before visiting somewhere very different this afternoon