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Article about the Pavements, including Photographs taken when still in their original location at Rudston. By kind permission of Mike Wilson.
The Roman Villa at Rudston was discovered in April 1933 by a
Mr. Henry Robson of Breeze Farm, he was ploughing a large field on the south side of the
Rudston to Kilham road. (The exact spot is not marked, but if you pass the farm on the left
as you head towards Kilham, the villa is about 100m past the farm). Map
As Mr Robson ploughed
he noticed several fragments of tile which, when further excavated, proved to be a Roman
tessellated pavement (mosaic) buried about 450mm below the soil. The find could not have
been totally unexpected, as four years before, fragments of late Roman pottery were found
at the site and, in 1839 the existence of a room with a hypocaust floor was reported in the
"Gentleman's Magazine." For some reason, these clues were never followed up.. In 1933
however, a committee was formed to excavate the site properly.
The area was inhabited by a
tribe of Celts known as the Parisii (they also lived in north eastern France hence the name
Paris). It is though that the Roman invasion of Yorkshire began in about 71AD, some 30 years
after the landing of Aulus Plautius on the coast of Kent. It seems that the Parisii got on
well with the invaders, but the Romans had some 'difficulties' with the Brigantes, the most
powerful tribe in northern Britain. This may explain why the Romans first settled the east
coast of Yorkshire and set up garrisons.
A detachment of the 9th Legion was dispatched from
the fortress at Lincoln and marching along the high ridge where Ermine Street still runs to
the Humber, crossed the estuary at Brough. They later continued Ermine Street on to the town
of Malton. They also built a road from Stanford Bridge to Bridlington, on the coast, via
Garrowby Hill, this is now Wold Gate. A single track, unclassified but tarmac surface road.
Once secured, the Romans would have set up their communications and infra-structure, the
principle produce from this area of Yorkshire being agriculture.
Perhaps the best feature
of the villa are the mosaic pavements, which for many years could be viewed at the original
site in Rudston, they were protected by large sheds. They were carefully moved during the
60's to the Hull & East Riding Museum in Hull,
along with other examples
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Pictures by kind permission of the Hull & East Riding Museum.
Please explore their site on-http://www.
hullcc.gov.uk/museums/ |
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| Venus Mosaic | Rudston Charioteer |
The small coloured cubes that make up a mosaic are usually locally made, the
tesserae at Rudston seem to be a mixture of local materials and the brown and yellow are
perhaps brought in from the west or perhaps the North Riding. A storeroom with a
large stock of ready to use and unfinished tesserae was discovered at this villa. Mosaics
found at Rudston were:- The Mosaic of Intersecting Circles, The Mosaic of the Small Figures,
The Leopards Panel, The Charioteer, The Venus Mosaic, The Geometric Mosaic and The Aquatic
Mosaic.
The villa had a bath house area, an under floor heating called a "Hypercaust",
kitchens, storerooms and workshops.
The earliest coin found at the site was dated to
"Domitian" 81-96 A.D. So perhaps that is when the villa was begun? The latest coin found
was a "Constantine" late 4th Century A.D.
The building of the villa 'proper' was probably
started about 200 A.D. and all the stone buildings appear to belong to the third and fourth
centuries. The mosaic pavements may be a sign of increased prosperity and they were
probably completed by the first half of the fourth century A.D.I hope to add more pictures
and maps / diagrams to this page when time allows..
Sources:-
"The Roman Villa at
Rudston" by F.R. Pearson and "The Mosaics of Rudston" by D.J.S.