North Leigh Roman Villa
Another site which is worth a little trek down a country lane and is a bit shady when it comes to parking is North Leigh Roman Villa. This site is the only visible Roman building in Oxfordshire and reminded us a bit of our local Richborough Roman Fort. The difference is that this one boasts quite the impressive mosaic, not that it was open for us to see! The villa was made bigger starting from the 1st century right up until the early 5th and ended up as a huge 'villa rustica' that had 19 mosaic floors, a large agricultural estate, and accommodation for farm workers and even slaves. In perspective, this was quite the luxurious site for Roman times, especially if you take into consideration the fact they'd also have imported luxuries from nearby places including Cirencester. It has been recorded that the first excavation of the site was by Henry Hakewill in 1813. He had the site for three years and then it was left until Professor Francis Haverfield ...
