Monument record TQ 65 SW 162 - Roman villa, Fairlawn Estate, Plaxtol

Walls belonging to a Roman villa were uncovered during a watching brief in 2009. The building was not fully excavated. The portion exposed was c.31m long and c.11m wide. On the basis of coins recovered from the site the villa has been dated to the late third century. A possible flue and stoke hole were observed suggesting the presence of a hypocaust. A number of other features were recorded in the area around the villa, including pits, ditches, post holes and a well. (1)

In 2011 a series of test pits were excavated across the site by Wessex Archaeology. The building appears to have been constructed in a single phase and so may have been fairly short-lived. It was a simple form of corridor villa. A central room was flanked by three rooms on opposite sides. No surviving floors were found and what was previously interpreted as a flue is probably a drain beneath the structure. No tesserae were found, suggesting there were no mosaics. There may have been a second storey to the building, which may have been thatched. Pottery found on the site indicates no pre-Roman phase of occupation. The building was probably constructed in the late 1st or early 2nd century AD. The main period of use appears not to have extended much beyond the middle of the 2nd century. Later activity within the immediate area is attested though in the form of later Roman pottery and coins. The coins found did not date beyond the middle of the fourth century. (2)

<1> Wessex Archaeology, 2009, Farningham to Hadlow, Kent 1200mm Natural Gas Pipeline: Post Excavation Assessment Report and Updated Project Design, Mitigation Areas and Watching Brief (Unpublished document). SKE17363.

<2> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, Fairlawne Estate Roman Building, Plaxtol, Kent - Report on an Archaeological Investigation: Phase 2 (Unpublished document). SKE17996.