RCHME AP shows cropmark of winged building with internal features and small ring ditch and staple enclosure outside. Located at TR 3135 6464. (1)

The site was examined by resistivity survey in 1992 (12)

The Kent Archaeological Society excavated the villa between 1996 and 2004. The excavations located and excavated 6 separate buildings but others probably remain to be discovered. The main building was c. 40 m long with a main east-west range of 7 rooms. From this projected south two wings each of two rooms together with flanking corridors. The building was altered frequently and the precise sequence is still being investigated. Immediately to the west of the main building was a small bath-house. Both the main house and bath-house were at the nrth end of a large walled enclosure c. 70 m x 120 m in size. A gateway was in the middle of the south wall of the enclosure. Outside the wall at the north-west corner was a small rectangular structure that contained tile-lined channels and has been interpreted as either a corn-dryer or a latrine. Another small building of uncertain function was at the north-east corner of the enclosure (although it seems to have predated it). At the south-east corner of the enclosure was a stone built house and a smilar building was found at the south-west corner.

The excavations have produced a large quantity of finds including pottery, tile, glass, animal bone, painted plaster, mosaic fragments, coins and other finds. From the evidence it seems that the villa was established towards the end of the 1st century AD and continued into the early 3rd century. The site seems to have been abondoned by the late 3rd century. (2-10)

48 bone objects were discovered, mainly needles, pins and styli. Most of these came from 2nd century contexts although some were from the late 1st, 3rd and/or 4th centuries.(4)

Additional references (11-12)

Walls forming part of a villa of Roman date were visible as cropmarks in NMR 1661/363 16-JUL-1979. The visible features include part of the corn drier (Building 2); part of the north side of the enclosure wall; parts of the Bath House; much of the main villa (Building 1); and one eastern wall of the Corridor House (Building 4). These features were mapped as part of the Historic England Isle of Thanet project in 2024. The cropmark mapping, however, was not added to the spatial data of this record because the complete site is mapped from other sources (see above). (13)

<1> Not applicable, SMR Kent uncatalogued index entry, Kent Pilot Mapping Programme plot. (Miscellaneous Material). SKE6440.

<2> Emma Boast and Lee Cunningham, 2016, The Roman villa at Minster in Thanet. Part 10: The bone objects (Article in serial). SKE32062.

<3> Perkins, D., 1996, Researches and Discoveries in Kent: The Abbey Farm Villa Training Excavation Phase One (Article in serial). SKE8227.

<4> D.R.J Perkins, 2004, The Roman villa at Minster in Thanet. Part 1 Introduction and report on the bath-house (Article in serial). SKE51649.

<5> Holman DJ and Parfitt K, 2005, The Roman villa at Minster in Thanet. Part 2 The Iron Age, Roman and later coinage (Article in serial). SKE51650.

<6> K. Parfitt, 2006, The Roman villa at Minster in Thanet. Part 3 the corridor house, building 4 (Article in serial). SKE51651.

<7> K. Parfitt, 2007, The Roman villa at Minster in Thanet. Part 4 the south-west buildings 6A and 6B (Article in serial). SKE51652.

<8> K. Parfitt, E Boast and G Moody, 2009, The Roman villa at Minster in Thanet. Part 6 the villa enclosure buildings 2 and 5 (Article in serial). SKE51653.

<9> K. Parfitt, D. Perkins, E Boast and G Moody, 2008, The Roman villa at Minster in Thanet. Part 5 The main house building 1 (Article in serial). SKE51654.

<10> G. Moody, 2010, The Roman villa complex at Abbey Farm, Minster in Thanet. Part 7 Building 7, a late Roman kiln and post-built structures (Article in serial). SKE51655.

<11> Lyne, M., 2011, The Roman villa at Minster in Thanet. Part 8 The Pottery (Article in serial). SKE51656.

<12> Ruth Shaffrey, 2019, The Roman villa at Minster in Thanet, part 12: Quernstones and Millstones (Article in serial). SKE52167.

<13> Historic England Archive, 1920-2024, Historic England Archive Specialist oblique aerial photographs, NMR 1661/363 16-JUL-1979 (Archive). SKE57106.