Llantwit Major Roman Villa
Encyclopedia
The Llantwit Major Roman Villa was a Roman
L-shaped courtyard villa
located at what is now Caermead, immediately north of the town of Llantwit Major
in the Welsh
county of South Glamorgan
.
The villa was first discovered in 1888 and was fully excavated between 1938 and 1948.
The site may have been first settled in the 1st century, but the first stone structure was not erected until a hundred years later. The site developed slowly and, it has been suggested, was even abandoned for a while during the 3rd century. By the 4th century, there was an L-shaped villa with fine mosaic
floors, a large aisled building possibly for farm workers and a number of smaller agricultural structures almost enclosing a central courtyard.
No evidence has been found to support the suggestion that the villa was somehow associated with Saint Illtud
who founded the church at Llantwit Major in the 6th century.
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
L-shaped courtyard villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
located at what is now Caermead, immediately north of the town of Llantwit Major
Llantwit Major
Llantwit Major is a small coastal town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the Bristol Channel coast. A small stream, the Afon Col-huw, runs through the town.-Local government:...
in the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
county of South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan is a preserved county of Wales.It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area...
.
The villa was first discovered in 1888 and was fully excavated between 1938 and 1948.
The site may have been first settled in the 1st century, but the first stone structure was not erected until a hundred years later. The site developed slowly and, it has been suggested, was even abandoned for a while during the 3rd century. By the 4th century, there was an L-shaped villa with fine mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
floors, a large aisled building possibly for farm workers and a number of smaller agricultural structures almost enclosing a central courtyard.
No evidence has been found to support the suggestion that the villa was somehow associated with Saint Illtud
Illtud
Illtyd , was a Welsh saint, founder and abbot of Llanilltud Fawr in the Welsh county of Glamorgan...
who founded the church at Llantwit Major in the 6th century.