Low Ham Roman Villa
Encyclopedia
The Low Ham Roman Villa was a Roman
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...

 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 near Low Ham
Low Ham
Low Ham is a village in the civil parish of High Ham in the English county of Somerset.At the time of the Domesday Book Low Ham was part of the estate of Serlo de Burcy, and was later known as Ham Burcy and Nether Ham.-Roman Villa:...

 in the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of High Ham
High Ham
High Ham is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. Within the parish of High Ham are the villages of High Ham and Low Ham and the hamlets of Bowdens, Henley, Paradise and Picts Hill.-History:...

 in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

. It is best known for the extraordinary figured 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...

 depicting the story of Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...

 and Dido.

Discovery

The villa was discovered by a local farmer, Herbert Cook, in 1938, whilst digging a hole to bury a dead sheep. Protected from deep ploughing during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, it was excavated from 1946 to 1955 by H S L Dewar and C A Ralegh Radford
Ralegh Radford
Courtenay Arthur Ralegh Radford was an English archaeologist and historian who pioneered the exploration of the Dark Ages of Britain and popularized his findings in many official guides and surveys for the Office of Works...

.

Villa

The villa appears to have been constructed around AD 340 on a gentle slope facing north-east, only about a mile from other villas at High Ham
High Ham
High Ham is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. Within the parish of High Ham are the villages of High Ham and Low Ham and the hamlets of Bowdens, Henley, Paradise and Picts Hill.-History:...

 and Pitney
Pitney
Pitney is a village and parish in Somerset, England, located east of Langport and west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. In 2002, the village had a population of 416....

. Aerial photography
Aerial photography
Aerial photography is the taking of photographs of the ground from an elevated position. The term usually refers to images in which the camera is not supported by a ground-based structure. Cameras may be hand held or mounted, and photographs may be taken by a photographer, triggered remotely or...

 has shown that there are a number of farm buildings around a large courtyard, although the excavations concentrated on the residential west wing and bath house. The baths were particularly impressive. They featured the usual suite of rooms with a deep cold plunge bath and beautiful 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...

 floor along its approach.

Mosaic floor

The large 14 foot (4.3m) square mosaic depicts the story of Aeneas and Dido, as told in the 1st century BC by the Roman poet, Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...

. Like the villa, it dates to the mid-4th century. The Low Ham mosaic is unique in Roman Britain in providing a narrative story in five panels: Aeneas sailing to Carthage, Aeneas meeting Dido, the couple out hunting, the couple embrace and Dido left alone after Aeneas' departure. It is the earliest piece of narrative art in the country. It was lifted in 1953 and is now on display in the Somerset County Museum
Somerset County Museum
The Museum of Somerset is located in the 12th century great hall of Taunton Castle, in Taunton in the county of Somerset, England. The museum is run by Somerset County Council and includes objects initially collected by the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society who own the...

.
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