Lullingstone Roman villa
Encyclopedia
Lullingstone Roman Villa is a villa
built during the Roman occupation of Britain
, situated near the village of Eynsford
in Kent
, south eastern England.
It is unknown which family lived in the villa and owned the large estate that would have surrounded it, though they would have had to be wealthy. They may have been Roman, though they could also have been native Britons
who had adopted Roman customs
.
Lullingstone Roman Villa is particularly notable for being the site of one of the earliest known Christian
chapels in the country.
The villa is located in the Darent Valley
, along with six others, including those at Crofton
, Crayford
and Dartford
.
, by which travellers could move to and fro from Londinium
to Durobrivae, Durovernum Cantiacorum
and Rutupiæ.
floor with one illustration of Zeus
, disguised as a bull, abducting Europa
and a second depicting Bellerophon
killing the Chimera. Finds include two Greco-Roman marble
heads, now in the British Museum
, portraying either the villa owners, their ancestors, or the then Roman Emperor
Pertinax
and his father.
, who opened the ruins to the public. The building began to leak late in the 20th century and required a major £1.8m renovation and redisplay project in 2006-08 to make it safe to display fragile objects from the site in it.
, was situated in the centre of the main building, and was highly decorated with a pair of large mosaics on the floor dating to the mid-4th century. One depicts the abduction of the princess Europa
by the god Jupiter
who is disguised as a bull, whilst the other depicts Bellerophon
slaying the Chimaera
, whilst surrounded by four sea creatures. Surrounding these mosaics were smaller images depicting heart
s, crosses and swastika
s.
One room of the building had been used as both a pagan
shrine, and, later, as a Christian chapel, one of the earliest in Britain.
The original pagan shrine room was dedicated to local water deities, and a wall painting depicting three water nymphs dating from this period can still be seen in a niche in the room. Just after the 3rd century, this niche had been covered over, as the whole room had been redecorated with white plaster painted with red bands
, and two busts of male figures had been placed in the room. Some scholars have theorised that at this point the inhabitants focused their worship on household deities and ancestor spirits, largely abandoning the worship of the water deities.
In the 4th century the room above the pagan shrine was apparently converted to Christian
use, with painted plaster on the walls, including a row of figures of standing worship
ers, (orans
), and a characteristic Christian Chi-rho
symbol. Some of the paintings are now on display in the British Museum
.
ic temple
-mausoleum complex was constructed around 300 AD to hold the bodies of two young people, those of a male and a female. Although one of the lead coffins was robbed
in antiquity, one still remained in situ
with grave-goods, was found to be undisturbed when excavated, and is now on display at the site.
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...
built during the Roman occupation of Britain
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...
, situated near the village of Eynsford
Eynsford
Eynsford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located on the River Darent, south of Dartford in Kent.-The village:...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, south eastern England.
It is unknown which family lived in the villa and owned the large estate that would have surrounded it, though they would have had to be wealthy. They may have been Roman, though they could also have been native Britons
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
who had adopted Roman customs
Romano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
.
Lullingstone Roman Villa is particularly notable for being the site of one of the earliest known Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
chapels in the country.
The villa is located in the Darent Valley
River Darent
The River Darent or River Darenth is a Kentish tributary of the River Thames in England. Its name is believed to be from a Celtic word meaning 'river where oak-trees grow'...
, along with six others, including those at Crofton
Crofton Roman Villa
Crofton Roman Villa in Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley, is a Roman villa which was inhabited between approximately 140 and 400 AD. It was the centre of a farming estate of about 500 acres , with farm buildings nearby, surrounded by fields, meadows and woods...
, Crayford
Crayford
Crayford is a town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bexley that was an important bridging point in Roman times across the River Cray, a tributary of the River Darent, which is itself a tributary of the River Thames.-History:...
and Dartford
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, east south-east of central London....
.
Construction
The earliest stage of the villa was built around 82 AD. It was situated in an area near to several other villas, and was close to Watling StreetWatling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
, by which travellers could move to and fro from Londinium
Londinium
The city of London was established by the Romans around AD 43. It served as a major imperial commercial centre until its abandonment during the 5th century.-Origins and language:...
to Durobrivae, Durovernum Cantiacorum
Durovernum Cantiacorum
Durovernum Cantiacorum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Canterbury, located in the English county of Kent. It occupied a strategic location on Watling Street, at the convergence of the roads coming from the rest of the Roman Empire via the ports of Dubris ,...
and Rutupiæ.
Enlargement
Around AD 150 some important officials seem to have lived here, indicated by two marbles busts dating to about that period and perhaps showing the owners of the villa. A heated bath block was added and in the Fourth Century the dining room was equipped with a fine mosaicMosaic
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 with one illustration of Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
, disguised as a bull, abducting Europa
Europa (mythology)
In Greek mythology Europa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. The name Europa occurs in Hesiod's long list of daughters of primordial Oceanus and Tethys...
and a second depicting Bellerophon
Bellerophon
Bellerophon or Bellerophontes is a hero of Greek mythology. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside of Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles", and his greatest feat was killing the Chimera, a monster that Homer depicted with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a...
killing the Chimera. Finds include two Greco-Roman marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
heads, now in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, portraying either the villa owners, their ancestors, or the then Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Pertinax
Pertinax
Pertinax , was Roman Emperor for three months in 193. He is known as the first emperor of the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. A high ranking military and Senatorial figure, he tried to restore discipline in the Praetorian Guards, whereupon they rebelled and killed him...
and his father.
Destruction
Sometime early in the 5th century a fire destroyed the building, and it was abandoned and forgotten until its rediscovery in the 20th Century.Excavation
The ruins were first discovered in 1939 when a blown-down tree revealed scattered mosaic fragments. The villa was excavated in the period 1949–61 by archaeologists, and the ruins themselves were preserved under a specially-built building in the 1960s, when it was taken over by English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
, who opened the ruins to the public. The building began to leak late in the 20th century and required a major £1.8m renovation and redisplay project in 2006-08 to make it safe to display fragile objects from the site in it.
Rooms
Dining Room
The dining room, or tricliniumTriclinium
A triclinium is a formal dining room in a Roman building. The word is adopted from the Greek τρικλίνιον, triklinion, from τρι-, tri-, "three", and κλίνη, klinē, a sort of "couch" or rather chaise longue...
, was situated in the centre of the main building, and was highly decorated with a pair of large mosaics on the floor dating to the mid-4th century. One depicts the abduction of the princess Europa
Europa (mythology)
In Greek mythology Europa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. The name Europa occurs in Hesiod's long list of daughters of primordial Oceanus and Tethys...
by the god Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
who is disguised as a bull, whilst the other depicts Bellerophon
Bellerophon
Bellerophon or Bellerophontes is a hero of Greek mythology. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside of Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles", and his greatest feat was killing the Chimera, a monster that Homer depicted with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a...
slaying the Chimaera
Chimaera
Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes, known informally as ghost sharks, ratfish , spookfish , or rabbitfishes...
, whilst surrounded by four sea creatures. Surrounding these mosaics were smaller images depicting heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
s, crosses and swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
s.
Pagan shrine & Christian chapel
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
shrine, and, later, as a Christian chapel, one of the earliest in Britain.
The original pagan shrine room was dedicated to local water deities, and a wall painting depicting three water nymphs dating from this period can still be seen in a niche in the room. Just after the 3rd century, this niche had been covered over, as the whole room had been redecorated with white plaster painted with red bands
, and two busts of male figures had been placed in the room. Some scholars have theorised that at this point the inhabitants focused their worship on household deities and ancestor spirits, largely abandoning the worship of the water deities.
In the 4th century the room above the pagan shrine was apparently converted to Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
use, with painted plaster on the walls, including a row of figures of standing worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
ers, (orans
Orans
Orans , is a figure with extended arms or bodily attitude of prayer, usually standing, with the elbows close to the sides of the body and with the hands outstretched sideways, palms up....
), and a characteristic Christian Chi-rho
Labarum
The labarum was a vexillum that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" — Chi and Rho . It was used by the Roman emperor Constantine I...
symbol. Some of the paintings are now on display in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
Graves
A Romano-CeltCelt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
-mausoleum complex was constructed around 300 AD to hold the bodies of two young people, those of a male and a female. Although one of the lead coffins was robbed
Grave robbing
Grave robbery, grave robbing, or tomb raiding is the act of uncovering a tomb or crypt to steal artifacts or personal effects. Someone who engages in this act is a grave robber or tomb raider...
in antiquity, one still remained in situ
In situ
In situ is a Latin phrase which translated literally as 'In position'. It is used in many different contexts.-Aerospace:In the aerospace industry, equipment on board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may...
with grave-goods, was found to be undisturbed when excavated, and is now on display at the site.