Largest Roman villa is found

IN FAMILY: Sir Ranulph A METAL detectorist has uncovered one of the largest Roman villas ever discovered in Britain on land owned by explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ family.

A team of archaeologists unearthed the remains – almost the size of Buckingham Palace – following a four-month excavation.

The foundations, dating back to 99AD, lie beneath a field near Broughton Castle near Banbury, Oxon.

The land now belongs to Martin Fiennes, who is the second cousin of Ranulph and actor Ralph Fiennes.

A wealth of artefacts including coins, coffins and an enormous boar tusk were also found during the dig which was led by detectorist and historian Keith Westcott.

Mr Westcott, 55, decided to investigate after being told by farmer John Taylor that he had ploughed his tractor into a large stone in 1963.

The farmer had uncovered a sarcophagus of a high-status woman who had died in the third or fourth century.

At that point Mr Westcott knew that whatever ruins lay beneath the soil were of “unimaginable quality and significance.”

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