The Roman wonder beneath a Scarborough housing estate
Find could be most important for a decade
DEVELOPERS who had been hoping to build a housing estate found someone had got there first – the Romans.
Remains of a 1,700-year-old ‘stately home’ were unearthed as work was due to begin on the site near Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
While it was bad news for the developers, archaeologists were cock-ahoop at a find described as unique and the most important Roman discovery in the UK for a decade.
The area was occupied by the Romans around the fourth century AD to deter Saxon and German raids. They finally left Britain in AD410.
Developer Keepmoat Homes employed experts to carry out a dig at the site in Eastfield in case it contained any Roman or Iron Age artefacts.
The archaeologists discovered a largescale complex believed to be a ‘ high status luxury Roman villa’ or religious sanctuary. It covers an area the size of two tennis courts and includes a circular central room, with several rooms leading off it, as well as a bath house. The remains show the buildings were of the ‘highest quality’, archaeologists said.
Historic England, which has overseen the dig, said: ‘This type of building layout has never been seen before in Britain and could even be the first of its kind to be discovered within the whole former Roman Empire.’
It is expected to recommend that the site is protected as an important monument and will fund additional archaeological work there. Its inspector of ancient monuments Keith Emerick said it was ‘one of the most important Roman discoveries in the past decade... easily’.
He added: ‘ These archaeological remains are a fantastic find and are far more than we ever dreamed of discovering at this site. They are already giving us a better knowledge and understanding of Roman Britain.’
The remains will be covered to protect them and the area turned into a public open space, with the housing estate redesigned around them. Keepmoat regional managing director Dan Crew said: ‘It’s a positive. It probably sets this site apart from other new builds in the area... to know it has that historic element.’