Wow! ‘World first’ Roman ruins revealed
Ancient remains discovered beneath Eastfield building site
Archaeologists have made one of the most stunning Roman finds ever unearthed in Britain on the site of a new housing development in Scarborough. An excavation was carried out at the Keepmoat Homes site in Eastfield after Historic England suggested there was the potential for Roman or Iron Age remains to be found there – but the extent and significance of the discovery has astonished those working on the dig.
A large complex of buildings was revealed, including a circular central room with a number of other rooms and a bathhouse leading from it. Experts believe they are the foundations of a ‘high-status’ Roman villa, some sort of religious community or perhaps a combination of both.
This type of villa layout has never previously been found in Britain and it could even be the first example to be uncovered in the whole of the old Roman Empire.
Developers Keepmoat have now amended their plans for the site to preserve the remains, and houses will no longer be built over them. The area will instead be designated as public open space.
Historic England also intend to apply for Scheduled Ancient Monument status for the site, and will fund further archaeological work and analysis.
Inspector of ancient monuments Keith Emerick said: “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. We are grateful to Keepmoat Homes for their sensitive and professional approach to helping ensure the future conservation of this important historical site.”
Mr Emerick believes that the dig, alongside other projects elsewhere in Yorkshire, could eventually help “fill in the spaces” in historians’ knowledge of Roman activity between York and the “frontier” at Hadrian’s Wall, including on subjects such as agriculture and use of the coast for trade and travel. Experts are currently debating several different theories relating to the Eastfield villa’s origins and uses, and further research will be undertaken in the coming months.
The discovery was made in early 2020 before lockdown halted work by consultancy MAP Archaeology, who were initially contracted by Keepmoat before Historic England were told of the building’s significance.
A geophysical survey had struggled to identify the extent of the ruins as the local geology is similar to the stonework, so although archaeologists knew there was something below ground, they did not predict what they would eventually unearth.
“The building is a very unusual shape – circular in plan with rooms coming off the centre. It’s not something we’ve seen before. We’ve spoken to Roman experts such as Martin Millett from the University of Cambridge who have worked on digs all over Europe, and they haven’t seen anything like it. It had central heating, and there are round and aisled buildings around it. Underneath we believe was a traditional villa that was later built on and possibly even a timber villa which was a precursor,” said Mr Emerick.
“We are struggling to find parallels. It seems to have functioned a bit like a stately home, as the stonework is of the highest quality and its use perhaps changed over time. We said it’s a bit like a Roman version of Swinton Castle, near Masham – a spa and a gentlemen’s club! But our theories may change once we learn more.”
Items including pottery have also been found, and the lack of scattered debris suggests that the building was deliberately dismantled at the end of its operational life, possibly coinciding with the Romans’ departure from Britain.
Although the later Romans operated signal stations along the headland to deter invaders and the area west of Eastfield in the Vale of Pickering is “stuffed” with prehistoric and ancient archaeology, there have been fewer finds from the era made in Scarborough and Mr Emerick says the coastal region is somewhat of an unknown quantity.
“We know a lot about Roman York and Chester, and the frontier at Hadrian’s Wall, but the space in between is a bit of a mystery. We are starting to learn more about this area – we now know that Aldborough, near Boroughbridge, was an important town, the Manchester or Newcastle of its day, and that it may have had a quayside on the Ure, which was navigable.
“The Highways England improvement works on the A1 to Scotch Corner uncovered a lot of Roman material, and there is a dig at Old
Malton ongoing.”
Other theories are that the site could have been some sort of religious shrine or sanctuary, or even the hub of a ‘super farm’ standing between the rich agricultural land in the Vale and the Wolds.
Yet once work is complete, the villa will once again vanish beneath the soil.
“We would like visitors to be able to come and see it on a monitored basis once Covid restrictions are lifted, but the core building will then be reburied. The developer will designate the area as green space, but exposed stonework decays quite quickly, and there is the question of who funds its maintenance. The most efficient option is to record, conserve and then rebury it.”