The Westcountry was a hugely important part of Roman Britain. Towards the end of the Roman period, it was part of the 'Britannia Prima' province. Traditionally, the end of Roman Britain is said to be 410 AD, when the province was told to look to its own defences. However, the Roman way of life would have been important to many people for years afterwards. Perhaps the end of this era is truly signalled by the Battle of Deorham (Dyrham) in 577 AD when three British kings were killed by the Saxons and Bath, Cirencester and Gloucester fell to the invaders. Indeed more recent research indicates that the battle may have been made up to justify later land holding, a better date may be late in the 7th century.
The Roman villa at Badminton
Surveys and excavations in 2003 uncovered the presence of a large Roman building. Within the excavated room was a large and near-complete mosaic, probably dating from 360-380 AD.
In 2003, a geophysical survey on the Badminton Estate revealed traces of a substantial structure. Test-pitting soon revealed that this was, in fact, a large Roman building. What was of great significance was that the room that was excavated held a magnificent mosaic dating from around c.340-360 AD. It is composed of geometric designs with debased swastikas, a guilloche, checkerboard and floral motifs.
The apse-ended room was only part of the building which may well hold large other elements of fine Roman architecture. The excavated room held large quantities of colourful painted wall plaster along with the carved stones of an arch.
The mosaic has now been re-covered to preserve it for future generations – if left exposed to the elements, this fine pavement would soon crumble and decay.
The Thornbury coin hoard
A hoard of late Roman bronze coins, perhaps the largest such collection ever recovered in Britain were found in Thornbury in 2004. The coins, thought to be about 15,000 – 20,000 in number were in a pot found by a man digging a fishpond in his back garden.
Prior to the discovery of this hoard, in addition to several clusters of Roman pottery finds, the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) of South Gloucestershire Council held information on a total of five coins from the parish of Thornbury. These include a coin of Claudius found on the site of the Railway Station (PRN 1473) where three others were later located (PRN 10583) and an early coin at Thornbury Park Lodge (PRN 1574). This is not the first coin hoard from South Gloucestershire - other broadly contemporary collections have been found at Dodington, Filton, Stoke Gifford and Kingswood, but it should prove to be both the best recorded and also the largest.
For more information on the hoard follow the link under read me