Rural Villa in Darenth

Province

Britannia

Province Description

Location

Darenth
Darenth (Pleiades)

Garden

Rural Villa in Darenth

Keywords

Garden Description

Excavations at this site of a Roman villa in Kent uncovered a large rectangular masonry pool in the courtyard, which was enclosed by buildings on the north, west, and east (Fig. 1). The villa buildings took up an area of 150 x 225 meters in total, including the courtyard with a width of 26.5 meters. Occupation at the site began after A.D. 100 and continued until the closing decades of the 4th century.

This pool (P in Fig. 1), measuring 25.6 x 3.36 meters, lay at right angles to the center of the main residence and bisected an enclosed courtyard, possibly a garden (G in Fig. 1) in front of the house. The pool would have been a decorative element in the courtyard. Within the pool at the end nearest the house was found a small bronze water-spout in the form of the head of a lioness. At the other end was a semi-circular pool with provision for the inflow and outflow of water.

South of the western range of rooms was a large, open space measuring 14.6 x 58.4 meters, enclosed by walls. There was no paving in this area, nor was there any evidence for partitions. It has been suggested that this might have been a kitchen garden (G in Fig. 1).

Plans

Fig. 1: Plan of the villa with the main house (A), garden areas (G), and a large pool (P). Adapted from Detsicas 1983, fig. 20.

Dates

ca. 100 CE - late 4th century CE

Bibliography

A. Detsicas, The Cantiaci, Gloucester, 1983, pp. 103-107, fig. 20. (worldcat)
B. Philp, Excavations in the Darent Valley, Kent, Gloucester, 1984, pp. 89-92, figs. 24, 33. (worldcat)

Publication date

21 Apr 2021