Roman BritainAbbotts Ann
Roman Villa · Civilian

Abbotts Ann

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 79277
Site type
Villa
Category
Civilian
Latitude
51.1899
Longitude
-1.5313
Overview

History & context

Abbotts Ann is the site of a Romano-British villa in the Anna valley of north-west Hampshire, a few miles south-west of the small town of Andover. Like many villas in the chalk downland of central southern Britain, it appears to have been a modest rural establishment in occupation broadly between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD, set in good arable country on the southern fringe of the Salisbury Plain hinterland.

Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →

Significance

Historical significance

The villa lies within the territory of the Belgae (or possibly the Atrebates), in a landscape densely populated with villas and farmsteads supplying the nearby small town at East Anton (Leucomagus) and benefiting from proximity to the Portway road linking Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum) to Old Sarum (Sorviodunum). It is one of a cluster of villas in the Test and Anna valleys that illustrate the prosperous estate economy of late Roman Hampshire.

Archaeology

Archaeological record

A tessellated pavement and other building remains were recorded at Abbotts Ann in the 19th century, including fragmentary mosaic work indicative of a residence of some pretension, but the site has not been the subject of modern systematic excavation. Detail on plan, range and date sequence is consequently limited, and most knowledge derives from antiquarian observation and surface finds rather than stratified contexts.

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Abbotts Ann?

Abbotts Ann is the site of a Romano-British villa in the Anna valley of north-west Hampshire, a few miles south-west of the small town of Andover. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a villa site from the Roman period in Britain.

What type of Roman site is Abbotts Ann?

Abbotts Ann is classified as a Roman villa — a civilian site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.

What other Roman sites are near Abbotts Ann?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Thruxton (4.3 km), Roman villa 500yds (460m) SW of Clanville House (5.6 km), *Leucomagus (5.8 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.

How can I research the history of the area around Abbotts Ann?

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