Roman BritainDalton Parlours Roman villa and Iron Age settlement
Roman Villa · Civilian

Dalton Parlours Roman villa and Iron Age settlement

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: nhle-15716
Site type
Villa
Category
Civilian
Latitude
53.8962
Longitude
-1.3884
Overview

History & context

Dalton Parlours, near Collingham in West Yorkshire, was a substantial Romano-British villa established in the later 2nd century AD on the site of an earlier Iron Age settlement of roundhouses and enclosures. The villa complex developed through the 3rd century and reached its fullest form in the 4th century, comprising a winged-corridor main house, agricultural buildings, a bathhouse, and an octagonal well-house, before being abandoned by the early 5th century.

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

Significance

Historical significance

It is one of the most northerly fully developed villas in Roman Britain, lying north of the conventional "villa belt" and within the territory of the Brigantes, suggesting a prosperous estate possibly supplying the legionary fortress at York (Eboracum) some 15 km to the east. Its scale and the quality of its mosaics indicate a wealthy proprietor operating in a region where villa-style estates were relatively uncommon.

Archaeology

Archaeological record

Excavated extensively in 1976–79 ahead of quarrying (published by Wrathmell and Nicholson, 1990), the site produced a fine polychrome Medusa-head mosaic, painted wall plaster, hypocaust remains, evidence for crop processing and livestock, and continuity from Iron Age ditched enclosures and roundhouses beneath the Roman phases. Finds of querns, corn-drying ovens, and

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Dalton Parlours Roman villa and Iron Age settlement?

Dalton Parlours, near Collingham in West Yorkshire, was a substantial Romano-British villa established in the later 2nd century AD on the site of an earlier Iron Age settlement of roundhouses and enclosures. 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 Dalton Parlours Roman villa and Iron Age settlement?

Dalton Parlours Roman villa and Iron Age settlement 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 Dalton Parlours Roman villa and Iron Age settlement?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Dalton Parlours (1.6 km), Two Roman forts, two Roman camps, vicus, Iron Age enclosure, Bronze Age barrows and Neolithic henge monument west of Newton Kyme (5.4 km), Newton Kyme (5.4 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 Dalton Parlours Roman villa and Iron Age settlement?

Aubrey Research generates detailed historical reports for any location in Britain, incorporating Roman heritage, Domesday Book records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and much more. Enter a nearby address to begin.

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