The Pulborough villa lies in the Arun valley of West Sussex, in a region densely settled with Romano-British villas during the 2nd to 4th centuries AD. It is best known for an exceptional series of polychrome mosaic pavements, suggesting a substantial and prosperous residence rather than a simple farmstead, occupied through the later Roman period.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The site sits within the productive agricultural hinterland of Chichester (Noviomagus Reginorum) and along routes connecting Stane Street, the major Roman road from Chichester to London which passes through Pulborough. Its high-quality mosaics place it among the better-appointed villas of the Sussex Weald-edge group, alongside Bignor and Angmering.
Mosaic fragments and structural remains have been recorded from Pulborough since the 19th century, including geometric and figured pavements held in museum collections, but the villa has not been systematically excavated on a modern scientific basis, so its full plan, phasing and economic basis remain poorly understood.
The Pulborough villa lies in the Arun valley of West Sussex, in a region densely settled with Romano-British villas during the 2nd to 4th centuries AD. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a villa site from the Roman period in Britain.
Pulborough 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.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Roman barrow at Broomershill, 200m south east of Brocks Rew Farm (1.1 km), Lickfold (1.3 km), Romano-British villa at Borough Farm (1.9 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in Britain — drawing on Roman heritage, Domesday records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.
Research the area around Pulborough