The Withington villa, located in the Coln valley of the Cotswolds, was a substantial Romano-British country house active from at least the 2nd century into the 4th century AD. It is best known for its high-quality mosaic pavements, including one depicting Orpheus charming the beasts and another with marine scenes featuring Neptune or Oceanus, indicating a wealthy proprietor with tastes typical of the prosperous late Roman Cotswold elite.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Withington belongs to the dense concentration of villas in the territory of the Dobunni around Cirencester (Corinium Dobunnorum), the second-largest civitas capital in Britain, and it reflects the agricultural wealth — likely based on sheep and arable farming — that supported elaborate 4th-century residential display in this region. Its Orpheus mosaic links it stylistically to the so-called "Corinian School" of mosaicists responsible for similar pavements at Woodchester, Barton Farm, and Chedworth.
The villa was discovered in 1811 when the Orpheus and Neptune mosaics were lifted and subsequently acquired by the British Museum, where the Neptune pavement remains; Samuel Lysons published engravings shortly afterwards. No modern open-area excavation has been undertaken, so the overall plan, ancillary buildings (including features recorded at Manor Court Field), and chronology remain poorly understood beyond what antiquarian rec
The Withington villa, located in the Coln valley of the Cotswolds, was a substantial Romano-British country house active from at least the 2nd century into the 4th century AD. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a villa site from the Roman period in Britain.
Romano-British villa at Withington, Romano-British building at Manor Court Field and associated features 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 Withington (0.7 km), Round barrow N of Chedworth Roman villa (2.1 km), Compton Abdale Roman villa (2.1 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 Romano-British villa at Withington, Romano-British building at Manor Court Field and associated features