Bancroft Roman Villa

Villa

Site of a Roman villa of probable winged, corridor type partly excavated in 1973 when geometric mosaics were found was excavated throughout the next 15 years. A mosaic floor excavated from the Villa, was mounted on a wall overlooking Queens’ Court in Central Milton Keynes in September 1977.  The Villa at Bancroft is the most extensive excavated of the Roman settlements in Milton Keynes and the archaeological dig revealed an underfloor heating system with a limestone open hearth, a bath suite, colonnaded verandas and porch, an ornamental walled garden with fish pond and a summer house.

Several interesting Roman artefacts were uncovered including Samian tableware, a board made from decorated limestone for a board game, silver-bronze brooches for fastening a toga, decorated hair combs and 1,000 coins were found in and around the site. The outline of the Villa as it stands today shows the outline of the Villa and rooms which were found during the excavation of the 1970s and 1980s, MK Development Corporation decided to mark the Villa find this way to ensure future generations could appreciate the heritage underfoot.

Bancroft was one of eight large farming estates created 2,000 years ago in the city area, each centred around a Roman Villa – in Milton Keynes Village, Stantonbury, Wymbush, Walton, Dovecote Farm at Shenley Brook End, Bletchley’s Sherwood Drive and Holne Chase.

 

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