A FARMHOUSE owner who was laying cables so his children could play table tennis in his barn has uncovered what is believed to be the largest Roman villa ever found in the U.K.

    Luke Irwin found the “elaborate and extraordinarily well-preserved” remains after unearthing a Roman mosaic at his home near the village of Tisbury in Wiltshire.

    He called in archaeological experts and an eight-day dig by Historic England and Salisbury Museum revealed the home of a wealthy family living in luxury in what could be one of the largest such villas in the country.

    Finds include oysters that were artificially cultivated and then carried live from the coast in barrels of salt water, indicating how rich the family was.

    The dig also turned up coins, brooches, bones of animals including a suckling pig, wild animals which had been hunted and a Roman well, while the experts identified a Roman child’s coffin which had been holding geraniums by Irwin’s kitchen.

    The villa — which is being compared to the Roman home at Chedworth, Gloucestershire, in size and wealth — was built sometime between 175 A.D. and 220 A.D. and was repeatedly remodeled up to the mid 4th century A.D.

    The dig also revealed occupation of the site dating back to a pre-Roman roundhouse.

    And archaeologists found evidence of 5th-century pottery and timber structures within the partly ruined villa, suggesting the presence of a Romano-British family who did not have the resources to live in the house but remained at the site.

    Of his discovery, Irwin said, “I was overwhelmed by the realization that someone’s lived on this site for 2,000 years.”

    Dr. David Roberts, Historic England archaeologist, said the find was very significant for a number of reasons.

    All large Roman villas found in the U.K. were important, he said, while this villa’s high state of preservation and the finds of material dating from the 5th century, a post-Roman but pre-Saxon period for the region, also made it significant.

    “This site has not been touched since its collapse 1,400 years ago and, as such, is of enormous importance. Without question, this is a hugely valuable site in terms of research, with incredible potential.

    “The discovery of such an elaborate and extraordinarily well-preserved villa, undamaged by agriculture for over 1,500 years, is unparalleled in recent years,” he said.

    (SD-Agencies)