Recent studies have tended to seek explanations for the peculiarities of Romano-British architecture in local tradition, but this book shows how Britain embraced and elaborated Hellenistic ideas and spatial forms. Roman houses were built to sustain power, and Roman architecture gained currency in Britain because of its relevance to new political structures erected in the wake of conquest.

Monografie over onderzoek naar Romeinse villa's en hun omgeving in de noordelijke provincies van het Romeinse Rijk.

Chedworth is one of the few Roman villas in Britain whose remains are open to the public, and this book seeks to explain what these remains mean. The fourth century in Britain was a "golden age" and at the time the Cotswolds were the richest area of Roman Britain. The wealthy owners of a villa such as Chedworth felt themselves part of an imperial Roman aristocracy. This is expressed at the villa in the layout of the buildings, rooms for receiving guests and for grand dining, the provision of baths, and the use of mosaics. The villa would also have housed the wife, family and household of the owner and been the center of an agricultural estate. It was rediscovered in the nineteenth century and part of Chedworth’s tale is the way in which it was viewed by a nineteenth-century Cotswold landowner, Lord Eldon, and then its current owners, the National Trust.

The Roman Villa in Britain (1969) is a comprehensive examination of Roman villas in Romano-Britain in a series of essays by six specialists. H.C. Bowen, well-known for his work on early field systems, examines the evidence for the native Celtic agriculture which was practised in pre-Roman Britain and continued to form the basis of the country’s economy after the conquest. The ground plans of the villas, and their implications, are discussed by Sir Ian Richmond, while David Smith considers the mosaic pavements, both as implications of the wealth of their owners and as evidence for the existence of distinct local schools of mosaicists; Joan Liversidge deals with internal decoration and furnishing. A.L.F. Rivet reflects on the social and economic implications of the changing fortunes of the villas, and Graham Webster discusses the future of villa studies from the standpoint of the modern excavator.

An illustrated history of the best Roman sites and artefacts to be found in Britain, for anyone wanting to discover the Roman past.

This volume offers a comprehensive survey of Roman villas in Italy and the Mediterranean provinces of the Roman Empire, from their origins to the collapse of the Empire. The architecture of villas could be humble or grand, and sometimes luxurious. Villas were most often farms where wine, olive oil, cereals, and manufactured goods, among other products, were produced. They were also venues for hospitality, conversation, and thinking on pagan, and ultimately Christian, themes. Villas spread as the Empire grew. Like towns and cities, they became the means of power and assimilation, just as infrastructure, such as aqueducts and bridges, was transforming the Mediterranean into a Roman sea. The distinctive Roman/Italian villa type was transferred to the provinces, resulting in Mediterranean-wide culture of rural dwelling and work that further unified the Empire.

Richly illustrated and clearly written, Culture and Society at Lullingstone Roman Villa articulates a thoughtful and original approach to this remarkable site. It presents extensive scholarly research in an accessible manner and is recommended reading for academics and enthusiasts alike.