Sunday 1 September 2013

Roman remains

The valley has some quite ancient history.
I have put together some of my own pictures of North Leigh Roman Villa, with wiki images which help to give an indication of what the place would have looked like between 100 and 400 AD.

It will be possible to see inside the covered areas of the site on 15th September this month between 10.00 and 4.00. This is a rare opportunity not to be missed for history lovers.

If you can't go click on the link at the bottom to see the BBC animated version.
                                                                                           An open courtyard of a single story villa like, though ours may have been closed in for the colder climate ours.


 Looking down on the site from the hillside












The old Roman road of Akeman street runs across the valley below the villa.
http://streetmap.co.uk/place/Akeman_Street_Roman_Road_in_Oxfordshire_561611_331611.htm

The people who lived here at the time the villa was abandoned may have looked like this. http://www.lookandlearn.com/blog/14699/britannia-falls-prey-to-invaders-as-the-romans-abandon-her/

Angles and Saxons fought with Vikings for the next few hundred years. It has taken us till the twentieth century to re-discover central heating. I think the roman farmers may have been less barbaric too.



This gives a good idea of Roman under floor heating like they had in North Leigh


This is the covered mosaic floor. many of the rooms had mosaics like this, with under-floor heating.




This picture outside the site shows a rather grander two story villa, unlike our own.











http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-roman-villa-at-north-leigh-oxfordshire/5266.html