HAMBLEDEN
Buckinghamshire, England.
Roman villa between Henley and Marlow, 360 m from
the N bank of the Thames, discovered in 1911 and excavated 1911-12. The remains included a dwelling of
H-shaped plan (28.8 x 24.6 m in its developed form)
with corridors to front and rear and incorporating baths.
In front of this was a trapezoidal yard (135 x 60 m).
On either side of the yard were two buildings, evidently
of aisled construction: one (22.5 x 12 m) built against
the yard wall on the N; the other (26.4 x 13.5 m) some
meters in from the wall on the S. A small building, possibly a shrine, lay NE of the house and between it and
the N aisled building.
The skeletons of three adults and two children were
found in a pit near the N building and 97 infant burials
at various places in the yard. The pottery and coins
(over 800 examples) ranged from the 1st to the late 4th
c., but although modifications to the buildings were
noted, no coherent scheme of development was suggested. It is, however, probable that the dwelling began
as a simple rectangular building (19.5 x 6.6 m) similar
to those at Lockleys and Park Street and that the corridors and baths were later additions. The villa was not
luxurious and a notable feature was the presence of some
14 corn-driers, some built into the aisled buildings, others both inside and outside the yard. The animal bones
indicate that stock raising was also important.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. H. Cocks,
Archaeologia 71 (1920-21) 141-98
PI; R. G. Collingwood & I. A. Richmond,
The Archaeology of Roman Britain2 (1969) 135, 138-39.
A.L.F. RIVET
