Output details

Chedworth Life in a Roman Villa

This book unites two strands of original research by the author. The site at Chedworth has never since its uncovering in 1864 been the subject of comprehensive analysis of the surviving fabric, records and other material. The author has examined the standing fabric, the decorative elements and the available material culture; all printed material such as C19 and C20 guidebooks, interim publications from 1864-1965; together with unpublished material such as excavation and specialist reports in draft form of more recent date, along with correspondence and other materials held in the archives of the National Trust. The results are incorporated in this output, forming the first comprehensive statement of what can be reconstructed of the overall history of the villa in the Roman period. In addition, the output traces the evolution of the conservation of and modifications to the villa fabric since 1864, particularly since 1924 when the site passed to the National Trust and how these related to the evolving presentation of the site over the same period.

In addition, the interpretations of Chedworth within the framework of late Roman aristocratic culture and social behaviour draw on the author’s wider research on such topics in the later Roman Western Provinces. This is particularly the case for the analysis of evidence from the site in terms of activities such as hunting (not before recognised as a significant activity at the site), bathing and dining, along with religious history and the evidence for the inhabitants of the villa. The output combines these areas of research to present a history of the villa in the Roman period, an explanation of its form and decoration in terms of late Roman aristocratic culture and a consideration of modern responses to the Roman monument.