Wymondley Roman Villa
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Wymondley Roman Villa is a Roman site, which has often been described as a Roman villa, near Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. It is also known as Ninesprings Roman Villa. Recent archaeology interpreted the ruins as a bathhouse connected to a complex of ritual buildings and not a villa.[1]
It is situated in the valley of the River Purwell, where the river forms a boundary between the outskirts of Hitchin and the largely rural parish of Great Wymondley.[2][3] In Roman times, as now, the site would have been above a wetland. This natural feature is protected as the Purwell Ninesprings nature reserve.
The site was partly excavated in 1884,[4] revealing the remains of several rooms. Three of the rooms were heated by hypocaust. Such heating systems were often used for residential accommodation, and the remains have traditionally been described as a villa. However, Historic England has referred to the scope for further investigation,[2] pointing out deficiencies in what was known about the site. It has been posited that the 19th-century investigation revealed the integral bath suite of a villa, or alternatively a separate bathhouse.[5]
Studies of the site were conducted in 2021 and 2022 by North Hertfordshire Museum, a second and possibly a third building were located on the site. Fieldwalking revealed little evidence of domestic occupation, and there has been speculation that the site had ritual purposes and that the buildings included a nymphaeum.[6]
The site, which is now under farmland, can be accessed via the Hitchin outer orbital path (HOOP).[7]
Finds
Finds at the site include Roman mosaic,[8] and Roman currency including a coin hoard, believed to have been deposited in the 3rd century,[9] which consisted of radiates.[10] On the evidence of coins found at the site, the building complex may have been established shortly after 200 with occupation continuing until the 4th century.[4]