| Bancroft Roman Villa | |
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Site of Bancroft Roman Villa
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| General information | |
| Location | Bancroft grid reference SP827403 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 52°03′24″N 0°47′53″W / 52.05675°N 0.79817°W / 52.05675; -0.79817 |
| Construction started | 1st century |
| Demolished | 5th century |
Bancroft Roman Villa is a Roman villa in the Bancroft district of Milton KeynesinBuckinghamshire, England. Originally a winged-corridor house, the villa eventually became a grand building with mosaics and a formal garden. The principal rooms have been marked out in Bancroft Park and the fish-pond has been reconstructed. One of the mosaics is on display in Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre.
The first farmhouse was constructed in the late 1st century,[1] located downhill from where there had previously been an Iron-Age settlement.[2] In the 2nd century a temple or mausoleum was constructed on the hilltop. Around 170 AD the farmstead was destroyed by fire,[1] but by the late 3rd century it had been replaced by a larger house.[3] In the 4th century major renovations were undertaken.[4] Geometric mosaics were added to many rooms and the main bath-suite was rebuilt and enlarged.[5] In front of the villa a formal garden was laid out together with an ornamental fish-pond.[5] On the top of the hill, the mausoleum was demolished and a circular shrine was built nearby.[4]
The villa was partially excavated in the 1970s, and then more fully in 1983-7, becoming one of the most extensively excavated Roman villas in Britain.[5] The villa has since been reburied to ensure its preservation, but the principal rooms have been marked out on the ground with modern stonework and the fish-pond has been reconstructed.[5] The mosaics were removed from the site and one was prominently displayed in Queen's Court, CMK Shopping Centre.[6] Due to 'redevelopment' of Queen's Court, the mosaic was remounted subsequently in the "guest services lounge" of the centre.[7]
