By Harold Brakspear, F.S.A. 



241 



the men and securing every feature of interest as brought to light 

 that the success of the undertaking is due. 



The villa was situated on the side of a hill, sloping north, over- 

 looking the valley of Box brook, to the east and north of the 

 parish church. 



The high ground is still full of a number of very strong springs, 

 which doubtless influenced the choice of the spot for habitation by 

 the Komans. The springs coming from the limestone rock had 

 from time immemorial deposited masses of tufa down the slope 

 upon which the villa was built, and this tufa was used largely for 

 foundation of the floors and hypocausts. Whether the springs 

 were collected into a reservoir before serving the villa is im- 

 possible to say, but the surplus water was carried away through 

 deep culverts. 



So great was the body of water from these springs that throughout 

 the middle ages it was sufficient to drive a mill belonging to 

 Monkton Farleigh Priory. The dam of this mill was formed upon 

 the site of the court of the villa, possibly being merely an enlarge- 

 ment of an impluvmm, and yet remains as a pond. The mill was 

 still in use to tlie end of the eighteenth century, and the mill 

 house is now incorporated in that of " The Wilderness." The 

 writer of the article in the Gentleman s Magazine for 1831, already 

 quoted, says "little remains of the mill are now visible here, 

 excepting the place of the over-shot wheel and the circumstance 

 that very many old-fashioned millstones are to be seen in the 

 pavements about the premises." 



The plan of the site shows the position of the villa with respect 

 to the modern boundaries and buildings at present existing. 



The recent excavations were principally confined to plot A, and 

 embraced the whole of the north-east portions of the building. 

 Some small parts were traced outside that ground on the north 

 (plot E), and in the Yicarage garden (plot B) on the east. Un- 

 fortunately it was not possible to complete the excavations in 

 the Vicarage garden to the outside walls. The excavations were 

 also continued along the west side of plot D, but beyond a 

 small fragment in the extreme north angle nothing was found, 



