Editing Lullingstone Roman Villa (section)

==History==
[[File:Lullingstone AD 400.svg|thumb|left|Layout, around AD 400]]

===Construction===
The earliest part of the villa was built around 82 AD. It was situated in an area near to several other villas, and was close to [[Watling Street]], a [[Roman road]] by which travellers could move to and from [[Londinium]], [[Rochester, Kent#Roman|Durobrivae]], [[Durovernum Cantiacorum]], and the major Roman port of [[Rutupiæ]] (i.e., [[London]], [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]], [[Canterbury, Kent|Canterbury]], and [[Richborough]], respectively).<ref>''Lullingstone Roman Villa'', Michael Fulford, page 18</ref>

===Enlargement===
Around 150 AD the villa was expanded and a heated bath block with [[hypocaust]] was added, but it was later rebuilt around 290 AD after being abandoned for almost a century.'''<ref name=":65">{{Cite journal|last=Painter|first=K. S.|date=1969|title=The Lullingstone Wall-Plaster: An Aspect of Christianity in Roman Britain|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4423032|journal=[[British Museum Quarterly|The British Museum Quarterly]]|volume=33|issue=3/4 |pages=131–150|doi=10.2307/4423032 |jstor=4423032 }}</ref>''' Two marble busts from the 2nd century found in the cellar perhaps depict the owners or residents of the villa, which may have been the designated country retreat of the provincial governors. There is some evidence that the busts are those of [[Pertinax]], governor of Britannia in 185–186 (and later Roman emperor in 193), and his father.<ref>[https://archive.today/20070308194055/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,61-2292526.html Times article, 30 July 2006]</ref>

In the 3rd century, a larger furnace for the hypocaust as well as an expanded bath block were added, as were a temple-mausoleum and a large [[granary]]. In the 4th century, the dining room was equipped with a fine [[mosaic]] floor with one illustration of [[Zeus]] or [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], disguised as a bull, abducting [[Europa (mythology)|Europa]] and a second depicting [[Bellerophon]] killing the [[Chimera (creature)|Chimera]].<ref>[http://www.asprom.org/resources/Lullingstone/LullingstoneHenig.html Article on the Lullingstone mosaics]</ref>

[[File:2008-08-25-01 GreatBritain Lullingstone.jpg|thumb|right|Model of the Roman Villa]]

===Destruction and rediscovery===
Sometime early in the 5th century, a fire destroyed the building, and it was abandoned and forgotten until its excavation in the 20th century.<ref name=":0"/>

The first discovery of the site was made in 1750, when workers fencing a deer park dug post holes through a mosaic floor.<ref name=EH>[http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/lullingstone-roman-villa/history-and-research/history/ "History of Lullingstone Roman Villa,"] English Heritage, accessed 15 June 2012.</ref> While the discovery and some additional evidence was noted, no further excavation took place.<ref name=EH/>
[[File:Exterior of Lullingston Roman Villa.jpg|thumb|Exterior building of the Lullingstone Roman Villa built in the 20th century.]]
It wasn't until 1939 that the ruins of the villa were rediscovered by E. Greensfield and E. Birchenough when they noticed evidence of Roman walls and mosaic fragments beneath a blown-down tree.<ref name=":33" /> In the mid-20th century (1949–1961) the site was finally excavated by multiple teams of [[archaeologists]]. Until this first excavation, the villa and the rest of the Lullingstone ruins had remained untouched since its destruction. The ruins themselves were preserved under a specially designed cover in the 1960s, when the villa was taken over by [[English Heritage]], who opened the ruins to the public. The building began to leak late in the 20th century and required a major £1.8m renovation and display project in 2006 to 2008 so artefacts from the Lullingstone site could be safely displayed within it.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Maev|last= Kennedy|url= https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/jul/24/heritage.museums |title= New light thrown on Roman villa remains |date=24 July 2008|access-date= 24 July 2008|location= London|work= The Guardian}}</ref>

In his excavation reports, Lieutenant-Colonel G. W. Meates covers the initial excavation of the site, including the discovery of the boundaries of the villa, coin and pottery evidence, and various rooms that were discovered.<ref name=":33" /> In the two earliest reports, Meates creates a rough timeline of the Lullingstone Villa ranging from the 1st century AD until the Post-Roman periods, including its purposes, room construction, abandonment, and its final destruction.<ref name=":33" /> In addition to the timeline and room descriptions, there are also detailed reports of the evidence found, such as pottery, coins, and soil and clay levels which indicate the time periods in which the villa is being observed.<ref name=":33" />

=== Eras of occupation ===

==== 1st century AD ====
During the original excavations of the site in the 1950s, evidence from various centuries was discovered, creating a timeline for the villa. The earliest evidence comes from the 1st century AD. Many shards of pottery were found on the slope that the excavation site was located on. The shards found are considered to be hand-made with elements of "Belgic culture".<ref name=":33">{{Cite journal|last1=Meates|first1=Lieutenant-Colonel G. W. Meates|last2=Greensfield|first2=E.|last3=Birchenough|first3=Edwyn|date=1950|title=The Lullingstone Roman Villa|url=https://kentarchaeology.org.uk/node/11077|journal=Archaeologia Cantiana|volume=63|pages=5}} {{open access}}</ref>

==== 2nd century AD: the Flavian to Antonine period ====
At the original excavation, the full extent of the house built and maintained during the [[Flavian dynasty|Flavian]] dynasty to the [[Nerva–Antonine dynasty|Nerva-Antonine]] dynasty was unknown.<ref name=":0">Meates, Lt. Col. G. W. ''Lullingstone Roman Villa''. p. 33. London. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1984.</ref> However, it is thought that the Bath Room and the Basement Room may have been built during this era. From geological evidence, such as different layers of clay, it is suggested that the few stairs leading to the basement were built during this period rather than the 4th century AD, as originally thought.<ref name=":0" />

==== 3rd century AD ====
Based on pottery evidence, it is thought that the Lullingstone Roman Villa was abandoned for at least the first half of the 3rd century AD.<ref name=":33" /> Coins found at the site provide evidence that the occupation of the villa resumed sometime during the last half of the 3rd century during the reigns of [[Claudius Gothicus|Claudius II]] and [[Allectus]].<ref name=":33" /> It is thought that the pagan shrine and other Christian rooms were constructed during this era after the period of abandonment.<ref name=":65"/> In addition to the Christian elements that were added to the villa, the 3rd century AD was also when some of the villa's main external buildings, including the granary and the temple, were constructed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lullingstone Roman Villa: Granary and Temple|url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/lullingstone-roman-villa/history/|access-date=March 1, 2021|publisher=English Heritage}}</ref>

==== 4th century AD ====
The 4th century was an eventful era for the villa, with large renovations taking place, and probably the fire. Some of the renovations of the villa include the designing of the mosaic floor in Room 5 and the construction of another room.<ref name=":33" /> Excavators were able to date the construction of the mosaic floor in Room 5 using coins depicting [[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]] that were accidentally mixed into the concrete.

==== Post-Roman period ====
At the initial excavation in the 1950s, there was no evidence that suggested occupation of the villa or its site from its destruction until at least medieval times.<ref name=":33" /> From English Heritage, there is documentation of some findings including a "[[hanging bowl]]" and other [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] potsherds.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Lullingstone Roman Villa: Medieval Lullingstone|url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/lullingstone-roman-villa/history/|access-date=March 1, 2021|website=English Heritage}}</ref> This evidence suggests that the site may have been used as a burial ground in early Anglo-Saxon Britain.<ref name=":7" />