Keynsham Roman Villa

The sites have never been fully excavated, in part because portions of each are located underneath a cemetery, a major road, and the now shuttered Somerdale Chocolate Factory.

[2] The first excavation of Keynsham's Roman villas was carried out in 1877, when the parish church of Saint John's ran out of burial space in the graveyard, and there was no means of enlarging it.

However, when trenches were dug at the site for two mortuary buildings, workers discovered a flat pavement of white tesserae, or small stones used to form a mosaic, beneath the surface.

While digging the foundations for the factory, a second, smaller square Roman Villa was found, along with two stone coffins containing male and female skeletons.

A detailed geophysical assessment of the area was carried out ahead of redevelopment, and the remains of at least 15 additional Roman buildings were discovered, with evidence of others that have been disturbed by quarrying.

[5] Archeologists believe that this villa may have been the home a high ranking retired-army officer or civil servant, and it had over 30 rooms, hypocaust heated floors, and numerous elaborate and expensive mosaics.

[5] An altar base dating to 155AD was discovered at the site and is inscribed: (translation: For the divine spirit of the emperor, Gaius Indutius Felix willingly and deservedly fulfils his vow to Silvanus, in celebration of the victories against the Carvetii.)

During the 2012 archeological survey by Taylor Wimpey, an additional 15 Roman buildings were detected under the fields of Keynsham Hams, with a central road running through the middle.