[2] It was enlarged over time from the late 1st century AD to the early 5th century and eventually became a very large, luxurious villa rustica with 19 mosaic floors, and included a large agricultural estate with housing for farm workers and possibly slaves.

Life there was very comfortable with access to the best local agricultural products and imported luxuries from sophisticated nearby towns such as Cirencester.

[9] The name of the nearby village of Fawler is recorded from 1205 as Fauflor, derived from Old English fāg flōr, "variegated floor".

[10] Authorities including the philologist J. R. R. Tolkien take this to mean a tessellated pavement, identified as the mosaic floor of the villa.

[11][12] The scholar of folklore Dimitra Fimi suggests that Tolkien echoed both the mention of a variegated floor in line 725 of Beowulf and the actual appearance of the villa's floor in his description of Meduseld, the hall of the King of Rohan in The Lord of the Rings.