The main structure was a large residence surrounding a courtyard, including luxurious Roman mosaics and bath suites.

[3] The villa was discovered in 1942 by a farmer digging out a ferret, and finding quantities of oyster shells and subsequently a mosaic floor.

Hampshire County Council bought the site in 1979,[citation needed] and it was the limited re-excavations led by I. P. Horsey during the period 1978-82 which allowed a better understanding of the many changes to the villa over its 400-year history of occupation.

[7] Excavations approximately 1.5 km to the southeast of Rockbourne at Allen's Farm show that pottery was being produced in kilns during the late 3rd century.

[8] Originally the site was occupied by a timber roundhouse with a chalk floor, of a type common in the Late Iron Age.

[9] The most unusual feature of this west bath suite is that the pilae in the underfloor hypocaust heating system were built from curved roof tiles (imbrices) rather than from stacks of bricks.

[14] The hoard must have been buried around 295, and perhaps suggests that troubled times struck the villa, but the reason why it was never recovered is unknown.

[13] Troubled times may also be indicated by the hoard, dating from 394-5, of 16 late Roman gold solidi coins found just 3 km from the site in 1986.

[16][17] The only adult burials found on the site are two which date from the post-Roman period,[18] one of which seems to have been an individual killed by the collapse of the tiled roof.

[4] Another major find was a rectangular table or sideboard carved from stone and ornamented with chip-carved decoration on front and sides.