Winterton Roman Villa: An Interim Report

Abstract

Winterton Roman villa (SE. 911182) has been known since the eighteenth century, when mosaic pavements from the site were recorded first by Charles Mitley and later by William Fowler. Only five miles north of Scunthorpe, the site (fig. 1) lies on the North Lincolnshire ironstone deposits, and the villa will ultimately be destroyed by opencast mining. In view of this threat, the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments, Ministry of Public Building and Works, carried out a series of small-scale excavations between 1958 and 1961; in 1963 these excavations were resumed on a larger scale, and it is hoped that all the buildings will be excavated before the threat materializes. Much more remains to be done, but in view of the time already spent on the work it was felt that an interim report was called for.