Port Talbot's Pompeii: Largest Roman villa ever found in Wales unearthed under deer park
Archaeologists have discovered the largest Roman villa ever found in Wales – and it’s earned the nickname ‘Port Talbot’s Pompeii’.
Experts used ground-penetrating radar to uncover the outline of a large complex buried less than a metre below the surface of Margam Country Park.
The site lies within a historic deer park that has never been ploughed or developed, meaning the remains appear to be exceptionally well preserved.
Researchers say they ‘struck gold’ after discovering the footprint of a 572 square metre Roman villa surrounded by fortifications.
It boasts two wings, evidence of a veranda and corridors leading to large rooms – as well as a large structure that could have been used as a meeting hall for post-Roman leaders and their followers.
Experts hope to begin excavations as early as next summer and hope the site, thought to date to the 4th century AD, might still hold intricate mosaics and Roman artefacts.
They said it even has the potential to be ‘Port Talbot’s Pompeii’ in reference to the ancient Roman city preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD.
‘This is an amazing discovery,’ Dr Alex Langlands, associate professor at Swansea University, said. ‘We always thought that we’d find something dating to the Romano-British period, but we never dreamed it would be so clearly articulated and with so much potential in terms of what it can tell us about the elusive first millennium AD here in South Wales.’
Footprint of the Roman villa within its defensive enclosure (left). An interpretive record of the villa site, showing two wings and evidence of a veranda (right)
Margam Castle (pictured) is the centerpiece of Margam Country Park in South Wales, where archaeologists have discovered the country's largest Roman villa
Researchers say they ‘struck gold’ after discovering the footprint of a 572 square metre Roman villa surrounded by fortifications
He explained that there are ‘probably’ trading centres, a bath house and small Roman farmsteads in the area.
The villa could have been part of an estate that belonged to an elite family dynasty, who invited dignitaries from across the empire to be entertained at their home.
‘Margam is famous for its nationally significant monuments and for having evidence of Bronze Age, Iron Age, Medieval and Post-Medieval heritage,’ Dr Langlands explained.
‘But we knew practically nothing about what was going on in the Romano-British period. This is the missing piece of the puzzle.’
He explained that, until now, Wales during this period was associated with legionary forts, Roman practice camps, roads and marching camps.
But this find shows that – instead of just being about conquest – there were ‘civilised’ areas too.
The villa sits within a 2,300 square metre defended enclosure which could reflect the need to defend against external aggression, the team said.
The work so far indicates that the Margam villa could be similar to the luxurious homes found in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Dorset.
School pupils helped excavate land to the west of Margam Abbey Church as part of the UK government-funded ArchaeoMargam project (left) while Sophisticated scanning equipment was used to look for archaeological features hidden underground (right)
The site lies within a historic park that has never been ploughed or developed. Pictured: Ruins of the Abbey in Margam park, Port Talbot, built in 1147
This drawing shows how Lullingstone villa in Kent might have looked in the late 4th Century - now experts say the newly discovered Margam villa may have been similar
Dr Langlands described the building as ‘really impressive and prestigious’, likely to have been decorated with statues and mosaic floors.
‘We've got what looks to be a corridor villa with two wings and a veranda running along the front,’ he told the BBC.
‘It's around 43m (141ft) long and looks to have six main rooms [to the front] with two corridors leading to eight rooms at the rear.
‘Almost certainly you've got a major local dignitary making themselves at home here. This would have been quite a busy place - the centre of a big agricultural estate and lots of people coming and going.’
How Pompeii and Herculaneum were wiped off the map by devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius 2,000 years ago
What happened?
Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year AD 79, burying the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae under ashes and rock fragments, and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow.
Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano in continental Europe and is thought to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.
Every single resident died instantly when the southern Italian town was hit by a 500°C pyroclastic hot surge.
Pyroclastic flows are a dense collection of hot gas and volcanic materials that flow down the side of an erupting volcano at high speed.
They are more dangerous than lava because they travel faster, at speeds of around 450mph (700 km/h), and at temperatures of 1,000°C.
An administrator and poet called Pliny the younger watched the disaster unfold from a distance.
Letters describing what he saw were found in the 16th century.
His writing suggests that the eruption caught the residents of Pompeii unaware.
Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year AD 79, burying the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae under ashes and rock fragments, and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow
He said that a column of smoke 'like an umbrella pine' rose from the volcano and made the towns around it as black as night.
People ran for their lives with torches, screaming and some wept as rain of ash and pumice fell for several hours.
While the eruption lasted for around 24 hours, the first pyroclastic surges began at midnight, causing the volcano's column to collapse.
An avalanche of hot ash, rock and poisonous gas rushed down the side of the volcano at 124mph (199kph), burying victims and remnants of everyday life.
Hundreds of refugees sheltering in the vaulted arcades at the seaside in Herculaneum, clutching their jewelry and money, were killed instantly.
The Orto dei fuggiaschi (The garden of the Fugitives) shows the 13 bodies of victims who were buried by the ashes as they attempted to flee Pompeii during the 79 AD eruption of the Vesuvius volcano
As people fled Pompeii or hid in their homes, their bodies were covered by blankets of the surge.
While Pliny did not estimate how many people died, the event was said to be 'exceptional' and the number of deaths is thought to exceed 10,000.
What have they found?
This event ended the life of the cities but at the same time preserved them until rediscovery by archaeologists nearly 1700 years later.
The excavation of Pompeii, the industrial hub of the region and Herculaneum, a small beach resort, has given unparalleled insight into Roman life.
Archaeologists are continually uncovering more from the ash-covered city.
In May archaeologists uncovered an alleyway of grand houses, with balconies left mostly intact and still in their original hues.
A plaster cast of a dog, from the House of Orpheus, Pompeii, AD 79. Around 30,000 people are believed to have died in the chaos, with bodies still being discovered to this day
Some of the balconies even had amphorae - the conical-shaped terra cotta vases that were used to hold wine and oil in ancient Roman times.
The discovery has been hailed as a 'complete novelty' - and the Italian Culture Ministry hopes they can be restored and opened to the public.
Upper stores have seldom been found among the ruins of the ancient town, which was destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius volcano and buried under up to six meters of ash and volcanic rubble.
Around 30,000 people are believed to have died in the chaos, with bodies still being discovered to this day.
