Dan-y-Graig Roman villa

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of a Roman villa, probably dating from the third and fourth centuries AD and is indicated by the excavation of an agricultural outbuilding with T-shaped kiln. The presence of further building activity and archaeological deposits has been indicated by geophysical survey - the interpretation of this survey has identified the likely remains of a villa complex. The monument is situated in improved pasture and comprises buried archaeological deposits.

Roman villas were the centres of small agricultural estates, part of the upper echelons of a hierarchical rural settlement pattern that produced surplus for the local market centre. The local native Iron Age tribe, the Silures, obtained Roman civitas status and thus retained much of their pre-conquest aristocratic social structure. The villas are native estate centres, built to emphasise the status, wealth and Romanised cultural values of the landed elite.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of Romano-British rural settlement and social organisation. The monument forms an important element within the wider context of Romano-British society in Wales and may be expected to contain archaeological information in regard to chronology, building techniques and functional detail. The importance of the site is further enhanced by its archaeological documentation.

The area scheduled comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.