Discoveries and mysteries at the National Trust Chedworth Roman Villa

Join us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the National Trust Chedworth Roman Villa in Gloucestershire and discover Britain's first known 5th-century mosaic. Although the site in the Cotswolds is currently closed for visitors, you can still uncover the fascinating story behind this mosaic and meet one of the archaeologists involved in its excavation.

Archaeology is just one of the ways we can bring to life the stories of our places. We protect and care for places so people and nature can thrive. Everyone can get involved, everyone can make a difference. Nature, beauty, history. For everyone, for ever.

[lw]

Learning about ancient history I find challenges you the most, for many national trust properties there's an abundance of information about who lived there, where their money came from, their daily routine, who worked there.
At a place like Chedworth all you have are the remains and the everyday household items found.
Avebury is even more mysterious I find.

[michaeldunne]

A great site. Had the privilege to be able to drive up there, as an excursion from a business trip. Greatly enjoyed the place.

[RobertPaterson]

Thank you so much - for 20+ years I lived close by and often visited. Question - looking now earlier into the history, the White Way comes from Cirencester to Chedworth and over the hill and beyond - the Fosse way travels east at an angle. The Hill at Chedworth looks out onto the valley beyond and can overlook the Fosse way. Might there have been a fort/Signal station on the hill to the west of the Villa that guarded the Fosse way early on when it as a frontier and so maybe was an initiating force for settlement where Villa stands?

[lw]

The evidence seems to now show that Britain didn't immediately go to rack and ruin in 410AD but actually much of the roman cultural life continued. Michael Wood and Francis Pryor argued that. There's even evidence of Britain still trading poetry and wine probably for tin during the 400s and 500s.

[bteuben-faber]

Thank you very much for making and sharing this video! And all the other National Trust-videos. And with this knowledge & enthusiasm telling it, is exact the way (young) people get interested in history! 🌷Love from Holland

[James_Ford]

For these large area finds i see most times the people just put all the grass back and that's it, , do they do this to preserve it all? Because i would think leaving it as it looked thousands of years ago would bring even more visitors, could always build some type of roofing to protect it from rain, but maybe the temperature fluctuations through the seasons would damage it all?

[ahart]

So perhaps not really "Roman." May account for why no identifying inscriptions, because it was really British-Romano.

[openbabel]

The national trust have now withdrawn concessions required by primary legislation for the 1.8 circa severely disabled and blind who wish to visit these national heritage houses. The national trust was originally set up to allow access for the nation of the national heritage.Recent years they have taken on too many liabilities and have seen a drop in numbers of visitors to the sites. This as a trust gets tax exceptions for the public good the trust brings to all UK citizens. It is argued that they exclude the poorest in society and ignore primary legislation for access of the severely disabled they are in breach of their charity status. They are effectively a commercial organization which no longer qualify for taxpayer exemptions as a trust.

The choice to the organization is to comply with the legal rules concerning the status of a trust and concessions.Or simply change their tax status to a commercial organization and pay full corporation tax.There are believed to be some twenty percent of charities who are commercial organizations in the UK sheltering as charities which are in fact commercial organizations. The voters are up in arms about this change and want the charitable status withdrawn immediately and full corporation tax paid to the treasury as a result.

[arriettysbags]

Totally awesome. Great to see it all explained after seeing photos.