Discovered in 1879, Brading Roman Villa is an important Roman country house on the Isle of Wight notable for its mosaics. Archaeological evidence suggests that the first villa was a comparatively simple structure dating to the mid-first-century A.D., which may have evolved from an Iron Age farm. (...)
Discovered in 1879, Brading Roman Villa is an important Roman country house on the Isle of Wight notable for its mosaics. Archaeological evidence suggests that the first villa was a comparatively simple structure dating to the mid-first-century A.D., which may have evolved from an Iron Age farm. Over the next hundred years it expanded around a central courtyard as wealth increased from farming, fishing, and hunting. The villa survived a major fire in the third century, and began to decline around 340, when it and other estates in southern Britain began to suffer from barbarian raids. A coin from the reign of Emperor Honorius (r. 393–423) indicates that the owners possibly held on until the early fifth century.
The mosaics depict a variety of classical representations unparalleled in the Roman British world and illustrate the agricultural, industrial, and maritime connections the villa’s occupants had with the trading world. The villa was likely the administrative center of a late Roman estate and is surrounded by contemporary terracing and field patterns that remain visible despite hundreds of years of erosion. The villa has been open to the public since the 1880s when the site was excavated. Numerous valuable artifacts were uncovered and Brading was purchased by the Oglander family shortly after discovery in order to secure permanent access to the remains. In 1994, the ownership of the building was transferred to the Oglander Roman Trust.
