Yewden Roman villa, Hambleden

Monograph 1, 2011, edited by Jill Eyers, ISBN 1-904898-12-2.  £15 + £4 P&P

304 pages, A4 size, hardback, 143 B&W figures, 27 tables. Free DVD with colour photographs of finds and villa reconstructions and catalogues available on request with order. See image below.

Yewden villa is a remarkable site which has revealed many of its secrets during the work by Chiltern Archaeology during 2008 to 2011. The work involved a geophysics survey over the villa area and continued down both sides of the Hambleden Valley, where a variety of archaeological features were found. It also included a re-evaluation of the 1912 excavation by Alfred Heneage Cocks. This substantial collection included hundreds of boxes of objects, many of which had no previous evaluation. Not only could they be identified and quantified for the first time, but modern ideas and techniques were applied to their interpretation. Fortunately Mr Cocks had the foresight to label a good proportion of the finds with the site location and depth. This has enabled some of the stratigraphy to be deduced and important phasing to be determined.

This monograph gives the archaeological background and results of the recent geophysical surveys (magnetometry and resistance) before a full presentation of the buildings, pits, furnaces, pottery, coins, worked bone, stone, human bone, copper and iron objects. The interpretation of some of these items is expected and normal, but for others it is unusual and intriguing. The full significance of some commonly referenced Yewden finds such as the 14 corn driers, 72 styli, and the 97 newborn infant burials will be presented, with a wealth of new information. Yewden is much more than merely a rural Romano-British villa.

To obtain a copy you can order using the ISBN through your usual bookstore or direct from us at:

Book sales, Chiltern Archaeology, 13 Pusey Way, Lane End, Bucks, HP14 3LG. Please make the cheque for £19 payable to 'Chiltern Archaeology' (includes P&P)