Roman villa with bathhouse and ancient central heating system found in British village
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Archaeological excavations on farmland near Trottiscliff, England, have unearthed a Roman villa and bathhouse, as well as the remains of an ancient but original underfloor heating system. Kent Online writes about it.
The discovery of the partially intact “hypocaust” system came during excavations led by the Kent Archaeological Society (KAS), assisted last month by the villagers of Trottiscliffe.
Site director Richard Taylor, who led the excavation along with KAS general secretary Clive Drew, explained that the presence of a hypocaust to heat the bath suggests that the owners of the dwellings were of fairly high status.
“There are hundreds of villas above Kent, but the hypocaust system is rare,” he said. “The whole building would be heated and it would be a bit like a Turkish bath.”
The hypocaust was supposed to have a wood fire – this produced hot air that bypassed the columns under the floor and heated the building above.
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