Roman villa N of Dunnock's Lane

The Roman villa north of Dunnock’s Lane lies in the quiet parish of East Coker, Somerset, on land once part of the Roman province of Britannia prima. East Coker itself is a small village of stone cottages and winding lanes, far from the busy roads that now cross the Levels. The villa’s remains were first noticed in 1753 when a local labourer turned up fragments of painted plaster and tesserae. Later digs in 1818 or 1820 uncovered two mosaics, one showing hunters returning from the chase, the other a simple geometric pattern. A bronze statuette of Mars, found among the ruins, suggests a household shrine once stood here. What makes the site worth the journey is the glimpse it offers into the lives of wealthy Romano-Britons who lived here in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The mosaics were probably made by craftsmen from Durnovaria, modern Dorchester, who belonged to the Durnovarian Group of mosaicists. Their work shows the same confident lines and natural poses found in villas across southern Britain. The Mars statuette, though small, is one of the few surviving religious objects from such a household, hinting at daily rituals. Visitors today walk over grassy mounds that mark the villa’s former rooms. The hypocaust system, with its warm-air channels beneath the floors, can still be traced in the earth. Fragments of the mosaics are preserved in Taunton Museum, where the hunters’ scene is partly restored. The villa formed part of a cluster of grand estates around Lindinis, the Roman town now called Ilchester, and its remains recall a time when Somerset’s gentle hills were home to prosperous farmers and skilled artisans.