Archaeologists uncover sprawling Roman estate buried for centuries beneath farmland

Archaeologists in the United Kingdom recently uncovered the remains of a sprawling ancient Roman villa dating back over 1,600 years.

The fourth-century villa was found on farmland between the villages of Halberton and Sampford Peverell in Devon.

The excavation was led by the Saving Halberton's Ancient Roman Environment (SHARE) project, a partnership between the University of Exeter and Cotswold Archaeology, as news agency SWNS noted. 

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The star of the excavation was an ornate Roman mosaic made of thousands of tiny stone cubes arranged in a floral pattern.

"The polychrome mosaic is the most westerly example to have been found in a villa in Roman Britain," said Bill Horner, county archaeologist and historic environment manager at Devon County Council.

Horner added, "This, and the other trappings of Roman civilization and evidence of affluence that have been found, show how much even this far-flung part of the province had been integrated into the Roman Empire."

Photos released by officials show the mosaic, as well as ancient pottery and other artifacts unearthed after centuries underground.

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The red, white and dark blue cubes were used to form a stylized flower with eight overlapping petals.

Alongside the villa, archaeologists excavated two additional stone buildings: one believed to have been a bathhouse and another that was likely used for agriculture.

Archaeologists also found a delicate copper-alloy bracelet, a fine silver-plated spoon and a beaker used for serving drinks, as well as a collection of pottery fragments and an engraved gemstone depicting the goddess Victory.

Britain was part of the Roman Empire from A.D. 43 until the early fifth century. Experts said the colorful mosaic is the westernmost example ever found at a Roman villa in Britain.

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The discoveries indicate the villa was once home to a wealthy Roman family, archaeologists said.

Project leader Susan Greaney, an archaeology professor at the University of Exeter, said her team "did not expect to find such an elaborate bathhouse."

"At the outset, we knew this villa, and its surrounding working areas, was an important site for understanding the Romanization of Devon," she said in a release.

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"But from day one, it has offered us a wealth of interesting and sometimes surprising finds in addition to this striking polychrome mosaic. ... This villa was undoubtedly home to people of wealth and high standing."

The site first came to light in 2004, when local metal detectorist John Hill discovered Roman remains.

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Officials are now working to carefully transport the mosaic to the local Tiverton Museum of Mid-Devon Life.

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The latest find is one of many remarkable Roman discoveries made across England in recent years.

Last summer, archaeologists uncovered an extensive 2,000-year-old Roman settlement in the Cotswolds after an amateur metal detectorist's chance discovery.

This summer, archaeologists working ahead of a British railway project unearthed a rare Roman coin and a trove of ancient artifacts.