Roman Villa Found in Somerset Would Have Been Lavish Home Of A VIP

It is now a barely discernible layer of bricks under a Somerset field. But once this would have been home to a Roman ‘celebrity’.

A massive Roman villa dubbed the ‘Beckingham Palace’ of its day has been discovered near Yeovil.

Experts say the palatial house, thought to date from the 4th or 5th century, would have been home to a super rich VIP.

They say the home would be worth the equivalent of millions of pounds and was a 'second home’ country retreat of someone in the top 2 per cent of society.

The remains of the sprawling 'flash’ home shows it had a posh octagonal plunge pool surrounded by a mosaic.

Dr Gerrard with a piece of stone from the house

They have unearthed an array of building materials

Dr James Gerrard of Newcastle University is in charge of the dig at Lufton.

Dr Gerrard said: “What we’re looking at here is in modern terms equivalent to David Beckham’s house.

"The people who lived here were very high status, Romanised Britons we think.

"The population of late Roman Britain was about four million people and there were only about 2,500 villas.

Archaeologists have hailed the find

"They were from the very top 2 or 3 per cent of society. Most people were living in two or three rooms with an oven.”

Dr Gerrard said it was probably a holiday home or rural retreat for its past owners, which was most likely not used as a main property all year round.

He speculates that the scale of the structure and close proximity to Ilchester would have made it an ideal place for an official to live.