Luke Irwin, a rug designer who was carrying out some work at his farmhouse for his children uncovered the remains of one of the largest Roman villas ever found in Britain. He unearth an untouched mosaic and excavations and described the villa as “extraordinarily well-preserved”.
Historic England said it was “unparalleled in recent years”. The villa came into light when the workmen were digging the 18-inch deep trench from the house to the barn about has laid undisturbed for nearly 2,000 years.
Irwin said, “it was lucky I was there. One person was about to get his pick-axe and hammer through.“Because of my artistic background I had an idea that it was very, very old, but I didn’t know for sure.” He added, “it was bewildering. I was overwhelmed by the realisation that someone has lived on this site for 2,000 years. It is incredible that there was once a palace here. It was not something you would expect to find at the bottom of the garden.”
