The A29 is one of the major arteries running through West Sussex. For a time it was locally known as the Devil's Road because it was believed that only the devil himself could have built something that straight. The rather more dull reason behind all this conjecture is that it is part of the Roman Stane Street. Where you have Roman roads you will have Roman goodies off it. Near to us we have a scheduled Roman mansio site which is the equivalent of our modern motorway services and towards Chichester is the grand palace at Fishbourne https://gnatbottomedtowers.blogspot.com/search?q=fishbourne.
Closer to home is the substantial villa at Bignor. We went to a fascinating talk about Roman villas earlier in the year and the speaker reminded us that we were long overdue a visit. If you're going to be a local tourist as well as a traveller to other parts then you need to put your money where your mouth is and on a pleasantly warm Sunday last month we did just that. Although there were visitors, it wasn't hectic and we thoroughly enjoyed our coffee followed by a gentle wander round this hidden site nestled at the foot of the South Downs.
Back in 1811 George Tupper's plough struck something hard and when he went back to investigate he soon realised that he had literally hit upon something important. Calling in the local bigwig, John Hawkins. this gentleman set about excavating it, but thankfully with foresight as buildings were put up over the discoveries to protect them which remain standing today. The Romans were very astute and chose their site well for it was constructed in close proximity to an older Iron Age farmsted. Our ancestors knew to head for where there was fertile soil and clean water if they were to survive. Amazingly today the villa remains in the care of the same Tupper family and it has been run as a tourist attraction since 1814. The model below shows the villa in its later reincarnation, but it saw many rebuilds and extensions over the centuries.
There are some cabinets with finds on display like this 4th century brooch of a priestess with a staff and tambourine in hand and this glass unguentarium which held perfume or other liquids along with the usual selection of pottery sherds and tiles. Within the last 30 years or so there have also been the remains of two infants found both nearby yet no adults as yet. It was a Roman burial practice to not place these little souls in the main burial ground which would have been elsewhere. There must be adults here, but their location as yet is still unknown.
The thing people come to see here though is the well preserved mosaics. From my reading I understand that they were used to decorate the floor in lieu of carpets and the coloured tesserae were made of local stone. The whites come from chalk, blue/grey Purbeck marble and sandstone provided the oranges, yellows and brick red. Sometimes glass blocks were incorporated to give a different effect. Below we have the tale of the shepherd boy Ganymede who was swept up by an eagle and taken to be the cupbearer of the Gods, cupids depicted in various gladiator guises, Venus and that rather sombre looking lady with the branch is Winter and the only remaining figure of what would have been an homage to all four seasons. Even the decor in the cafe is inspired by these works of art.
If you squint just above the dolphin you can see some initials and these are the maker's marks. I wonder if the same hand made all of them? The Medusa is the most famous one and the only one I could remember from a previous visit . As for the one on the end...neither of us can resist a chance to be silly and dress up. Life is short😁
I really enjoyed our trip over and my inner geek is delighted to announce that I have subsequently come across a book all about the A29 in our library which has been added to the reading pile!
Arilx
