Chinnor – Wainhill Roman Settlement

It probably had been a farm for a lot longer, but in the 2^nd century, using new Roman architectural styles and building techniques, the farmers here constructed series of stone and timber buildings that archaeologists call a ‘villa’. A villa can sound very grand and conjure visions of great wealth, but across Britain in this time, there were a wide range of settlements using Roman building styles – some grand indeed, but others more modest.

Roman farmsteads in the Chilterns were an important part of the rural landscape during the 1st-4th centuries AD. These small agricultural settlements were typically located where the land was fertile and well-suited for farming, echoing the locations so of earlier Iron Age settlements in the chalk stream valleys and along dry valley slopes as well. The Romans introduced new farming techniques and crops to the area, which increased productivity.

Farmsteads usually consisted of a main farmhouse, often built with timber and thatch, surrounded by fields, barns, and sometimes small workshops. These farms produced a variety of traditional crops, such as wheat, barley, and oats, as well as new introduction like shallots and celery. For a brief period of time the climate allowed for vineyards in southern Britain  to produce local wine also, but most wine was still imported and these north facing slopes at Wainhill would never have been successfully used for grapes.

You can see what sort of evidence we have for the Roman activity at this site here.