Low Ham Roman Villa
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The Low Ham Roman Villa was a Roman courtyard villa located near Low Ham in the civil parish of High Ham in the English county of Somerset. It is best known for the extraordinary figured mosaic depicting the story of Aeneas and Dido.
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[edit] Discovery
The villa was discovered by a local farmer, Herbert Cook, in 1938, whilst digging a hole to bury a dead sheep. Protected from deep ploughing during World War II, it was excavated from 1946 to 1955 by H S L Dewar and C A Ralegh Radford[1].
[edit] Villa
The villa appears to have been constructed around AD 340 on a gentle slope facing north-east, only about a mile from other villas at High Ham and Pitney. Aerial photography has shown that there are a number of farm buildings around a large courtyard, although the excavations concentrated on the residential west wing and bath house. The baths were particularly impressive. They featured the usual suite of rooms with a deep cold plunge bath and beautiful mosaic floor along its approach[1].
[edit] Mosaic floor
The large 14 foot (4.3m) square mosaic depicts the story of Aeneas and Dido, as told in the 1st century bc by the Roman poet, Virgil. Like the villa, it dates to the mid-4th century. The Low Ham mosaic is unique in Roman Britain in providing a narrative story in five panels: Aeneas sailing to Carthage, Aeneas meeting Dido, the couple out hunting, the couple embrace and Dido left alone after Aeneas' departure. It is the earliest piece of narrative art in the country. It was lifted in 1953 and is now on display in the Somerset County Museum.[2]
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