North Leigh Roman Villa's secrets revealed in guide book

A 200-year-old guide book revealing details of a large and luxurious Roman villa has been rediscovered.

It details the North Leigh Roman Villa in Oxfordshire, which had a total of 60 rooms.

The fragile document was found in the Blenheim Palace archive and once belonged to the then Duke of Marlborough.

The ruins of the villa were excavated in 1813, but within a week most of its mosaic floor was pilfered by locals.

It was unearthed by architect Henry Hakewill and once included three bath suites, 16 rooms containing mosaics and 11 others with under-floor heating.

Hakewill wrote a guide after the dig was completed, which includes drawings of the villa's long-lost decoration and layout.

Recalling its discovery, Hakewill wrote in the guide: "The pavement was entire, except a small part... but such was the eager curiosity of the country people who, on the Sunday following the discovery, flocked in crowds to the spot, that before any precautions could be adopted the pavement was much injured."

The report was discovered by Blenheim archivist Dr Alexa Frost, who found it "while going through a collection of uncatalogued papers".

"It's complete and it tells a fascinating story of what the site looked like at the time it was first excavated," she said.

She added: "You can faintly make out the words 'His Grace the Duke of Marlborough' on the front of the guide so it's probably his original copy, which may well have been presented to him by Hakewill himself."

Matthew Lee, from North Leigh Roman Villa Volunteers, called the rediscovery "tremendously exciting".

"Hakewill's guide provides details of colours, patterns on walls, floors and ceilings, that were one and a half thousand years old when he found them, and many of which have been entirely lost in the subsequent 200 years," he said.

"This little volume will help unlock visitors' and our imaginations when it comes to visualising just how splendid the Roman Villa was."

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