My World: Brading Roman Villa

Ave amicus!  Quid novi? 
Hail friends!  What’s new?  For this My World Tuesday I’m taking you back to the 4th century, to the remains of a Roman Villa here on the Isle of Wight.  Being prone to rather grandiose gestures, it occurred to me that it would help you to get into the swing of Roman times if I sprinkled this post with Latin phrases.  And so, undeterred by the fact that I never really learned Latin, I’ve drawn upon the help of Ehrlich’s : Dictionary of Latin Tags and Phrases.  Some of these phrases come from classical Latin scholars, others from the Middle Ages, and a couple are my own ‘freeform’ combinations!  Translations of all the Latin phrases are given in italics.  Truthfully - when I bought this book some years ago thinking ‘it will come in useful some day’, publication on the World Wide Web was not what I had in mind!  I can give no better explanation for my folly than this one from Juvenal’s Satires: hoc volo, sit prop ratione voluntas: this I will, let my will serve as reason.

Gesta Romanorum: hoc loco redivivus 
The Deeds of the Romans: in this place brought back to life

The Romans ruled Britain, including the Isle of Wight, between AD 43 and 410.  Their name for the island, Vectis, is still used today - exempli gratia (e.g.) our main bus service operator is ’Southern Vectis’.  Two Roman villas have been rediscovered here, this one in Brading on farmland in 1880.  The first photo shows the recently constructed, award-winning building that houses and protects everything you’ll see in the following photographs.

The mosaic floors you’re about to see are laid throughout the villa and are an indication of the wealth of the owners.  It’s astonishing to think that they lay hidden beneath the earth for almost 1500 years; and I wonder how many more Roman villas we unknowingly walk across as we go about our daily lives.  The scenes in the mosaics depict life as experienced by the people who lived in the villa.  Through the images we know what they believed, ate and drank, the importance of the seasons for them, et cetera.  New discoveries and information at the site constantly change what is understood about the size and layout of the villa, the types of crops grown and the way of life of the Romans in southern Britain.  

Ecce homo  
Behold the man

This is Gallus, the ‘cock-headed man’ who has been adopted as the logo for the Roman Villa.  He is possibly a caricature of the Roman Emperor Gallus.

Per astra ad saber 
By way of the stars, to knowledge 

The astrologer is pointing to a globe of the heavens.  By his side is a sundial.

Bonum vinum laetificat cor hominis  
Good wine gladdens a person’s heart 

This is what remains of Bacchus, Roman god of wine.  When the villa was rediscovered in 1880 archaeological methods left much to be desired.  It’s thought that heavy-handed labourers caused irreparable damage to parts of the remains. 

Facta non verba 
Actions, not words 

This is the hand print, used as a signature, of the man who made this tile 1700 years ago.  Since it’s behind glass and the lighting in the centre is kept low it was difficult to get a good photo – in reality the hand print can be seen very clearly.  To help you to locate it I’ve added (right) another version of this same image, emphasising the handprint.  Click thumbnail to enlarge.

Stet muros domus 
May the walls of the house endure

The original walls remain throughout the villa to a height of about 2 feet / 60 cm.  Here you can see how the Romans constructed walls:  two parallel courses of brick with a rubble-filled cavity (here, chalk).  A skim was applied to the sides – this is the only wall in the villa where the skim remains intact.

Tempus edax rerum 
Time, the devourer of all things

It wasn’t really ‘time’ that devoured this Nymphaeum, but the changing habits of the householders as times changed.  A Nymphaeum was a sacred pool, used for healing ceremonies.  This one was also a garden feature, fed by spring water but had fallen into disuse and was buried beneath the earth by the time the courtyard wall was built through it.

Ex uno disce omnes 
From one example, you may deduce the rest

A reconstruction, but from these original period roof tiles, hewn from local Bembridge limestone, archaeologists have deduced that to withstand this weight the structure of Roman villas must have been very sturdy.

Ad perpetuam rei memoriam 
For the perpetual remembrance of the thing

Brading Roman Villa has a special place in my heart.  In 2007 the Youth Theatre that my sons belong to was funded to research, write and perform a production based on life as it would have been at the villa in the 4th Century.  Not only was what they all did astonishingly good, but they had the honour of performing it right here at the villa, amongst the mosaics and out in the grounds.  One of the scenes  – a dream – was based around the imagery of this particular mosaic, including the Medusa.  Whenever I see it, it will always remind me of their performance.

Acta est fabula.  Vale amicus!  Vade in pace.
That’s it!  It’s all over.  Farewell my friend!  Go in peace. 

But please – go visit more ‘worlds’ by clicking on the badge below.