Suffolk’s Roman history to be unearthed with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Romans Unearthed will offer groundbreaking research on Suffolk’s Roman villas, revealing untold stories from nearly 2,000 years ago of how the Romans shaped Suffolk’s landscape following the Boudican rebellion in AD60.

Suffolk has at least 65 villa sites in the county, only four of which have been extensively excavated in the 20th century, including by Basil Brown. Very few have been investigated to modern standards. Romans Unearthed will include excavations and surveys on key villa sites which have yet to be fully examined.

The county council has received initial support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for a one-year development phase, made possible thanks to National Lottery players.

Development funding of £169,830 has been awarded by the Heritage Fund to help SCCAS progress their plans over the next year, which will enable them to apply for a full National Lottery grant at a later date.

Councillor Philip Faircloth-Mutton, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Communities and Equality, said:

“This is an incredibly exciting project that will investigate and protect Roman villas in Suffolk, and give us further insight into life in the county over 2,000 years ago.

“Nearly all Roman villas in Suffolk are undesignated and at risk of damage by agriculture and heritage crime, meaning their history could be lost forever.

“Romans Unearthed will be an important archaeological adventure, and with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, it will provide so much to local people in Suffolk.

“It will actively involve volunteers, specifically providing training for people who do not have opportunities to engage in archaeology such as school children, young carers, children in care or leaving care, and mental health charities, all of whom will contribute to meaningful research on Roman history in Suffolk.”

University College London, Institute of Archaeology (UCL) is a leading project partner.

Dr Stuart Brookes, Associate Professor and Fieldwork Tutor at UCL, said:

“We’re thrilled to be working with Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service to develop a new partnership model that will integrate community volunteers with our university excavation sites. Together, we hope to understand more about Roman rule in Suffolk and the role of villas as important places.

“Suffolk’s Roman history is distinctive - the villas were high-status countryside residences alongside a network of contemporary roads and small towns.”

Funding will also go towards enhancing and digitising the archaeological archives held by Suffolk County Council, relating to 20th century excavations of Roman villas, including site diaries and plans by Basil Brown who excavated the largest villa so far in Suffolk at Castle Hill, Ipswich in 1948-50.

The project plans will develop over the next year until October 2026 with this initial support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund with the prospect of achieving the full grant support in the future to put the plans into action.