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Archaeologia Cantiana -  Vol. 14  1882  page 138

The Roman Villa at Wingham by George Dowker, F.G.S.

bands of alternate black and white forming a margin; the south-east and north-west corners are broken up; the walls of this room on the west were entirely destroyed down to the foundations, as was also the north wall, traces only of which can be seen. Room No. 3 was 11ft. 4in. by 11ft. 11in. The entrance to it was probably from the north-east of Room No. 2, where the wall is broken. Excavations outside the walls shewed no appearance of there having existed any rooms either north, east, or west of this.
   A doorway near the north-east of No. 2 led into a hypocaust, Room No. 4. This had a concrete floor 2ft. 10in. lower than Room No. 2. On this were laid blocks of masonry having fire passages between; the blocks were covered with overlapping tiles, on which was spread the concrete of broken tile, similar to that on which the tesserae in Rooms 2 and 3 are laid. It appeared as if the tessellated floor of No. 2 had been continued into this hypocaust. Most of the suspended floor had fallen in, and was found in the debris at the bottom. The block of masonry near the north-east corner of this building was best preserved; and from its structure we

can see the plan adopted. A central fire-flue, sixteen inches wide, extended the whole length of the building, and was crossed, at right angles, by two other fire-flues leading through the south wall of the hypocaust. The blocks of masonry were faced with tiles, the central part being filled in with loose large flint stones, into which the fire found its way, as was shewn by their being blackened by smoke; and to diffuse the heat more rapidly hypocaust flue-tiles were laid through the blocks next the wall. These tiles were nine inches deep and five inches wide, scored on the outside to hold mortar. Large tiles, one foot wide and two and a half inches thick, were laid overlapping on the top, so as to form an arch, which also spanned the fire spaces between the blocks. The central fire-flue communicated with the lateral, by passing over some rows of tiles, forming a sill. The hypocaust room is 11ft 2in. wide, and extends westerly twenty-eight feet as far as at present excavated. The further half was built after a different plan from the first; it had several smaller flues separated by 8-inch tiles; but as we

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