text: It was the urge to avoid playing ping-pong in the dark that led Luke Irwin to make one of Britain’s most extraordinary archaeological discoveries in recent years. Without that compulsion, he might never have found out that he lives on the site of one of the biggest Roman villas ever built in the British Isles. 
   
   Irwin, a rug designer, and his wife had decided to convert an old barn on their newly purchased Wiltshire property into a room where they and their children could play table tennis, so they hired electricians to lay cables for lights. 
   
   “The electricians originally suggested stringing up an overhead cable from our house to supply the power for the barn, but I insisted it had to be an underground cable,” said Irwin. It turned out to be a fateful decision. 
   
   The electricians started drilling and hit a hard layer 18 inches below the surface. It was found to consist of pieces of mosaic. “We knew the significance of that straight away,” added Irwin. “No one since the Romans has laid mosaics as house floors in Britain. Fortunately we were able to stop the workmen just before they began to wield pickaxes to break up the mosaic layer.” 
   
   Irwin called in Historic England (formerly English Heritage), whose archaeologists confirmed that the mosaic had formed part the floor of a grand villa built between AD175 and 220, and had been remodelled several times before the fifth century. 
   
   The Irwins’ house, created out of two labourers’ cottages, was built in the centre of the old villa and rests on a large slab of Purbeck marble, which is probably of Roman origin. According to the experts, the discovery is of “national significance”. 
   
   “The rest of the site has not been touched since the house collapsed more than 1,400 years ago, and it is unquestionably of enormous importance,” said Dr David Roberts, an Historic England archaeologist. 
   
   Facebook Twitter Pinterest An artist’s impression of what the villa would have looked like in Roman times. Photograph: PR 
   
   “This is a hugely valuable site with incredible potential. The discovery of such an elaborate and extraordinarily well-preserved villa, undamaged by agriculture for over 1,500 years, is unparalleled in recent years and it gives us a perfect opportunity to understand Roman and post-Roman Britain.” 
   
   It is believed that the three-storey structure, which would have dominated the valley, was similar to that found at Chedworth, one of Britain’s most important Roman villa sites. It is thought to have belonged to a family of extraordinary wealth and importance. “It is not just the size of the building – which is vast – but the other discoveries that we have made that reveal what a special place this must have been,” said Roberts. “We have found discarded oyster and whelk shells. To keep them fresh, they must have been brought in barrels of salt water from the sea, which is miles away, and that shows just how rich the villa’s owners must have been. 
   
   Other discoveries have included a perfectly preserved Roman well and the stone coffin of a Roman child. This had been used to hold geraniums until its significance was realised. Only a few test pits have been dug, but Roberts said it was clear the walls of the villa were probably still more than a metre high, although they are buried under alluvial sediment from a nearby river. In addition, the mosaic has been revealed to be of particularly high quality. “Everything about this villa suggests it was made of the highest-quality materials,” added Roberts. “We have identified bits of stone that have come from at least 13 different British quarries. This was the country house of a powerful, rich Roman. Doubtless he also had a city house in London or Cirencester.” 
   
   Intriguingly, the house was not destroyed after the collapse of the Roman empire, said Roberts. Archaeologists have discovered timber structures erected in the fifth century. Roberts said the remains from this period, between the end of Roman occupation and the completion of Saxon domination of England, could open a window into one of the least understood periods in British history. It could also reveal how people responded to the collapse of the Roman empire, the superpower of the age. 
   
   However, it is the sense of continuity that has affected Irwin. “Some of the oyster shells we have found have not been touched by another human for more than 1,500 years and now we have uncovered them lying around our house. It is a very powerful feeling,” said Irwin 
   
   Fishbourne palace, Chichester 
   
   Most of the palace’s sumptuously decorated rooms had mosaic floors. However, a serious fire in the late third century destroyed most of it and it was not rebuilt. 
   
   Chedworth, Gloucestershire 
   
   One of the largest Roman buildings in Britain, the villa was built in phases over 200 years and transformed into a palace arranged around three sides of a courtyard. Buildings included a heated west wing and two separate bathing suites, one for damp heat and one for dry. 
   
   Turkdean, Cirencester 
   
   Site of a major Roman villa complex which appears to have been occupied from the late second century until the end of the fourth. Coins, pottery, floor tiles, millstone fragments and a stone-lined water course have also been found, while aerial photographs have suggested a substantial complex. 
   
   Brading, Isle of Wight 
   
   All 12 of the villa’s ground-floor rooms survived. Artefacts include pottery and jewellery, while floor mosaics include images of Orpheus, Bacchus, a cockerel-headed man and gladiators. 
   
   Box villa, Wiltshire 
   
   The building probably contained at least 50 rooms, including a huge reception hall that was 40ft long, 20ft wide and 30ft high. Many rooms had central heating, most had glass windows and the interior walls were plastered, painted and decorated. ||||| A man stumbled across a Roman villa in his back garden which is being hailed as the most significant discovery of its kind for a decade. 
   
   Luke Irwin, from Wiltshire, was laying an electricity cable in his barn when he uncovered a mosaic underground. 
   
   The rug designer, who was making the alterations so his children could play table tennis, took a photo and sent it off for more information. 
   
   Mr Irwin said: "I sent a photograph to the council and within 24 hours they were here with archaeologists to see what we'd found.” 
   
   Experts from Historic England and Salisbury Museum carefully began excavating the site, and realised the mosaic formed part of the floor of a grand Roman building. 
   
   The find has been proclaimed by Historic England as “unparalleled in recent years”. 
   
   After an eight-day dig, archaeologists uncovered more of the ‘elaborate’ and ‘extraordinarily well-preserved’ villa, thought to be one of the largest ever found in the country. 
   
   Dating from between AD 175 and 220, the grand home is thought to have been three storeys high, similar to those found at Chedworth in Gloucestershire. 
   
   The team also discovered hundreds of discarded oyster shells which were artificially cultivated and carried live from the coast in barrels of salty water. 
   
   The dig unearthed "extremely high status pottery”, brooches, coins and the bones of wild animals which had been hunted, as well as a suckling pig. 
   
   All the evidence suggests a family of high importance and wealth lived at the villa, possibly a Roman emperor. 
   
   Dr David Roberts, an archaeologist from Historic England who helped work on the excavation, said: "We've found a whole range of artefacts demonstrating just how luxurious a life that was led by the elite family that would have lived at the villa. 
   
   Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Show all 12 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries 1/12 Ancient forest, discovered in February 2014 Ancient forest revealed by storms. The recent huge storms and gale force winds that have battered the coast of West Wales have stripped away much of the sand from stretches of the beach between Borth and Ynyslas. The disappearing sands have revealed ancients forests, with the remains of oak trees dating back to the Bronze Age, 6,000 years ago. The ancient remains are said by some to be the origins of the legend of ‚Cantre‚r Gwealod‚ , a mythical kingdom now submerged under the waters pif Cardigan Bay 2/12 Medieval royal palaces, discovered in November 2014 Archaeologists in southern England have discovered what may be one of the largest medieval royal palaces ever found – buried under the ground inside a vast prehistoric fortress at Old Sarum. The probable 12th century palace was discovered by archaeologists, using geophysical ground-penetrating ‘x-ray’ technology to map a long-vanished medieval city which has lain under grass on the site for more than 700 years 3/12 The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered ca. 1950 The Dead Sea Scrolls are almost 1,000 biblical manuscripts discovered in the decade after the Second World War in what is now the West Bank. The texts, mostly written on parchment but also on papyrus and bronze, are the earliest surviving copies of biblical and extra-biblical documents known to be in existence, dating over a 700-year period around the birth of Jesus. The ancient Jewish sect the Essenes is supposed to have authored the scrolls, written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, although no conclusive proof has been found to this effect 4/12 Diamond, discovered in March 2014 This rare diamond that survived a trip from deep within the Earth's interior confirmed that there is an ocean’s worth of water beneath the planet’s crust 5/12 Whale skeletons, discovered in February 2014 Chilean and Smithsonian paleontologists study several fossil whale skeletons at Cerro Ballena, next to the Pan-American Highway in the Atacama Region of Chile 6/12 Complete mammoth skeleton, discovered in November 2012 The first complete mammoth skeleton to be found in France for more than a century was uncovered in a gravel pit on the banks of the Marne, 30 miles north-east of Paris. Picture shows experts at work making a silicon cast of the mammoth's tusk 7/12 Million-year-old human footprints, discovered in February 2014 Photograph of the footprint hollows in situ on the beach as Happisburgh, Norfolk 8/12 Terracotta warrior, discovered in June 2010 Chinese archaeologists unearthed around 120 more clay figures in June 2010 excavations at the terracotta army site that surrounds the tomb of the nation's first emperor in the northwestern Shaanxi Province © Jason Lee / Reuters 9/12 Neolithic 'lost avenue' - prehistoric stone circle, discovered in September 1999 The discovery of a Neolithic 'lost avenue' was described as one of the most important finds of the last century. Since the 1700s, archeologists and historians have argued over the existence of the huge sarsen stones, which were unearthed at the site of the world's biggest prehistoric stone circle at Avebury in Wiltshire 10/12 Byzantine mosaic, discovered in February 2007 Plans for a walkway at the centre of the furious dispute over Jerusalem's holiest site were delayed by the discovery of a Byzantine mosaic 11/12 Ancient gold, discovered in March 2014 Gold fitting for a dagger sheath (around 1900 BC.) found near Stonehenge 12/12 Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799 The Rosetta Stone is a basalt slab inscribed with a decree of pharaoh Ptolemy Epiphanes (205-180 BC) in three languages, Greek, Hieroglyphic and Demotic script. Discovered near Rosetta in Egypt 1/12 Ancient forest, discovered in February 2014 Ancient forest revealed by storms. The recent huge storms and gale force winds that have battered the coast of West Wales have stripped away much of the sand from stretches of the beach between Borth and Ynyslas. The disappearing sands have revealed ancients forests, with the remains of oak trees dating back to the Bronze Age, 6,000 years ago. The ancient remains are said by some to be the origins of the legend of ‚Cantre‚r Gwealod‚ , a mythical kingdom now submerged under the waters pif Cardigan Bay 2/12 Medieval royal palaces, discovered in November 2014 Archaeologists in southern England have discovered what may be one of the largest medieval royal palaces ever found – buried under the ground inside a vast prehistoric fortress at Old Sarum. The probable 12th century palace was discovered by archaeologists, using geophysical ground-penetrating ‘x-ray’ technology to map a long-vanished medieval city which has lain under grass on the site for more than 700 years 3/12 The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered ca. 1950 The Dead Sea Scrolls are almost 1,000 biblical manuscripts discovered in the decade after the Second World War in what is now the West Bank. The texts, mostly written on parchment but also on papyrus and bronze, are the earliest surviving copies of biblical and extra-biblical documents known to be in existence, dating over a 700-year period around the birth of Jesus. The ancient Jewish sect the Essenes is supposed to have authored the scrolls, written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, although no conclusive proof has been found to this effect 4/12 Diamond, discovered in March 2014 This rare diamond that survived a trip from deep within the Earth's interior confirmed that there is an ocean’s worth of water beneath the planet’s crust 5/12 Whale skeletons, discovered in February 2014 Chilean and Smithsonian paleontologists study several fossil whale skeletons at Cerro Ballena, next to the Pan-American Highway in the Atacama Region of Chile 6/12 Complete mammoth skeleton, discovered in November 2012 The first complete mammoth skeleton to be found in France for more than a century was uncovered in a gravel pit on the banks of the Marne, 30 miles north-east of Paris. Picture shows experts at work making a silicon cast of the mammoth's tusk 7/12 Million-year-old human footprints, discovered in February 2014 Photograph of the footprint hollows in situ on the beach as Happisburgh, Norfolk 8/12 Terracotta warrior, discovered in June 2010 Chinese archaeologists unearthed around 120 more clay figures in June 2010 excavations at the terracotta army site that surrounds the tomb of the nation's first emperor in the northwestern Shaanxi Province © Jason Lee / Reuters 9/12 Neolithic 'lost avenue' - prehistoric stone circle, discovered in September 1999 The discovery of a Neolithic 'lost avenue' was described as one of the most important finds of the last century. Since the 1700s, archeologists and historians have argued over the existence of the huge sarsen stones, which were unearthed at the site of the world's biggest prehistoric stone circle at Avebury in Wiltshire 10/12 Byzantine mosaic, discovered in February 2007 Plans for a walkway at the centre of the furious dispute over Jerusalem's holiest site were delayed by the discovery of a Byzantine mosaic 11/12 Ancient gold, discovered in March 2014 Gold fitting for a dagger sheath (around 1900 BC.) found near Stonehenge 12/12 Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799 The Rosetta Stone is a basalt slab inscribed with a decree of pharaoh Ptolemy Epiphanes (205-180 BC) in three languages, Greek, Hieroglyphic and Demotic script. Discovered near Rosetta in Egypt 
   
   "It's clearly not your run-of-the-mill domestic settlement." 
   
   A perfectly preserved Roman well and the stone coffin of a Roman child, which went unnoticed and was being used as a flower bed, were also among the finds. 
   
   Dr Roberts added: "The site has not been touched since its collapse 1,400 years ago and so it's of extreme importance. 
   
   "The large scale and complexity of the site present a unique opportunity to understand Roman and post-Roman Britain. 
   
   "Without question, this is a hugely valuable site in terms of research, with incredible potential. 
   
   “It's one of the best sites I have ever had the chance to work on." 
   
   The site has now been protected to preserve it. 
   
   Mr Irwin said it was “unbelievable” to have stumbled across the rare find. 
   
   He said: "The thought of the footsteps we are following in. I have always been fascinated by history ever since I went to Pompeii as a child. 
   
   "But to find it 20 yards from your own front door - and then the 20 billion to one shot that you design luxury rugs for the Roman aristocrats of today. It's mind blowing." 
   
   Further research will be continued when more funding becomes available.
target: – Start digging around in the backyard and you're liable to unearth rusted bottle caps, utility pipes, or maybe a long-forgotten toy. Luke Irwin, on the other hand, discovered the remains of a lavish Roman villa on his property in Wiltshire, England, the Independent reports. The residence, built nearly 2,000 years ago, "was the country house of a powerful, rich Roman," archaeologist David Roberts tells the Guardian. Irwin and his wife, who recently moved to the property with their children, had decided to add lights to their barn so they could play table tennis at night. Though electricians suggested overhead lines, the couple opted to bury them, and workers hit a hard layer about 18 inches down. It proved to be pieces of mosaic. Irwin, who designs "luxury rugs for the Roman aristocrats of today," says he knew right away it was a significant find. "Fortunately," he recalls, "we were able to stop the workmen just before they began to wield pickaxes." Irwin contacted Historic England, and archaeologists rushed to the property to begin an excavation. Calling the site "hugely valuable," Roberts tells the Guardian the discovery "is unparalleled in recent years and it gives us a perfect opportunity to understand Roman and post-Roman Britain." It's not just the size of the building, believed to be three stories, that indicates it was the home of an important Roman: It's the stuff scientists have found along with the house—discarded oyster shells, for instance, which would have been imported from the coast. "High-status pottery," coins, and the mosaic flooring itself all point to wealth. Also discovered was a child-sized coffin made of stone. (Remains unearthed in Germany point to a massive Bronze Age battle.)