“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. 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. 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 team also discovered hundreds of discarded oyster shells which were artificially cultivated and carried live from the coast in barrels of salty water. All the evidence suggests a family of high importance and wealth lived at the villa, possibly a Roman emperor. 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. “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. 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. "Without question, this is a hugely valuable site in terms of research, with incredible potential. Mr Irwin said it was “unbelievable” to have stumbled across the rare find.
– 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.)