They discovered a unique Roman complex in England, the first of its kind in the world

A large Roman complex was discovered in Eastfield in Scarborough, Yorkshire, which is the first of its kind in Britain and probably unique in the whole Roman Empire. It was discovered during archaeological research at the site of the planned housing construction. Geophysical research indicated the presence of something interesting beneath the surface. What the excavations eventually revealed, archaeologists would not even dream of.
The floor plan of the discovered structures is approximately two tennis courts. The arrangement of the complex is very unusual. The basis is a circular central room / tower with four rectangular rooms leading from it on all sides in a rough cross shape. The complex also includes a spa house and other buildings. Archaeologists believe that it was a luxury elite villa, but also admit the possibility of a religious shrine. Both variants could also exist at different times.

Ancient monument inspector Keith Emerick said the discovery was even more important than originally thought. According to him, it is not yet entirely clear what the building was used for, but he described it as a magnificent Roman house, probably owned by someone rich and tall: “We have talked about this with a number of leading academics and experts in Roman architecture. We are all trying to find comparable findings, so far in vain. In this sense, it is a really significant discovery. It's also really exciting. One of the versions is the idea of a religious building, which is almost like a men's club - there is also a spa house. It's a really interesting connection. "

Karl Battersby, Director of Business and Environmental Services at North Yorkshire County Council, said: “This is a remarkable discovery that contributes to the story of the Roman settlement in our county. The work of North Yorkshire archaeologists has shown that the buildings were designed by the best architects in Northern Europe of the time and built by the best craftsmen. Given the importance of the complex, it is great that the layout of the new housing estate has been redesigned so that an important part of our history can be preserved. The artifacts found and samples of the environment will be further investigated to identify what this mysterious site was for and why it was built so far from other Roman centers.

An important find will be assigned the status of a protected cultural monument. The developers have already returned to the drawing boards and redesigned the housing estate under construction so that the archaeological monuments became part of the public space within the greenery, which was originally supposed to be in another place of development. They will be accessible to everyone.

Roman Němec

Sources: telegraph.co.uk, bbc.com, theguardian.com