GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—CNN reports that the mosaic floor in room 28 of southwest England’s Chedworth Roman Villa has been radiocarbon dated to the mid-fifth century A.D. Ceramic analysis also supports this late date, according to archaeologist Martin Papworth of England’s National Trust. The mosaic is, however, of poorer quality than those found in the villa’s fourth-century rooms. Scholars had believed that the villa was abandoned and the local population was forced to turn to subsistence farming for survival when Roman rule ended in Britain. But Papworth explained that the construction of this poorer quality mosaic in the fifth century suggests that the economic decline had been more gradual than had been previously thought. Further investigation of other villas in the region could reveal if they were also inhabited and refurbished in the Roman style in the fifth century. To read about a Roman villa in northern Italy that was rediscovered nearly 100 years after it was first partially excavated, go to "Missing Mosaics."
