Woodchester

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Woodchester is a major Romano-British villa in the Cotswolds near Stroud (Glos.). It originated on a small scale in the 2nd cent. By the first half of the 4th cent. it consisted of at least three courts in echelon. The outer court was probably agricultural. The middle court was flanked by a large store-building and a residence, perhaps of the agent. The principal range of the inner court contained a huge reception room, floored with the largest mosaic in Roman Britain, depicting Orpheus and the beasts. Other rooms were floored in mosaic. One was probably a sculpture gallery.

Alan Simon Esmonde Cleary

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