Come and Join us for a talk on 'Who Actually Discovered Brading Roman Villa' with Pat Barber - Head Guide at Brading Roman Villa

Who actually discovered Brading Roman Villa - farmer Munns or Captain Thorp? Why did two teams excavate it? What prompted the disagreements between Thorp and virtually everyone else? Was Brading the second Roman Villa to be discovered on the Island? How was the Villa interpreted in the early days? And did Queen Victoria really make a visit?

Many stories have gathered around Brading Roman Villa since the first mosaic was unearthed in 1880 and in this new talk we attempt to sift the grain from the chaff.

We will reflect on Brading in 1880 and the land where the Villa was found, review the dramatis personae involved in the discovery and subsequent excavations, and explore the controversies surrounding Brading Roman Villa's first ten years as a visitor attraction. On the way we will consider what archaeology was like in the 1880s and what we might have seen had the Villa been discovered today.