Roman Milton Keynes

Watling Street (though the Romans did not call it this), is the most obvious sign of the Roman presence in Milton Keynes. It enters Milton Keynes at the large island at the south of the A5 trunk route and is still in use through Fenny Stratford; closely passing the Tesco in Bletchley and as 'Denbigh Road,, parallel to Bletcham Way to the start of the V4. This modern road follows the original route (except to avoid Loughton (where the London Road follows Watling Street) and then along the High Street in Stony Stratford.

The Roman villa at Bancroft is also well known, but is not the only villa found in the area. A map in Bob Zeepvat's "Roman Milton Keynes" identifies villas in Holne Chase, Sherwood Drive (both Bletchley), Dovecote Farm in Shenley Brook End, Wymbush, Stantonbury  and Stanton Low. He also  notes that a site in Walton could be a villa and that the Ouse valley "is also particularly well endowed with villas, which occur at intervals of 2-3 kilometres along its north side." The term means farm - and some villas are really a collection of buildings dominated by a place of residence. The book on Bancroft shows that the extent of buildings covered most of the land between the open remains of the villa and the car par and the pétanque pitch. Wymbush's villa included a stone house and outbuildings including a barn. The picture above was taken at the British Museum and is of coins found near Watling Street as it enters Magiovinium (the Roman town mow within Milton Keynes).



Detailed lists of sites and findings are listed in Roman Milton Keynes: Excavations & Fieldwork 1971 - 82 edited by Dennis C Mynard.



An interesting book was published by the Museum of London Archaeology Service called "Becoming Roman". It traces the development from the late iron age to the end of the Roman period at Monkston.


All these publications are available in the Milton Keynes Libraries. The Main library in Silbury Boulevard has an excellent local studies sections sited within the Reference Section (though some can be borrowed).

There's a good interactive resource available at http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/mkm/mkarchaeology/Web%20pages/roman1.html