DigVentures: Fascinating insights into ancient family life

Here are some of our best finds from Earth Trust, and how they help us to understand what life was really like for the people who once called this place home. 

 

1. A rare ‘aisled’ villa building 

This site offers rare and invaluable insight into the everyday lives of Romans in Britain – how they adapted to a new environment, and how they connected to the landscape. With the generous support of crowdfunders from across the globe, we were able to launch our very first community-led excavation at Earth Trust in 2024, allowing us to continue unearthing key archaeological evidence.

While the shiny, grand artefacts can often capture our imagination, it’s the everyday items that can unlock the mysteries of ancient communities. Things like tools, personal items and even pets can offer us insight into the daily life of people living thousands of years ago.

Every artefact brings us one step closer to understanding how this once-thriving community lived, worked, and interacted with the world around them. This is not just archaeology – it’s a living story unfolding beneath our feet.

 

2. A Tiny Roman pet dog

Among our most captivating discoveries was the remains of a remarkably small Roman dog, which attracted national media attention as one of the tiniest ever found in Britain – ranking as the fifth smallest. Small dogs first appeared in Britain with the Roman arrival, marking a cultural shift from the Iron Age when only larger dogs were present. Due to her small size and bowed legs, we think it’s unlikely that ‘Clumpy’ was a working dog. The presence of such a petite companion animal gives us insight into Roman domestic life and the changing relationship between humans and dogs during this period of British history – from working animals to beloved pets! 

 

3. A toilet spoon 

Ever wondered how people cleaned their ears before cotton buds? Well, wonder no more! Introducing, the Roman toilet spoon. The Romans had a pretty extensive toolkit for medical or cosmetic purposes, including this copper alloy toilet spoon (sometimes known as a spatula probe). As well as possible ear cleaning, this tool could also have been used for extracting the contents of a cosmetic container, or even for surgical procedures. This remarkably well-preserved find gives us insight into everyday Roman life – and shows how they had developed specialized tools for hygiene and medical care nearly 2,000 years ago!

Ancient Roman stylus after conservation (DigVentures)

4. A stylus 

This ancient stylus was used for writing on a wax tablet – the ancient equivalent of a notebook. A practical object with a bit of flair – featuring a decorative coppery alloy ring around one end that may have been used as a finger rest or to aid with grip. Vitally, this find suggests that someone in the Roman family living here could read and write. What history did this stylus capture in its day? 

 

5. A child’s bracelet 

This delicate copper bracelet tells a touching story. Originally made for an adult before being cut down in size to fit a child’s wrist – could this be a family heirloom, passed down from parent to child? It’s these small stories found through archaeology that bring the past to life.

 

6. A complete Samian ware cup 

This complete Samian ware cup was the Roman equivalent of your fine China ware. This pottery wasn’t for casual use in the kitchen and was reserved for fine dining. Most Samian ware was made in Gaul (France) and imported into Britain. Interestingly, this cup also features a potter’s stamp, meaning we can trace its maker. From research, we can say this cup was produced at Lezoux between AD145 and 175 and stamped by the potter Divixtus. 

 

7. Three bone combs 

These delicate bone (or possibly antler) combs were uncovered from graves associated with the villa. They all feature eye-like ring-and-dot motifs or holes on the terminals which, when coupled with the feather-like design of the teeth, create an owl-like design. In fact, this owl design is quite common in combs from this period. All three were associated with Roman burials found near the villa – having been placed there by people laying their loved one to rest.

 

8. A brooch 

This stunning brooch is a Colchester two-piece brooch, dating to AD 43-100. Serving as both a stylish embellishment to your everyday look and as a status indicator, brooches in the Roman period could also be used to highlight your rank in society or the military. The Colchester brooch in particular is a type of jewellery with strong Romano-British influences, showing us how Roman fashions were blending with the local influences.  

 

9. A pestle 

This mysterious ‘square ball’ was discovered by our Venturer Erin at the bottom of a Roman column base on our first crowdfunded excavation. After a little research, we managed to identify it as a Roman pestle for crushing and grinding substances into powders or pastes. This find suggests that the Romans may have been using herbs and spices in their cooking to enhance the flavours of their meals – we can only wonder what sort of delicious recipes might this pestle have helped to create over the years! 

 

10. A double pointed bone needle 

This is one of three bone needles or pins that have been found on site. It was found by Lara in 2024. Analysis of the finds uncovered in our first community dig is still underway, and our specialists will help us to date this find and identify what it might have been used for. Suggestions so far range from weaving, to fishing gores – showing how these ancient communities relied on their self-sufficiency, utilising skills and craft techniques that may be lost to most of us today. 

These finds are just the beginning of the story. Each discovery helps us to understand more about the ancient community that called this place home.  

Fancy adding to the story? Our mission to find out more about this Roman villa continues. Crowdfund our next dig to be part of it – online or in the field. 

Written by Georgina Cole.