Swindon's Roman Heritage

The Groundwell Ridge site was discovered in 1996 when contractors uncovered the buried walls of Roman buildings. Two local archaeologists, Bryn Walters and Bernard Philips, together with a team of volunteer diggers investigated the remains and it soon became clear that this was a site of great importance, with a large complex of buildings, a hypocaust (a system of under-floor heating, usually found as part of Roman bath houses), walls covered with painted plaster and a carefully-designed and constructed water supply.

Geophysical evidence proved that the sub-surface remains were equally extensive and well preserved and as a result, the threatened area of Groundwell Ridge was bought by Swindon Borough Council and English Heritage, protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and incorporated into an area of public space.

On 28 and 29 June 2003 the site was featured as parts of Channel 4's Time Team 'Big Dig' weekend.

English Heritage carried out a seven week excavation on part of the site during the summer of 2004. For more details please follow the links below.

Useful Website Links

Further information is also available in the English Heritage Website (www.english-heritage.org.uk).

Friends of Groundwell Ridge

A new organisation, The Friends of Groundwell Ridge, was set up in 2004. This organisation offers the opportunity for people, especially local residents, to get involved in archaeological and educational activities and help to promote information and understanding about this important roman site.

For further information and details of how to joint The Friends of Groundwell Ridge, please telephone the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery on 01793 466556.

The latest in a series of talks, organised by The Friends of Groundwell Ridge, will be held in Swindon on Monday, 11 April 2005. For more details, please follow the link to the Heritage Events page in this website.