   lullingstone roman villa is a villa built during the roman occupation of britain, situated near the village of eynsford in kent, south eastern england. constructed in the 1st century, perhaps around a. d. 80-90, the house was repeatedly expanded and occupied until it was destroyed by fire in the 5th century. the occupants were wealthy romans or native britons who had adopted roman customs. some evidence found on site suggests that about a. d. 150, the villa was considerably enlarged and may have been used as the country retreat of the governors of the roman province of britannia. two sculpted marble busts found in the cellar may be those of pertinax, governor in 185-186, and his father-in-law, publius helvius successus."a governor's palace?" lullingstone roman villa, english heritage, accessed 15 june 2012. in the saxon period, the ruins of a roman temple-mausoleum on the site of the villa were incorporated into a christian chapel (lullingstane chapel) that was extant at the time of the norman conquest, one of the earliest known chapels in the country. the villa is located in the darent valley, along with six others, including those at crofton, crayford and dartford.lullingstone roman villa, michael fulford, page 17 ==history== thumb|left|layout, around ad 400 ===construction=== the earliest stage of the villa was built around 82 ad. it was situated in an area near to several other villas, and was close to watling street, a roman road by which travellers could move to and from londinium to durobrivae, durovernum cantiacorum, and the major roman port of rutupiÃ¦ (i.e., london, rochester, canterbury, and richborough, respectively).lullingstone roman villa, michael fulford, page 18 ===enlargement=== around ad 150 the villa was expanded and a heated bath block with hypocaust was added. two marble busts from the 2nd century found in the cellar perhaps depict the owners or residents of the villa, which may have been the de
1st-century_architecture 4th-century_Christianity 4th-century_architecture Ancient_Roman_architecture Archaeological_museums_in_England Buildings_and_structures_in_Sevenoaks Christian_sites_of_the_Roman_Empire Christianity_in_Roman_Britain English_Heritage_sites_in_Kent History_museums_in_Kent Museums_in_Kent Museums_of_Ancient_Rome_in_the_United_Kingdom Roman_religious_sites_in_England Roman_villas_in_Kent Visitor_attractions_in_Kent