> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://theromanfiles.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Complete quern stone found beneath Roman villa at Rossett, near Wrexham - URL: https://theromanfiles.com/quern-stone-rossett-roman-villa-north-wales/ - Published: 2026-10-11T09:28:51.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-26T08:27:12.000Z - Description: A complete quern stone from a layer that pre-dates the stone villa at Rossett shows the site has a longer history, the dig team says. - Author: J E Cowie - Tags: News Archaeologists digging at Rossett, near Wrexham, have found a complete quern stone, a tool for grinding grain, in layers beneath the stone-built villa. The University of Chester described the site, in a release dated 5 October 2026, as the first confirmed Roman villa discovered in North Wales. ![Map showing where Rossett is](https://theromanfiles.com/content/images/2026/10/map_rossett.jpg) Rossett, Wrexham County Borough, Wales ## A find from before the villa The dig was a collaboration between the University of Chester and DigVentures, and a successful crowdfunding campaign helped support it. According to the university, students worked alongside professional archaeologists, local volunteers and crowdfunding participants. Ben Swain, Project Manager and co-Site Director for DigVentures, called the quern stone "a star find this year" and said where it was found mattered as much as the object. In his words, it "came from a layer that pre-dates the stone construction of the villa, telling us something about what was happening on the site before the villa was built. The villa clearly wasn't the earliest thing here." Dr Caroline Pudney, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Chester, Academic Lead and co-Site Director, said finds like the quern stone "allow us to look beyond the villa itself and begin exploring the much longer history of human activity in this landscape." The team is cautious about what that earlier activity was. Swain said they have uncovered "tantalising clues" about it but are "still trying to understand exactly what that looked like." A grain-grinding tool in a pre-villa layer is a pointer to that earlier use of the site, and the excavators have not yet worked out the rest. ## A villa that grew in stages The dig also showed that the main villa building was altered and expanded over time rather than built in one phase. Excavations in Trench 1 revealed a remarkably well-preserved Roman building with intact floor levels and remains of a hypocaust heating system. Swain said the building's preservation "exceeded our expectations" and that it appears to have changed significantly through its use-life. He added that "it seems likely that, at one point in its life, it functioned as a bath house." Pudney said the archaeology is revealing a villa complex that evolved over generations. ![The town of Wrexham, North Wales, showing its streets and buildings](https://theromanfiles.com/content/images/2026/10/shot2_the-town-of-wrexham-north-wales-showing-.jpg) Wrexham, North Wales. ## Wealth and connections Pottery, coins, animal bones, building materials and painted wall plaster from across the site point, according to the university, to a community with considerable wealth and connections to wider Roman trade networks. Swain said the people living there had the wealth to build and maintain features such as hypocaust heating and rooms decorated with painted plaster. ## How the project began The research was first sparked by a lead ingot found by a metal detectorist in 2019\. Later investigations by the University of Chester and Archaeological Survey West uncovered Roman flooring, ceramics and other artefacts, which led to the identification of a substantial Roman villa complex. The project is carried out with Wrexham Museum, the Portable Antiquities Scheme, PAS Cymru and Heneb: The Trust for Welsh Archaeology. ## What comes next The team has entered the post-excavation phase, analysing finds, environmental samples and records from the fieldwork. The university said the results will feed into a detailed report to be made publicly available and will help shape plans for further research and excavation in 2027\. Swain said he would like to return to the Trench 1 building to learn more about its layout and function, and to find out [what came before the villa](https://theromanfiles.com/ons-island-iron-age-wall-beneath-roman-room/) and whether further ranges of buildings remain to be found. ## Sources White, B. (2026) 'Complete quern stone found at Roman villa near Rossett', Chester and District Standard, 6 October 2026, available at: [https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/26612957.complete-quern-stone-found-roman-villa-near-rossett/](https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/26612957.complete-quern-stone-found-roman-villa-near-rossett/?ref=theromanfiles.com) (Accessed: 11 October 2026). University of Chester (2026) 'New discoveries at Rossett Roman villa shed light on life in Roman Wales', University of Chester, 5 October 2026, available at: [https://chester.ac.uk/about/news/articles/new-discoveries-at-rossett-roman-villa-shed-light-on-life-in-roman-wales/](https://chester.ac.uk/about/news/articles/new-discoveries-at-rossett-roman-villa-shed-light-on-life-in-roman-wales/?ref=theromanfiles.com) (Accessed: 11 October 2026). ## Picture credits - Top picture: Farmland at Cam-yr-Alyn, near Rossett. Image: Arable field, Cam-yr-Alyn — Richard Webb, [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?ref=theromanfiles.com) (via [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arable%5Ffield,%5FCam-yr-Alyn%5F-%5Fgeograph.org.uk%5F-%5F7026093.jpg?ref=theromanfiles.com)) - Wrexham, North Wales. Image: Bank Street, Wrexham — RJ Price Davies, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/?ref=theromanfiles.com) (via [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bank%5FStreet%2C%5FWrexham.jpg?ref=theromanfiles.com)) - Map: drawn from [Natural Earth](https://www.naturalearthdata.com/?ref=theromanfiles.com) (public domain) and [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7369807?ref=theromanfiles.com).