As Katherine Sheen rested on the banks of Hensham river on 3 August 2005, her

As Katherine Sheen rested on the banks of Hensham river on 3 August 2005, her
gaze fell upon a small dirt-covered object amongst a tangle of tree roots. Cleaning
away the soil, she realized it was a leather pouch. It fell apart as Katherine
opened it, and the items inside fell to the ground. Although her university degree
merely touched on the Roman occupation of ancient Britain, providing a very
general overview of everyday activities, once she’d rubbed off some the dirt,
Katherine immediately identified the coins in her hand as coming from that era.
Despite their discoloration, Katherine had no doubt they were historically
significant. As soon as she got home, she informed the police of her find

That might have been the end of the story – except for the fact that the farmer

who owned adjacent field then mentioned the lines of large stones his plough
kept running into. By mid-August, with the farmer’s permission, a team of
archaeologists, led by Professor Kevin Durrand, were camped out in the field.
Durrand had previously worked on other projects where pieces of ancient pottery
and the discovery of an old sword had led archaeologists to unearth sizeable
Roman settlements. He was keen to start excavations at Hensham, and had got
funding for a three-month dig. What his team eventually discovered, three weeks
into excavations, were the remains of the outer walls of a Roman villa. As many
Romans in Britain simply lived in wooden houses with thatched roofs, the family
that occupied the villa must have been very wealthy. As the team continued their
work, they looked for evidence that might indicated whether the villa had been
attacked and purposely demolished, or fallen into such a poor state that it
eventually collapsed. Looking at the way a set of slate roof tiles had fallen to the
ground, they decided on the latter. What caused the noble Roman family and their
servants to abandon the villa remains open to speculation. Another find was six
blue beads, crafted from glass, which the archaeologists speculated were part of a
necklace. Durrand has previously found gold bracelets on other sites, but for him
the beads are no less significant. ‘Every find contributes to the story’, he says

On the outer western wall, the archaeologists uncovered number of foundation
stones. On one is carved what the archaeologists made out to be a Latin
inscription. But as the stone itself has endured centuries of erosion, the team has
yet to work out what it says. Another find was a section of traditional Roman
mosaic. Although incomplete, enough pieces remain to show a geometrical
pattern and stylized fish. From this, Durrand assumes that a bath house would

have been a feature of the villa. While his team have so far not found any hard proof of this, Durrand is confident it will turn out to be the case.

TRUE FALSE NOT GIVEN	If the statement agrees with the information If the statement contradicts the information If there is no information on this
1	Katherine Sheen’s university course looked at Roman life in Britain only briefly.

2 It was clear to Sheen that the contents of the leather
pouch were financially valuable.
3 Before excavations started, Kevin Durrand believed
they would discover a Roman settlement.
4 Durrand’s team eventually concluded that the villa had
been deliberately destroyed.
5 The blue beads would once have been owned by a
Roman woman of high status.
6 The archaeologists now understand the Roman writing
on the foundation stone.
7 In Durrand’s opinion, the mosaic strongly suggests that
the villa contained a bath house.