Mole Rats Lead Archaeologists to Discover a Large Roman Villa in England
A team of researchers has uncovered the remains of a vast Roman villa in England, thanks to the excavation efforts of Cotswold mole rats.
The researchers found the remains of a farm and a lavishly decorated bathhouse while studying wall mosaics that had been unearthed by a colony of mole rats.
They were astonished to discover that this residential complex dated back to the 3rd or 4th century, especially since it is located just 274 meters from another large villa built around the same time. This proximity of two villas is quite unusual.
Experts working on Channel 4’s Time Team made this discovery after Roger Box, a forensic archaeologist, informed them about Roman wall mosaics at the end of his garden.
Box believes that this villa could be comparable in size to the Chedworth villa, a popular tourist attraction located nearly 5 kilometers away. He had suspected that the moles digging in his garden might lead to an archaeological find since he moved into his 19th-century home eight years ago.
“These moles are quite a nuisance. They are a menace for digging in my garden, but they have turned into amateur archaeologists, making them my colleagues,” Box remarked.
