Data copyright © Surrey Archaeological Society unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Surrey Archaeological Society
Castle Arch
Guildford
Surrey
GU1 3SX
UK
Tel: 01483 532454
Fax: 01483 532454
The Roman temple at Farley Heath has been a well-known archaeological site since the middle of the 19th century. It is in a rural, and relatively isolated, position, and began to be subjected to metal detection damage in the early 1990s. Excavation by the Surrey County Archaeological Unit was funded by English Heritage, in order to record the surviving stratigraphy before further destruction. The results of the excavations are described and discussed in the light of earlier investigations on the site, and the opportunity has been taken to provide comprehensive publication of the large and important collection of Roman finds from previous work.
It is now clear that the site has seen activity since at least the Neolithic period. It is argued that the context of this pre-Roman activity was ritual, in relation to a distinct hilltop location. The evidence, almost entirely of finds, seems most conclusive for the later Iron Age. It is, however, clear that an Iron Age shrine did not precede the Roman temple on exactly the same site, as for example at Uley, Gloucestershire.
Use of the site extended throughout the Roman period, but the date(s) when the temple and its surrounding temenos were built cannot be precisely established. The temple was of the common cella and ambulatory type, while the temenos is unique in Britain, forming an irregular polygon, which enclosed some 1.2ha. This is a relatively large area, but the evidence suggests there were no permanent structures within it. South and west of the temenos a variety of evidence has been recovered pointing to industrial and, perhaps, settlement activity.
The site appears not to have seen much activity after the Roman period and prior to extensive robbing of its stone from the later 17th century onwards. It seems, nevertheless, that some memory of its religious purpose was retained over this long period.
Claims that the temple was associated with a 'ten acre enclosure' are dismissed, the features in fact forming elements within a more extensive series of land boundaries on Farley Heath belonging to the medieval or post-medieval periods.