Lullingstone

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Lullingstone was a Romano-British villa in the Darent valley, Kent. Originating in the late 1st cent., by the late 2nd cent. the residence contained a sunken nymphaeum, later housing two fine marble busts. The house was extensively remodelled at the beginning of the 4th cent., including a mosaic of Europa and the Bull. The northern end was partitioned off to form a Christian chapel whose wall-paintings included the chi-rho (the Christogram) and praying figures, preserved by having collapsed into the former nymphaeum. Nearby were a circular shrine and a temple-mausoleum, as well as agricultural buildings.

Alan Simon Esmonde Cleary

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