Villas, Sanctuaries and Settlement in the Romano-British Countryside had its genesis in a conference held at the British Museum in 2009 and brings together a range of papers on buildings that have been categorised as -villas-, mainly in Roman Britain, from the Isle of Wight to Shropshire. It comprises the first such survey for almost half a century. While some of these structures were indeed country houses and the centres of agricultural estates as their designation as -villas- implies, others are here shown to have been administrative or industrial centres, hunting lodges or religious sanctuaries, or a combination of more than one such function. The art associated with these prestige structures and its relevance to their function is also considered.
