Illegal treasure hunters entered the area of the remains of a Roman villa in the village of Eastfield (northern England) at night and destroyed it. Interestingly, the information about the discovery appeared in the media not much earlier.
During the night search for valuable artifacts, treasure hunters damaged the ancient remains of the building and probably took over the finds.
So far, scientists have confirmed that the villa had Roman baths, and its shape (the structure was based on a circle) was unusual. The Roman building was discovered in early 2020, but the lockdown and epidemic slowed down the work of archaeologists. Until now, researchers do not know exactly whether it was an unusual Roman villa or perhaps more of a religious object. The remains of pottery and other everyday items were found on the spot.
Due to the lack of funds for the maintenance of the building, there are plans to bury the walls and foundations of the building again, which may be fully exposed again in the future. There is a fear that the ancient ruins could be damaged without proper protection.