Farmland
When the Romans landed in Britain in AD 43 they found existing farms and settlements scattered across the countryside. In many ways, the countryside in Roman Britain remained largely unchanged from the Late Iron Age to the Roman period. Over time though, the Romans likely developed large estates that were owned by important British people loyal to the Romans or Romans who had been in the army. Some were even owned by the emperor.
What was Roman farming like?
The Romans introduced lots of new crops and plants to Britain like peas, onions, cucumbers and plums. They also introduced herbs and spices like garlic, coriander and rosemary. Roman ideas about farming and better ways of breeding livestock meant that more food could be produced. Farmers could become very wealthy and build villas to live in at the centre of large villa estates.
Why was farmland important to the Romans?
Farmland like the area around Lullingstone Roman Villa was important for providing food to great villa estates. Large villas like Lullingstone relied on the crops and livestock from their farms to provide food for the villa but also extra crops that could be sold.
Farms in Britain grew crops that were sent to other places in the Roman Empire, like to armies in the Rhineland (modern-day Germany). They could even have been eaten in Rome itself though we have less evidence of this. The weather conditions in Britain were better suited to grow crops like wheat and barley, as well as vegetables like turnips and carrots, than other places in the Roman Empire.