The villa was accidentally discovered in 1864 by Thomas Margetts, a gamekeeper who was digging for a ferret, and found fragments of paving and pottery. The site was subsequently excavated in 1865-7 by James Farrer, an antiquarian and the Member of Parliament for South Durham. The owner of the land was the Earl of Eldon, and it was he who financed the excavations, roofing for the mosaics, and the building of the mock-Tudor lodge to house the artifacts. Little, if anything, of the excavations was recorded. Only the best four mosaics were left exposed under shelters and the rest were reburied for their protection.