Shrine
The function of this building is unclear, but it may have functioned as a shrine or summer house. One possible interpretation is that this building functioned as a private shrine for the family of the Villa and that the circular building on the top of the hill at Blue Bridge was a shrine/temple for the native Britons in the area.
Marble cockerelReligion in the villa - Mercury God of Prosperity and Success
During the excavations of the final villa at Bancroft a carved marble cockerel was found which is linked to the classical god Mercury - messenger to the gods. In the Pagan religion Mercury was god of commerce and prosperity.

The cockerel itself is herald to a new day reflecting the role of Mercury as herald to the gods.
Christianity and the Roman Empire
Silver ring with image of a bird and starsChristianity was outlawed throughout the Roman Empire until the 4th Century when it became the official religion of the Empire. This was because Christianity only recognises one god and therefore did not allow for the Emperor to be worshipped as a god.

At Bancroft a silver ring was found engraved with a bird and stars. The symbol of the stars are associated with Christianity. The ring is of a style contemporary with the shrine and the 4th Century.