Catherine Downes

Pit Mead Roman villa mosaic, illustration by Catherine Downes, engraved by James BasireCatherine Downes was an English antiquarian and archaeologist, who excavated a Roman villa near Warminster, Wiltshire, in 1786. Downes is a significant figure in the early history of archaeology, since she was one of the first women antiquarians to excavate a Roman site; the other was Frances Stackhouse Acton.

She reported on the results of her excavation to the Society of Antiquaries of London in a letter they received on 10 March 1788. The letter was read to the society by Daines Barrington. It was accompanied by her illustrations of pavements and finds from the villa, which were later engraved by James Basire and published in Vetusta Monumenta.

Whilst her descriptions of the finds show that she was not familiar with Latin literature, they do demonstrate that she was familiar with the principles of archaeological enquiry (then in its very infancy) and how to describe and record finds in detail.