Artifacts and remnants of a Roman town were found in England by a team of archaeologists Tuesday during an excavation for a future high-speed train railway.
A team of 80 archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology spent 12 months excavating an Iron Age village they believe turned into a Roman trading town, according to a press release from High Speed 2, a rail line that will connect cities in the United Kingdom. Jewelry, Roman coins, a pair of shackles, and pottery were among some of the treasures unearthed by the archaeologists.
“This is certainly one of the most impressive sites MOLA Headland Infrastructure has discovered whilst working on the HS2 scheme,” James West, the MOLA site manager, said in the release. “A particular highlight for me has been understanding the emerging story of Blackgrounds, which we now know spans multiple time periods. Uncovering such a well-preserved and large Roman road, as well as so many high quality finds has been extraordinary and tells us so much about the people who lived here.”
The Roman site, called Blackgrounds, is believed to date back to 50 A.D., though the Iron Age village predates the Roman town. Experts date it as far back as 400 B.C.
Archaeologists had been aware of the historic grounds since the 18th century, and the archaeologists had indications of what they would find while digging the land by conducting an initial survey and analysis, but the dig surpassed all expectations, the team said.
Other findings in the excavation included 30 roundhouse buildings and roads. One of the roads discovered was a Roman road, identified by its width, 10 meters, meaning multiple carts were likely being wheeled through often.
The artifacts removed from the site are undergoing a cleaning process, and the town’s layout is being mapped.
The Blackgrounds project is part of 100 archaeological digs that the HS2 project has examined since 2018. The grounds are expected to be featured in the BBC series Digging for Britain airing Tuesday night.
