Remants of roman road found

8:56am Friday 25th July 2008

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REMNANTS of an old Roman road have been unearthed in Bishopstone.

The discovery was made by Hereford-based specialists Archaeological Investigations Ltd during construction work on a new house.

It is thought to be part of an old road that ran across the county with the remains consisting of a foundation layer of cobbles beneath a red gravel.

“I was expecting a quiet day as previous archaeological investigations next door found nothing, so it came as a bit of a surprise when we found red gravel and laid cobbles in the second trench,” said Daniel Lewis, a field archaeologist with the Faraday Road company.

“It soon became apparent that my quiet day was going to turn into a frantic one and with the help of JP Developments (which was working on the property) we were able to record all the layers that made up the road.”

Mr Lewis said the ancient road may have been laid during Ostorius Scapulas’ campaign against the Iron Age tribe of the Silures in AD47.

Alison Grange, Herefordshire Council press officer, said the finding was a very minor part of a Roman road stretching from Hay-on-Wye to Stretton Grandison.

She added that the discovery had been recorded and that the building work was likely to be allowed to continue.