Uncovering Roman Britain’s secrets

For more than 2000 years a suburb of monumental Roman buildings lay undiscovered beneath a modern South Wales town, but now archaeologists from the University hope to reveal the secrets of this fascinating ancient site. In spring 2010, staff and students from the School of History, Archaeology and Religion located a complex of buildings outside the Roman fortress at Caerleon. The 'Lost City of the Legion' - as it has been called - was completely unknown and is a major addition to our knowledge of Roman Britain. Jump to video Geophysical surveys taken by the Cardiff team at the time of the discovery showed buildings that could have included markets, bath houses and temples. Small test trenches also revealed what is thought to have been a quayside wall where ships would have docked and unloaded their cargoes for the military garrison at Caerleon and other forts in Wales. Now, a four-week excavation (4 August - 1 September) undertaken by archaeologists from Cardiff is aiming to shed light on the remains of these important buildings. Peter Guest, School of History, Archaeology and Religion said: "The great thing about an archaeological discovery like this is there are lots of new questions that we just don't have definite answers to at the moment.