Archaeologists to uncover more of Roman town in Derby
A Roman town next to the River Derwent will be further uncovered through training digs for archaeologists.Excavation work will take place over three weeks in August at Darley Playing Fields in Little Chester, the oldest inhabited part of Derby which was once known as Derventio.Students from York Archaeology, a charity which operates throughout the UK, will work on the project with amateur archaeologists, alongside Derby Museums.Gareth Davies, director of archaeology for York Archaeology, said: "As archaeologists this is a very exciting site to uncover as we start to peel back the layers on what life would have been like for civilians in Roman times."
Mr Davies added: "This part of the settlement would have originally been established to service the soldiers garrisoned in Derventio, so we would expect to find evidence of pottery making and food production, as well as any items dropped or discarded by the local people whilst going about their day-to-day business."The team will focus on an area near Ryknield Street, a long-distance Roman road that crossed Derbyshire which can still be seen across Darley Playing Fields.Laura Parker, community engagement manager at York Archaeology, said: "Quite a lot was uncovered during excavations between 2013 and 2016, so we're just hoping to expand on that knowledge."It is exciting because it will hopefully encourage people to learn more about a career in archaeology, as well as learning more about their local heritage."In past excavations, archaeologists uncovered a cobbled surface in the area.Ms Parker added: "We're hoping that we can find more of it and understand it better and in the process potentially find more Roman artefacts that can tell the story of the area."Digging will begin in early August and Ms Parker will run free weekday tours of the site from 18 to 22 August.In the city centre, Derby Museum & Art Gallery will host activities on Thursday afternoons in August linked to the dig.An 'ask the archaeologist' session will be available along with a mini dig and the chance to wash and identify some of the items recovered from the training dig.
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