A newly discovered Roman site in the Cotswolds is set to appear on an upcoming episode of Digging for Britain.
The Roman settlement, uncovered during an archaeological dig in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, will feature on the BBC Two programme later this month.
The dig was led by The Ernest Cook Trust, an educational charity, with support from professional archaeologists and volunteers.
Lee James, estate forester at The Ernest Cook Trust, said: "We realised quite early on that we hadn’t just happened on a bit of a villa that used to be there–this was a large complex of buildings.
"Digging for Britain reaches out to organisations engaged in archaeological projects. They wanted to know what we were up to and when we started finding things, and that’s when they said ‘We had better come and see you!’”
Among the discoveries is what could be a previously unrecorded Roman port on the River Severn.
The site is thought to have first been occupied by Iron Age Britons who traded with the Romans before the conquest of Britain in AD 43.
Mr James believes it offers new perspective on the Roman arrival in Britain.
He said the site "puts an interesting slant on the ‘invasion’," suggesting it could have been peacefully taken over due to existing trade links.
Items found during the dig include a Roman bathhouse, coins dating from AD 80 to AD 170, a bronze stylus, a bronze scalpel, a carved leaf from a statue, and tiny, detailed representations of a bird of prey that would once have sat atop a box.
The site is marked out as an unusual example of wealth and luxury not normally seen during the early period of Roman occupation of Britain.
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Mr James has also spoken about the excitement of making new discoveries.
He said: "You see people pick things up and sometimes you can’t take a clear picture of the object because their hands are shaking so much.
"When you find something, like a piece of a bracelet, and you know you are the first person to touch it since it was lost by its owner nearly 2,000 years ago, that’s quite a moment."
Excavations at the site will continue through 2026.
