Foundations of Roman town houses discovered beneath British city park

Foundations of complete Roman town houses, dating back over 1,600 years, have been discovered in a downtown park in the English city of Chichester, it was revealed Thursday.

City officials said they are expected to be some of the most remarkable Roman finds ever found in Britain.

Archaeologists were stunned to find three almost complete Roman buildings, footings of which have survived over 1,600 years in Priory Park in the center of a thriving city close to England's south coast, just 88 km from London.

A spokesman at city hall said: "The scans appear to show two large masonry houses and would have been owned by someone of great importance. The third building is of great interest because of its unusual shape."

The discovery was made after geophysics specialist David Staveley used ground penetrating radar equipment to scan parks in Chichester.

This was done in agreement with Chichester council's archaeologist James Kenny who felt the parks were the most likely place to discover remains that would have survived.

Following the scans, Kenny and the local archaeology society carried out a very small dig in the park which confirmed the discovery.

Kenny said Thursday: "What's remarkable about this discovery is that it has survived over 1,000 years in a currently occupied city. The only reason they have survived is because they are under a park that has never been built on. It's almost unique to see Roman houses survive in this type of setting and to be so complete."

"The location marks what may have been one of the more affluent parts of the Roman Town, with these houses being the equivalent to a property worth millions of pounds in today's society. The two houses have walls surrounding complete rooms, which are set around a courtyard or atrium. There is also a deep masonry building with a rounded end."

"These are definitely going to be some of the best surviving Roman remains that have been uncovered in a city environment."

He said the aim now was to carry out a dig to uncover the buildings that had been found.

"This is sure to unlock even more buried secrets and items of importance," said Kenny.

He said he wanted site visits to enable members of the public to watch the archaeologists at work.

Chichester's rich Roman history already attracts tourists from around the world because of its city walls and Roman bath house, located in the city's Novium Museum. Endit