Roman shops unearthed under Corn Hall
By Andy Woolfoot
The remains of an http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=3656 shopping parade, hidden for centuries under the floorboards of Cirencester’s historic Corn Hall have been unearthed this week.
Workers came across the remains of what archaeologists claim is the most significant http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=3186 in the town in the last 50 years while carrying out refurbishment work.
A series of walls were discovered 10 feet below the level of the floorboards in the main room of the 19th Century building along with evidence the site used to house shops over 2,000 years ago.
And alongside the remains http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=3334 road which ran from Silchester to Gloucester.
Laurie Coleman of Cotswold Archaeology, project manager for the dig, said it was no surprise to make the discovery in a town with such a rich Roman history.
Image: This perfume bottle was found intact after 2,000 years under the Corn Hall”There is always the expectation there will be some archaeology but the features that we found were completely new to us.
“The Roman road Ermine Street was just outside the wall and next to a pavement.
“This would have been like a motorway services and a market rolled into one. It would have been quite a grand street to walk up.
Archaeologists excavating the site this week found the remains of a bakery oven with scorch marks, bones from cows, pigs and sheep, a dozen Roman coins, pottery fragments and surprisingly a small, intact, glass, perfume bottle.
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