Roman road found at Tesco site

A stretch of Roman road has been discovered at a Tesco development site in Mid Wales. Archaeologists believe the road is one of the longest examples of its kind in Wales.

It was first discovered when Tesco carried out work on two trial trenches at the Pool Road site in Newtown.

A team from the Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) has moved onto the site to carry out work on the road, but Tesco says it will not hold up work on the store, which could open in time for Christmas.

The team is expected to be on site for up to six months as it investigates three separate areas, with the road expected to be about 300 metres long.

Nigel Jones, senior project archaeologist with CPAT, said: "In December 2006, we excavated two trial trenches and that is when we found it. Once Tesco was looking at the site we were asked to look at it and by looking at 18th Century estate maps it showed one boundary extending for several miles which we thought might be the road.

"It is exciting because normally you don't get the chance to look at this kind of length of Roman road, it must be one of the longest in Wales."

Pete Harvey, design manager for ISG Pearce, which is handling the construction of the store, said if any further discoveries were made during the construction process, CPAT would be given the necessary time to investigate them.

Felix Gummer, corporate affairs manager for Tesco Wales, said: "We carry out an archaeological dig at every site we build a new store on, but this should not affect work and the store is on track for a December or January opening."