'It's not every day you find a Roman road in your school field'

Head teacher Sue Potts said pupils had been excited by the dig

A history group has uncovered a 2,000-year-old Roman road running under a school playing field.

The cobbled street thought to date back to AD 43 was found in the Oxfordshire village of Brightwell-cum-Sotwell following months of searches.

Roman coins, pottery and other items from the Medieval period were also unearthed at Brightwell-cum-Sotwell Primary School.

Head teacher Sue Potts said the dig by Wallingford Historical and Archaeological Society had helped "bring history to life" for her pupils.

"It’s not every day you find a Roman road beneath your school field," she said.

“To have the children come out here every day and watch the dig progress has been fabulous for them.

“I’ve often found them gathered round the fence having a watch, seeing what’s going on, looking at the artefacts and what’s been dug up or just asking questions.

“We absolutely wanted to help. [Historians] thought it was there and we wanted to be able to help them prove one way or the other. It was an absolute yes from us.”

Steve Capel-Davies said preliminary analysis showed a "very clear" road before digging started

Steve Capel-Davies, from the group leading the dig, said preliminary work showed a “very clear” path for the road, passing underneath the school site.

“Normally we work in isolation in a windswept field - here, the children just soak up the information. It’s phenomenal,” he added.

Items discovered will undergo expert assessment and analysis at a later date.

The dig uncovered seven Roman coins, including this one, which will be assessed