Three Roman skeletons found buried under car park

One of the skeletons was said to have been buried with a copper alloy crossbow brooch at the shoulder, suggesting it was worn with a cloak and a belt buckle

Three Roman skeletons including one believed to have been an official or Army officer have been uncovered underneath a city's car park.

The graves were discovered by archaeologists working at the Moulsham Street car park in Chelmsford which is being redeveloped into affordable homes.

Tetra Tech, which coordinated the archaeological work on site, said the remains were in a "fairly poor condition" and they had been removed for analysis and would be taken to a museum.

James Gardner, who saw the remains as he walked by the site, said: "Suddenly I saw a head and I could see the bones... It was really quite something to see that in the ground like that."

Archaeologists from Archaeology South East have been excavating the site in advance of the redevelopment and said the remains uncovered were believed to date back to the late Roman period.

Tetra Tech said it was believed the burial could be of a Roman official or Army officer, as one of the skeletons was buried with a copper alloy crossbow brooch at the shoulder, suggesting it was worn with a cloak and a belt buckle.

Mr Gardner said seeing the skeletons uncovered was "really surreal".

"I've never seen a skeleton in real life before, just lots of plastic Halloween ones," he said.

"It was a real shock... I was really intrigued by it and sort of surprised because the skull was so visual and clear to see and they were dusting it down gently."

Mr Gardner took a picture of the discovery and said he was shocked the remains were "not that deep" under the surface.

Dr Nick Cooke says the excavations acts as new evidence about the extent of Roman Chelmsford

The city is home to a number of Roman discoveries including the small Roman market town of Caesaromagus, which lies close to the Moulsham Street car park.

Chelmsford City Council said previous excavations off Moulsham Street and Hall Street revealed narrow, thatched timber houses that once lined the Roman street and a number of burials have been found further down Moulsham Street at Godfreys Mews and in Rothesay Avenue.

While the first phase of excavations have been completed, the second phase is anticipated to start prior to construction.

Dr Nick Cooke, an archaeologist at RPS Tetra Tech, said: "The excavations have given us important new evidence about the extent of Roman Chelmsford, and in particular the Roman cemetery known to flank Moulsham Street.

"While we weren't expecting to find graves, previous trial trenching on the site did unearth a disturbed skill, so it was always a possibility.

"Our hope is that the analysis of the remains will tell us more about the individuals buried, who they were and possibly even where they came from."