Binchester Roman Fort excavation unearths Roman road

Volunteers from as far afield as California worked on the six-week dig

A well-preserved Roman road and hundreds of fragments of Roman pottery have been unearthed in County Durham.

About 60 archaeologists and volunteers spent six weeks excavating the largely undisturbed northern end of Binchester Roman Fort, near Bishop Auckland.

Evidence of small industrial buildings from the late Roman period were also found on either side of the road.

Principal archaeologist Dr David Mason, said it was a "significant" contribution to understanding the site.

A statuette thought to be of Mars the Roman god of war and a carved stone image of what could be a Romano-British deity were also uncovered.

A carved stone image of what could be a Romano-British deity was uncovered

The finds will now be sent for further analysis, which is hoped will reveal more information about the Roman people who owned and used them.

Binchester was established in the later 1st Century and was once the largest Roman fort in County Durham.

First investigated by Victorian archaeologists in 1878, a campaign of excavations led by Durham University and Durham County Council between 2009 and 2015 uncovered buildings inside and outside the fort.

Findings include the well-preserved remains of part of the regimental bath-building.