Secrets of a town's past have been unearthed in an archaeological dig.

A Roman villa, thought to have been once owned by a wealthy farming family, has come to light during excavations for the Vale Housing Association in advance of a new housing development, off Stockham Way, Wantage.

Members of the Cotswold Archaeological Trust discovered a substantial stone building with clay and stone roof tiles on high ground to the west of the town overlooking the Letcombe Brook.

Earlier investigations had already revealed large boundary ditches running across the site, to prevent livestock from straying beyond the farmstead.

Pits, a well, and a ditched trackway with flint surfacing were also found, all dating to the time of Roman occupation.

The exciting new find came when the team uncovered traces of a rough wall, only to discover it was part of a Roman villa - possibly measuring 50m by 30m in overall size.

The Vale Housing Association and English Heritage made further emergency funds available for additional rescue work to be carried out before construction work begins on 11 new houses.

So far, archaeologists have discovered at least three rooms of the villa, connected by a long corridor.

Although very few traces of the building remain above floor level, they know that it had stone walls which were plastered and painted, and some rooms were laid with concrete floors.

Alistair Barber, the Trust's project officer, said: "We know that the inhabitants were reasonably well-to-do, as they possessed fine pottery for table use and were consuming goods imported from the Mediterranean.

"It must have been a very nice spot on the edge of the existing settlement overlooking the brook." , and the discovery of this villa adds to information gained during excavations in the Belmont area a few years ago which revealed a few coins and burial sites."

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