TV's Time Team with presenter Tony Robinson and Wiltshire-born archaeologist Phil Harding has been unearthing the remains of a Roman town at Mildenhall.

In a cornfield less than two miles from Marlborough the Channel 4 dig team has spent the past three days carrying out the first proper excavation at the former Roman town of Cunetio for more than 50 years.

It has been taking place at Blackfield, an ancient monument site just south of the River Kennet at Mildenhall which would have probably helped determine the site of the town because the river was easy to cross.

Archaeologists have known for years that this was an important Roman site and in 1978 two local men using metal detectors in Blackfield unearthed a clay jar containing almost 60,000 Roman coins. Their find has since been known as the Mildenhall Hoard and most of the coins are in the British Museum.

British Museum numismatist Philippa Walton has been in on the Time Team dig this week and today(Friday) helped identify and very rare and early Nero coin found just outside the walls of the town.

Phil Harding who was brought up at Wexcombe and went to Marlborough Grammar School has become a minor celebrity because of his Time Team appearances.

Speaking from a trench where he had led a team exposing the remains of the 16 feet thick walls, once 20 feet high, that surrounded the Roman Town he said: "It is fantastic that we have been given this opportunity to dig here."

Tony Robinson, who shot to fame as Baldrick in the TV cult show Blackadder, revealed that he was no stranger to Wiltshire and said: "As a child I used to make regular visits to Collingbourne Ducis where my mothers family (Wilkins) comes from."