31158-24ARCHAEOLOGISTS working at a Roman site in Swindon believe that they may have figured out what once stood there almost 2,000 years ago.

The experts from English Heritage have been carrying out excavations at the Groundwell Ridge site since the beginning of June and have uncovered hundreds of pieces of building material, pottery, coins and even blue glass beads.

But their main aim was to uncover a series of walls once part of an important Roman building, which is now believed to be a bath suite of a larger building.

Dr Pete Wilson, project manager at the site, said: "We are now pretty sure that what once stood here was a bath house.

"It is clearly a building of high status, we have even found the remains of a heating system.

"We could still be wrong, as archaeology has a habit of turning things on one's head but we are happy with what we have found, but we are still not sure what this bath house may have been connected to, either a villa or a religious sanctuary."

The archaeologists only have another two weeks on the site, but they are pleased with what they have found.

Dr Wilson said: "There will be still be many questions to answer after we leave, but even if we left the site now, we would be satisfied with what we had found. There is still an awful lot that can be done on this site."

This year's excavations are the most extensive carried out at the site.

Teams moved in, removing topsoil with a mechanical digger before the archaeologists arrived to begin the delicate work of removing finds.

Volunteers with metal detectors also sifted through the topsoil to check for any metal missed by the workers.

The Roman site was discovered in 1996 when contractors working for a housing developer uncovered buried Roman walls.

At the time the site was valued at £1m but was saved from further development following an Evening Advertiser campaign.

Those interested in digging up the past can enjoy a series of events looking at the subject and Roman life.

The first Living History weekends aims to raise awareness of the site and Roman life. The event will be held this weekend, July 10 and 11, while Nat-ional Archaeology Days will be held on July 17 and 18 from 10am to 4pm Visitors can enjoy site tours and view finds from the important Roman site from previous digs.

Groundwell site is one of the country's most important finds

THE Roman site at Groundwell Ridge has had a confusing history.

Over the years it has appeared on television and has emerged as one of the country's most important yet unlikely sites.

Contractors discovered it in 1996 when they uncovered the buried walls of Roman buildings.

The first excavation of the site was carried out by Swindon archaeologist Dr Bryn Walters and Bernard Phillips in 1997. Since then experts guessing and ideas of what may be buried under the soil have come and gone.

Among them, a Roman temple, a religious shrine, baths, a villa, religious sanctuary and even a town or marketplace.

English Heritage moved onto the site for the first time last year. A 13-strong team of archaeologists then moved in excavating five trenches. Among the items found in 2003 was a flint-scraping tool, dating back some 6,000 years to between 4,500BC to 2,500BC as well as Roman coins and brooches were found dating from up to 1,800 years as well as Roman and medieval pottery and tiles. The site's importance was quickly recognised and TV presenter Tony Robinson came to Swindon with the Time Team Big Dig.

Anthony Osborne