A TEAM of archaeologists from Bristol University is hard at work in Bradford on Avon unearthing the winter quarters of a Roman Villa believed to lie undisturbed under the a school playing fields.

Investigations began at St Laurence Schopol in 1999, when archaeologists first discovered what are believed to be the remains of two villas, lying next to each other under the playing fields behind Wiltshire Music Centre.

It is thought the site was a huge late Roman estate, taking advantage of the dramatic views and the nearby Roman market town of Bath.

This week the team of 20 first and second year students has been working to uncover a major section of one of the villas.

Dr Mark Corney is leading the dig. He said: "This could have been the winter wing of the main villa. They would have lit fires in the room next door, and the heat would have travelled under the floor and up the walls." A six-week dig will start on June 30, when the team hope to unveil a giant mosaic in one of the villas.

Dr Corney said: "We will be doing geophysical and earthwork surveys over the summer, and using air photography to get more details of the layout.

"We've found a lot of pottery, which is very important as it is possible to date it within about 20 years."

Dr Corney has thanked St Laurence School for all their co-operation.

As part of the investigation into the extent of the remains, the team are now doing a survey of local gardens.

Sophie Hawke, a teacher at St Laurence School, said: "If people find anything unusual in their gardens they can put it in a bag and hand it in to us. We can then plot the remains to see how far the roman settlement would have extended."

Dr Corney and his team are welcoming visitors to the site when they begin the main dig. They are asked to go along after 3.30pm to minimise disruption.