EXPERTS face a race against time to map out the remains of a Roman farmstead discovered by a Calne woman walking her dog on a building site.

Karen Burgess, 44, stumbled upon fragments of ancient pottery, bone and glass while she was walking her Jack Russell in a field sandwiched between Beversbrook Lane and the bypass.

Wiltshire county archaeologist Roy Cannon examined Mrs Burgess' finds and said he believed she had discovered a small Roman farm.

But building work on houses at the site, which is being developed by Persimmon Homes, is due to start imminently and Mr Cannon said he will have to work fast to survey the site and record the artefacts.

Mrs Burgess, of Newcroft Road, who studied archaeology in a 10-week course at Calne College 10 years ago, said: "I'm very surprised. I had no idea there was that kind of stuff there. Anything to do with the olden times has always fascinated me.

Mr Cannon said: "Because we knew nothing of this site, planning applications for the building work has gone through uninterrupted and it is now very unlikely that we will be able to excavate the site. Had we known, we would have got something sorted before it was too late."