After years of finding Roman pottery, the owner of a north Norfolk nursery is finally seeing all the pieces come together.
Woodgate Nursery, in Aylsham, is home to an archeological site which has uncovered Roman kilns believed to be linked to a villa.
Owner of the nursery Peter Purdy said: 'I have found bits and pieces over the years on this land and it all makes sense now.'
Britannia Archaeology were on site today and Tuesday to excavate a small trial trench over where a kiln was thought to be.
This was proved correct and two stoke pits and remains of a Roman kiln were found, among other pieces of pottery to add to the collection.
Director of Britannia Archaeology Martin Brook said: 'It is very exciting and nice that everything turned out to be what everyone has hoped.
'This phase was to identify and define what was there based on what Peter has been finding over the years. The kilns we have found will have been for local produce instead of mass produce, which leads us to believe there is a villa in the vicinity somewhere.'
On the first day a geophysical survey was carried out with a ground radar to get the magnetic response.
Based on the response and Mr Purdy's find, they found the 2m x 6m area to put the test trench and start digging with a small machine.
Small layers were taken back one at a time until it reached the plough soil at just over a foot. This was when they found the first stoke pit.
They then pulled back slowly to reveal clay kiln lining and then finally found the semi-circle of a kiln.
On the second day they cleaned and identified what they had found. They then protected the trench with a membrane and covered it back over with soil to preserve it until the community dig next year.
Next August there will be a community dig, with 150 signed up to take part.
It will be the main part of the excavation, expanding the area to 20m x 20m.
It is a chance for people of all ages, both novice and professionals, to get involved with the dig and help find a part of history.
Mr Purdy said: 'I wanted to involve as many people as possible in the dig as it is great fun to be a part of.'
Some of the previous items he has found include Roman coins spanning four centuries, painted wall plaster, part of a brooch and earlier Iron Age pottery.
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