AN open day marked the end of a two-week archaeological dig that unearthed a 2,000-year-old Roman farmstead in Worcester.

Worcester City Council’s archaeology team, alongside more than 30 volunteers, put spade to soil during the excavation at Mab’s Orchard in Trotshill, Warndon Villages.

Excavations have revealed the site was a busy farmstead dating back at least 1,800 years to the second century AD.

Roman pottery finds include mixing bowls, tankards, fine tableware, a Roman building brick as well as a small amount of animal bone and even a sheep’s tooth.

No metals were found during the dig, this is believed to be due to the soil’s content.

More than 50 people turned out to discover more about site and see some of the Roman pottery that has been discovered.

Becky Jones, of Barass Avenue, said: “It is interesting that people were living here before us.

“The Roman people that lived here, they obviously had a bit of money. I was surprised by how nice the pottery was.”

Helen Russell, of Mab’s Close, said: “It has not been touched for so long. When sites get disturbed that is when history gets lost.”

James Dinn, archaeological officer at Worcester City Council, said: “We have had a steady trickle of people throughout the day, we have been showing them around the site, offering information and talking to them about the settlement.”

Archaeologists believe an area near the farmstead, within the same field, is where the buildings are likely to have been, but at this time they are unable to excavate it.

Sheena Payne Lunn, historical environment record officer at Worcester City Council said: “We know Roman people were here, living and eating. Earlier, a young lad found a sheep’s tooth.

She added: “We have a had a good level of interest.”

Some of the pottery was thought to have been made in Malvern and one piece even had the maker’s imprint.

The first signs of the Roman farmstead were discovered in 2006 when a team of archaeologists carried out a test dig at the site and found ditches containing Roman pottery

The land is being excavated now because the neighbouring Warndon Villages allotments are set to be expanded, following approval by the City Council’s planning committee.

The dig has been made possible by a grant of £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and additional funds from Worcester City Council and Councillor Andy Roberts’s county council divisional fund.

Archaeology and geology students from Worcester Sixth Form College and pupils from Hollymount and St Joseph’s primary schools have also joined the effort, getting soil under their nails as they come face-to-face with Worcester’s ancient past.

The finds will be displayed in Worcester City Museum.

The archaeology team have been keeping a dig diary at mabsarchaeology.wordpress.com, where detailed information on their finds can be found. Live updates are also being posted on Twitter using the hashtag #mabsarchaeology.