A large-scale archaeological survey conducted at a National Trust site in Shropshire, England, has revealed evidence of two previously unknown Roman villas and farmsteads dating back to the Iron Age.
Knewz.com has learned that the geophysical survey, which covered an area of over 1,000 hectares, was the largest one ever conducted by the National Trust.
The survey was aimed at helping the National Trust, the largest conservation charity in Europe, plan for upcoming nature conservation efforts and tree-planting schemes as part of the organization's efforts to battle climate change.
Using ground-scanning technology, the survey attempted to map undetected features that lay underneath the Wroxeter region in Shropshire, close to the site where the ancient Roman city of Viriconium once stood.
The National Trust wrote about the ancient Roman city, "Between AD 50 and 90, Viroconium was the site of legionary fortress housing men primarily from Legio XIV Gemina and later Legio XX. In around AD 90 the fortress was leveled and a new town grew up on its grid pattern."
"The town expanded to almost twice its former size following the visit of the emperor Hadrian to the province, making it the fourth largest city in Britain. Viroconium became the capital of Britannia Secunda."
The equipment used in the survey is capable of covering "large areas in a relatively short time and record subtle changes in the local magnetic field," according to BBC News.
Janine Young, an archaeologist associated with the National Trust, said that experts had always believed the grounds of the ancient Roman city to be "archaeologically significant," and that crop marks on the landscape during dry summers also hinted at archaeological sites buried underneath.
However, the amount of discoveries the survey yielded has taken everyone by surprise, as Young said in a statement via The Guardian:
"It’s a very rich area archaeologically speaking. I look after other National Trust properties as well, and there is no way you would get such a level of occupation [elsewhere]. The landscape had quite dense occupation throughout history, and it is that continuous occupation that is very exciting."
The survey has revealed two elaborate Roman villas buried underneath the land of Shropshire, which were "characterized on the scan by their highly distinctive shape," per The Guardian.
Young explained in her statement to the outlet, "Villa sites are usually decorated with mosaic floors, and they were often heated by hypocausts. These are the types of things that survive beneath the soil because they’re at the bottom layer, if you like."
"So it’s entirely possible that there would be mosaic floors if they survive beneath the ploughsoil, which this geophysical survey suggests they do."
Along with the villas, the expert also noticed a network of ancient Roman roads leading out of Wroxeter, a Roman cemetery, and new features believed to be associated with a previously discovered Anglo-Saxon great hall.
The archaeological survey also found eight farmsteads possibly dating back to the Iron Age, four of which were newly discovered via the survey.
Young elaborated on the discovery of the farmsteads as well, saying, "We picked up a lovely little circular feature which represents a roundhouse, which will have been lived in by an iron age family. You are homing right into the personal level, where we can see the outline of the house that would have been occupied."
"We can protect the archaeology, and also learn from the way the land was used in the past, in order to come up with the best possible use in the future," she added.