ROMAN shops and a large villa were unearthed in Caerwent by archaeologists from television's Time Team.

The team spent three days from Tuesday to Thursday on the dig, which took place across three sites.

The discovery is described by arcaeologists as a significant addition to what we know abotu the Roman settlement at Caerwent.

Phillip Clark, from Time Team, said: "This dig was about filling in some blanks.

"A lot is known about Caerwent and there has been a lot of excavation in the past, but these particular areas had never been looked at."

In one of those areas in the centre of the Roman town, the team unearthed what they believe are Roman shops.

Tom Scott, a researcher for the programme, said: "We knew there was a Roman bathhouse and a temple in the centre of the the town, so we were keen to see what was in our area.

"The shops were quite long, thin buildings, which would have the sales area at the front, facing the street, the domestic living area in the middle, then a yard at the back, where the goods may have been manufactured."

Mr Scott said it was a market town for a big area around South Wales and the shops would have served the people living there while traders would have come from quite a long distance to sell their wares.

In another site, near the edge of the settlement, they unearthed a large villa.

Mr Scott said: "It would originally have had mosaic floors and painted wall plaster."

He added it was a substantial size with several wings and someone of high status in the town would have lived there, possibly someone on the town council or a wealthy farmer.

He said the finds were significant as the shops showed the area had an important use as a commercial town while the villa, in the north-western part of the site indicated the town would have filled up the whole space.

Mr Scott explained they chose the site because a previous geophysical survey had indicated there were buildings there and new studies revealed the fantastically large village.

He believed there were other buildings still to be found.

In a third site, outside the Roman walls of the settlement, archaeologists originally thought there may have been some type of cemetery, but the dig revealed no evidence of this.

The find of the dig, though, was a beautiful carved bone or antler penknife with a fold-away blade, depicting two gladiators in combat.

Local archaeology group members were invited to assist on the dig, including Ian McFarlane of Chepstow Archaeological Society.

On Wednesday, locals brought finds from their own gardens to the show's experts for analysis, including one man who found a commemorative Roman coin depicting Romulus and Remus, the brothers said to have founded Rome.

School groups from around Monmouthshire also took advantage of the dig to visit the site and see the teams in action.

The series is due to be aired in early 2009.

Archaeology lovers can get another taste of local history with two talks organised by Chepstow Archaeological Society as part of the Chepstow Festival.

They will be held at the Drill Hall, Chepstow on Thursday, July 3,at 7.30 pm.

Archaeologist Rick Turner will present 'How do you Build a Castle?' revealing new research into the construction of Chepstow Castle The other talk 'What's under Wetherspoons' will be given by Mark Corney who led last year's excavations under the new pub on Nelson Street, Chepstow.

Tickets cost £3 from Chepstow Museum, Chepstow Bookshop or via the Society's website at www.chepstow.org.uk