ARCHAEOLOGISTS have found Roman remains buried in Undy.

The discovery of stone foundations of an ancient building, an urn containing ashes and four coins came as work began to level a new sports pitch next to Undy playing fields.

A leading local expert believes they could date back as far as 270 AD - more than 1,700 years old.

Steve Clarke, of Monmouth Archaeology, said: "When the workers started stripping all the top soil down to the bedrock, we were watching and one of the first things we found was a disturbed cremation."

Four specialists from Monmouth Archaeology carried out painstaking work to preserve the site, recording every part of the find and the exact positions of the relics.

The stone structure is two feet below the surface and 50ft long and about 20ft wide, but experts are unsure what it may have been used for.

Mr Clarke said it could have been an agricultural building, with a structure of cob clay on top of the stone foundations.

There was also some pottery found at the site, but Mr Clarke said it was unlikely to have been of domestic use.

Jim Parry of Glamorgan and Gwent Archaeological Trust said the relics were removed for analysis.

Undy and Magor community council chairman, Carol Hopkins, welcomed the find, saying: "It's great, this is really exciting."

She said there were plans for the coins and photographs of the dig to be shown to pupils at Magor Church in Wales Primary School.