One of Britain's very first shopping centres has been unearthed by archeologists in a Welsh field.

The 1,800-year-old row of narrow shop buildings shows that the Romans in Britain had their very own well-heeled fashionistas.

The shop buildings used by the Romans in ancient Britain were uncovered by archeologists in fields at Monmouthshire, South Wales.

It is now just a country village called Caerwent but then was known as Venta Silurum - one of 15 major towns in Britain at the time.

A villa with painted walls and mosaic floors among the other finds also points to the town being home to wealthy Romans in the 3rd Century, when Venta Silurum boomed.

Archeologist Tom Scott described the 44-acre site as "beautifully preserved". "The site appealed to us as it is one of the best preserved Roman towns in the UK.

A team of 50 archaeologists worked on the excavation at the Roman site involved Wessex Archaeology and volunteers from the local Chepstow Archaeology Society.

Long thin buildings were also found in several places - believed to be shop buildings on the high street. A penknife's hilt was made out of bone depicting two gladiators fighting was unearthed in the dig.

Other artefacts uncovered included coins, glass, ceramics, human and animal bones, lead patches used for repairing and bits of mosaic.

Archeologist Jacqueline McKinley said the remains proved it was "posh". "We also found animal bones on the site which suggests that at least one of the high street shops was a butchers.

"It was a very successful dig and filled in some gaps in our knowledge of the ancient town."
go