A 2,000-year-old Roman wall has been discovered during work to lay new water mains in the Scottish Borders.

Sections of the historic structure were uncovered by Caledonia Water Alliance (CWA), which is delivering the £4m scheme to lay the 7km water main to Earlston. The project began in March and aims to boost the quality of drinking water for residnets.

Scottish Water said the wall was part of the famous Roman settlement of Trimontium, established from 80 to 211AD.


Barclay Smart, CWA's project manager, said: "Given the significant Roman history in Newstead we secured the services of AOC Archaeology Group to supervise the first phases of the project. During the initial excavations of the site we were fascinated to discover parts of Roman wall dating from around 80AD. These wall sections were inside the Roman site known as the Great Camps Complex, comprising of at least four temporary camps.

"In order to preserve the walls and to adhere to Scottish Planning Policy and Historic Environment Scotland, we have constructed a 5 metre wide by 1.6km long stone haul road to allow machinery access to the site without disturbing and damaging the archaeology underneath."

(LM/MH)