Roman grave uncovered during A66 roadworks in Cumbria Published duration 2 October 2018

image caption Archaeologists said the grave "might have been alongside the old Roman road"

A Roman grave has been uncovered during resurfacing work on a road in Cumbria.

The remains, which also included fragments of pottery, were found less than a metre under the A66 at Kirkby Thore near Appleby.

Archaeologists carried out a detailed investigation on the site before it was covered over.

Lead archaeologist John-James Atkinson said the grave "might have been alongside the old Roman road, which we are still trying to find".

image caption The grave was less than a metre below the surface of the road

Mr Atkinson, who said the site will be preserved "in situ", described the find as "exciting, but not unexpected".

He added: "The A66 has been a road for at least 2,000 years so when machines came in to start taking the [road surface] off we monitored that and noticed what seemed to be a grave.

"We can certainly say it is Roman as we found some pottery ware typical of early and late occupation in Britain."