DisgrifiadSection of Roman road excavated in June 2007 in advance of partial destruction by line of Liquified Natural Gas pipeline, under construction.
Text edited from a BBC Press release, 17 June 2007.
"The historic roadway was discovered in the Brecon Beacons, on the path of the 190-mile (320km) National Grid pipe from Milford Haven to Gloucestershire. Neil Fairburn, archaeology project manager for National Grid, said the road was found as digging began, but the pipe would still have to cross it. A local community councillor said he hoped the find would be looked after. Mr Fairburn said the road, which he estimated as dating from the 1st Century AD, was in "a better condition than we would normally find a Roman road", but a 3m section of it would be lost. "In places, you can see where the carts have pressed down on the stone."
Mr Fairburn said his team of around 20 archaeologists in the area were recording it. He added that the pipeline would cut through part of the road but there were "significant parts we can preserve in situ". Community councillor Richard Field, from Cradoc, near Brecon, said the discovery, which is inside the Brecon Beacons National Park, had surprised local people. "It's incredible. It's only about 18ins below the surface," he said. "This road runs alongside the camp and must link up from a road coming from the camp. It doesn't point directly at the camp. "We used to play the village cricket match on this field. We'd sit on a slightly raised area to get a better view and didn't realise we were sitting on the causeway of a Roman road. "
T. Driver, 19 June 2007.