Roman coins and cremated remains found during dig

Coins, pieces of pottery and a jar of cremated remains have been uncovered by archaeologists at the site of an old Roman town next to the River Derwent.

The items were found during excavations in August 2025 and August 2026 at Darley Playing Fields in Little Chester, which was known by the Romans as Derventio.

Students from York Archaeology, a charity which operates across the UK, teamed up with amateur archaeologists and Derby Museums during the work.

Laura Parker, project lead at We Dig Derventio, said the dig "gave a sense of what people were doing 1,800 years ago".

The dig focused on a patch of land near Ryknield Street, a long-distance Roman road that crossed through Derbyshire.

"Put your trowel in the ground and you'll find no end of pottery," Parker said.

"We've had coins come out, only little, quite grotty things, but they haven't been touched in the last 1,600 years.

"That's the connection we're trying to build between the past and the present."

Parts of the site were previously excavated in 2013 and 2014 as part of the Our City Our River project.

A well-built Roman road was found when test trenches were dug to reduce flood risk.

Nearby buildings, workshops, and evidence of metalworking, including iron tools and millstones, were also discovered.

Parker said her most exciting find was a small piece of pottery which still had a trace of its maker on it.

"It was actually made on the Racecourse playing field, or in Belper, in 120 AD and that one piece of pottery had a fingerprint on it," she said.

"That fingerprint came from the Roman potter that made it potentially 1,800 years ago," she added.

"That is why I do my job.

"That one fingerprint is a link to that person and it doesn't matter how many coins or castles we find in this country - it's that little bit of evidence of that person that sends shivers up your spine."

Parker said she is hopeful the dig will return next August, for a third year running.

"The main purpose of this is to train people and it's not just professionals who are finding things," she said.

"Amateurs are finding things all the time that are changing and breaking through boundaries."

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