A GROUNDBREAKING survey will aim to uncover a park’s hidden secrets which experts believe could host Roman remains after funding was secured.
Gosbecks Archaeological Park, on the outskirts of Shrub End, Colchester, is one of the most significant Iron Age and Roman sites in the country.
The park includes the remains of the largest of the five known Roman theatres in Britain, with seating for up to 5,000 people, and a Romano-Celtic Temple located within a large four-sided precinct.
It will now benefit from a £15,000 investment which will fund an Iron Age specialist academic to lead a survey at the site and uncover what else lies beneath the surface.
Colchester Council’s heritage boss Darius Laws said: “None of us would be here without Gosbecks, that’s how significant a site it is.
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“We are going to collaborate with the University of Durham which has an Iron Age specialist. They are going to conduct a 150 acre geophysics survey of the land around the park which has never been done before.
“Then, in 2023, there will be a survey of the park itself before the potential of excavations and community engagement for people in Colchester to find out what’s there.
“There are going to be secrets and the whole project will be fascinating.”
Mr Laws stated he plans to draw up blueprints for an archaeological centre there, adding the site has the potential to be Colchester’s answer to the world famous Sutton Hoo site in Woodbridge.
The heritage boss also added £50,000 has been allocated to make the most of an ancient Roman mosaic uncovered in Red Lion Yard, Colchester, last month.
He plans to encase it and turn it into a transparent walkway for residents to tread the same path the Romans did nearly 2,000 years ago.
He said: "I will be meeting with architects and Colchester Archaeological Trust to look very tangibly at whether we can afford the glass – I think we can.
“It’s a complicated project as we have to move electrical cables, piping and fund architects to look at it and design the glass.”
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