Colchester's Roman chariot-racing track will be turned into a major tourist attraction.
Museum chiefs are working on a plan that will see a section of the 2,000-year-old stadium become part of a "cultural arc" leading from Abbey Field to Colchester Castle.
Three parts of the building's walls have been unearthed during excavations at the garrison, giving archaeologists enough information to map out the route of the 940-metre circuit.
But the bulk of the structure must remain underground to prevent its decay, leaving Colchester Council's museums' service with a dilemma over how best for it to cash in on the internationally-important discovery.
It has now hit on a solution that would see one of the three digs, near the garrison's cavalry barracks, left exposed and protected from the elements by a new building that would also house a permanent chariot-racing exhibition.
The plans are still at an early stage. But the council's cabinet agreed at an informal meeting to stump up cash for the project, and to seek more cash from funding bodies.
More in today's Evening Gazette
Published Wednesday, February 9, 2005
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