STUDENTS and staff from the University of Southampton have been enjoying a blast from the past at Basing House.

For three weeks, archaeology students and their mentors have been working in trenches at the Old Basing ruins.

They had hoped to build on works done by the Aldermaston Archaeo-logical Society during the 1960s to find out more about the site’s past.

It is most famous for the three-year siege of the Marquess of Winchester’s Royalist forces, between 1643 and 1645, during the English Civil War.

But the students have found evidence of an earlier Roman settlement, such as tiling for walls and corridors, and pottery.

Dave Allen, keeper of archaeology at Hampshire County Council, told The Gazette: “What this means is that there must be a Roman building nearby.

“But we do not think we are on the building site – we are on some sort of farmyard.”

Other finds from the project include musketballs and Roman coins, and members of the public have been able to see the students in action on a series of open days.

It is hoped that the students will return next summer to look at other parts of the Basing House site.