A paved ford believed to be of Roman construction has been discovered near Evesham in Worcestershire, England. If the path is confirmed to be Roman, it will be the only of its kind in Britain. The exact location of the find is being kept under wraps to protect the site, but a Roman-era villa complex across the river from the ford was discovered four years ago. The precision stonework also bears the hallmarks of Roman road-building skills.

The tightly cobbled path was discovered during routine water utility work on private property. The ford crosses a small brook today. The surviving section is 10 meters (32.8 feet) long and three meters (9.8 feet) deep at the deepest point. Ruts in the stones indicate it was used by carts for a long time.

“The stonework is absolutely perfect,” he said. “It just ticks every box for being Roman,” [Aidan Smyth, archaeology officer from Wychavon District Council,] said.

“When I came down to look at it, honestly, I thought it’s too good to be true.

“But then you look at the alluvium [a deposit of silt] that it’s filled up, so that hasn’t happened in one or two centuries. That’s taken millennia to be able to get that deep.

“The only place I can see similar when I was doing some research is in Pompeii. I can’t find anything else anywhere like that.”

The council will bring an archaeologist in to do a test excavation at the ford in order to date it and confirm that it is Roman construction.