The Rose and Crown: Archaeological dig commences at pub

Today (July 10), volunteers and enthusiasts descended on the Rose and Crown pub in St Michael's for a live excavation.

As the pub is refurbished, a collaboration project with drp archaeology, Minerva Archaeology Ltd and Verulamium Museum has been given the rare opportunity to undertake the dig and uncover thousands of years of history.

Until July 14, volunteers from St Albans Museums' archaeology team will lead an excavation of the site, inviting the public to see the daily finds.

St Albans archaeologist Tom Lucas and student volunteer Harvey on site. (Image: Huw Richards) Museum Archaeologist, Tom Lucas, leading the volunteer team had been hoping for an opportunity like this for several years, and was delighted to partner with DRP and Minerva

"It's been great, we've got a team of volunteers who are all keen even thought it's really hot," Tom told the Herts Advertiser.

"People have been coming to our stall all day and asking question, being engaged, so everyone seems pretty excited about the whole prospect."

A stall has been erected next to the site, showing off artefacts from previous excavations and the current project, featuring a very informative host.

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• Archaeological dig at the Rose and Crown pub during refurb

Members of the public were queuing up to learn about the dig. (Image: Huw Richards) The first steps, taking place today, include a small test pit survey to assess the preservation, extent and significance of the remains. 

Tom explained that they had found plenty of items thus far, but it was all from "later periods" including clay, smoking pipes, bits of pottery and tiles.

"We've got four days of digging and we are really hoping to find something," Tom continued.

"We're just outside of Roman Verulamium so there is elements that we would hope to find from that period and the Iron Age too, those would be really exciting to see."

The pub is located within the historic area of Verulamium - one of the largest Roman cities in Britain.

Built over a major Iron Age settlement, Verulamium later evolved into St Michael’s village during the Anglo-Saxon period and continued to develop through the medieval and post-medieval eras into the town we know today.

The current archaeological site in St Michael's. (Image: Huw Richards) This redevelopment archaeological dig presents an exciting opportunity to uncover layers of history spanning thousands of years.

When asked why people should come down, Tom said: "I think seeing it live in-person is so special. We've got a find table so people can see the material we are discovering day-to-day.

"It is a really amazing site off just of Roman Verulamium that we would love people to see."