MORE than 100 treasures unearthed from the Roman era are on display in Abingdon following an archaeology project.

The Abingdon County Hall Museum is running an exhibition featuring items from the Iron and Roman age dug up from the Temple Site in Marcham near Abingdon.

In 2001 members of The Trendles Project, funded by Heritage Lottery, began an archaeology mission to unveil Roman findings from the site with help from the Oxford university.

The excavation project finished in 2011 and the findings were then expertly researched and preserved, before museum curator Jane Bowen, from Oxford, volunteered to temporarily display them.

Mrs Bowen, who lives in Oxford, said: “The exhibition displays a large number of findings from the site which span a very long time so we have 1,400 years of history in the museum.

“We have some high quality beautiful items, so for example we had the remains of a basket and the detail was so good that they were able to make a replica model of what it would have looked.

“They also found a lot of animal bones on the site which suggests the site was used as a farm.

“We have had special days for local schools and have held activities and a lot of events from that. It is a privilege because it is amazing to see so many of the findings from one place.”

Among the treasures, which go back as far as 700BC, included are pottery fragments, bronze brooches, safety clothing pins, colourful beads, coins, pots and evidence of metal working and weaving.

According to the museum, interest in the items is thriving and many schools have been arranging trips for students to have history lessons.

Collections assistant from Faringdon Elin Bornemann, who has been working with archaeological findings for 10 years, said the items discovered were some of the most remarkable she had come across.

She added: “I think it is remarkable that there is such a variety of items from that time from the site.

“There has been a lot of interest in this exhibition because people are coming in and asking a lot of questions about it and they are coming in especially to see it.

“It is one of the most interesting things I have seen to come from such a small village.

“I am very excited that we have these at the museum and I find it really exciting we can show people these items.

“My favourite items are the coins.”

* The exhibition is on until September 1.