THE discovery of a Roman camp near Bradford Abbas has been among the highlights of a vintage year for archaeology, experts have said.

The site at the village, near Sherborne, was revealed in June after three sides became visible in parched fields of barley.

The lightly built defensive enclosure would have provided basic protection for Roman soldiers while on manoeuvres in the first century AD and is one of only four discovered in the south west of England, English Heritage said.

English Heritage said that the dry early weeks of this summer have made 2010 a vintage year.

It said that full advantage has been taken of the conditions which allowed hundreds of cropmark sites to be photographed from the air. The marks are produced when crops growing over buried features develop at a different rate from those growing next to them.

Dave MacLeod, an English Heritage senior investigator based in York, said: “It’s hard to remember a better year.

“Cropmarks are always at their best in dry weather, but the last few summers have been a disappointment.

“This year we have taken full advantage of the conditions. We try to concentrate on areas that in an average year don’t produce much archaeology.

“Sorties to the West Midlands and Cumbria, together with more local areas such as the Yorkshire Wolds have all been very rewarding.”