A port and Stilton

In late March 2006, a potter and keen fieldwalker, Richard Landy, reported his discovery of an almost complete ceramic Roman cheese press, used for making goat's cheese, to his local finds liaison officer (FLO) under the Portable Antiquities Scheme. What made it all the more special is where he found it – washing out of the side of a two-metre-deep ditch in Stilton, Cambridgeshire.

This cheese press is just one of hundreds of finds Richard has discovered from the area around the ditch. These include Samian ware, mica dusted ware, Nene valley ware, local Roman coarse wares, medieval green glazed pottery and other objects, including Neolithic polished axes, animal remains and Roman pottery-making tools. Coins have also been discovered by limited metal detecting.

Time Team had the usual three days to dig through the two metres of silt that has been deposited on top of the Roman layer over the past two millennia, to investigate the site and work out how it connected to the rest of the Roman Fens. And of course they couldn't resist trying their hand at making some Roman cheese as well.

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