A LARGE number of bodies unearthed at an archaeological dig near the junction of Winchester Road and Eastern Avenue in Andover have left the experts scratching their heads.

"We expected to find a few bodies but not this many," said Rob Bourne who is in charge of the investigation which is taking place at the request of the site owners - Andover firm Swattons.

He believes the site may contain at least 20 bodies, almost all of them children, and, because they lie in an east-west alignment, they could date from Roman times after the Romans adopted Christianity.

No grave goods have been found so far so it's likely carbon dating methods will have to be used to give confirmation of the date of burial.

What makes the dig particularly significant is the discovery of two very deep pits linked by a flue which archaeologists believe provide evidence of a rare cremation chamber.

"The burials are of great interest in terms of Andover as they are going to add a lot to our knowledge and tell us more about the way the town developed," added Mr Bourne, "Nationally they are of less interest but if the pit we have found turns out to be a high status cremation pit it will be one of only a handful in the country and would be extremely significant.

"There are so few of them in the country that it would be an extremely unusual find."

Archaeological digs are an important feature of any proposed development and the one taking place in Andover is scheduled to last for another three weeks.

The site itself is on the ancient boundary of the town not far from a Roman burial site discovered several years ago when a new roundabout was built close by.

Archaeologists believe that a dark line found in the ground at the south eastern end of this site marks the boundary of the burial ground.

An archaeological investigation carried out less than 100 yards away on the foundations of the new 'foyer' building in Winchester Road found almost nothing of interest - probably because foyer site is outside the town's former boundary.