Archaeologists have uncovered a remarkably well-preserved Roman road just half a metre beneath the streets of Manchester.
Lying just 400cm below Liverpool Road, the discovery represents one of the most significant Roman finds in the city for more than two decades.
Graham Mottershead, an archaeologist with Civic who conducted the excavation, described it as an "absolutely astonishing find".
He told BBC Radio Manchester: "I haven't seen anything this significant in Castlefield for 20 years at least."
Graham Mottershead described the breakthrough as an 'absolutely astonishing find'
CIVIC
The road served as the primary northern exit route from the nearby Roman fort, and has been found alongside numerous Romano-British artefacts dating back as early as the first century.
Roman engineering is on full display on the ancient road - which boasts multiple levels and repairs made from compacted gravel.
"The Romans knew what they were doing when it came to engineering," Mottershead said, and revealed that the millennia-old street had "no potholes in it".
Ian Miller from the Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service said: "It's certainly the best Roman archaeology I've seen in the city centre for 20 years, and probably more than that."
ARCHAEOLOGY BREAKTHROUGHS UNDER BRITISH SOIL - READ MORE:
The discovery represents one of the most significant Roman finds in the city for more than two decades
CIVIC
He said the state of the road was particularly noteworthy given how close it was to the surface in a bustling urban area.
The excavation revealed a wealth of artefacts spanning centuries of Roman occupation, with industrial hearths and domestic items like pottery and decorative glassware turfed up at the site.
These finds date from a period spanning some 300 years in a shining example of how long the "vicus" or civilian settlement existed in Manchester.
The road lies near the Roman fort of Mamucium, established around 78 AD and extensively excavated during the 1970s.
LATEST SCIENCE HEADLINES FROM GB NEWS:
The excavation revealed a wealth of artefacts spanning centuries of Roman occupation
CIVIC
It also sits close to Roman excavations conducted further south in the 1970s and 1980s, which uncovered portions of the Roman settlement.
Miller said the discovery was "the missing piece of the jigsaw that will hopefully link to those two together", referring to the previous excavations at Mamucium and the southern settlement areas.
The excavation was conducted as part of a development project on behalf of Allied London.
Mottershead also confirmed that the uncovered artefacts would eventually be displayed in Manchester after research and analysis.