<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A visit to Margam Country Park, about 40 kilometres west of Cardiff, is like stepping back to another era.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The lower grounds of the estate are scattered within the ruins of an 879-year-old abbey, once ravaged by the bubonic plague, while the more recently built 19th century Margam Castle sits at a higher vantage point, with views out across Port Talbot.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But a chance discovery in an adjacent field has uncovered a significant monument dating back to the Roman empire.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/south-australian-election-one-nation-seats/cb77a78a-237c-4bb8-8666-4585704d66d9"><strong><span>'Clear message': One Nation surge confirmed with historic win</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are looking, I think without a shadow of a doubt, at a major </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/history" rel="" target="" title="Roman "><span>Roman</span></a><span> villa structure, potentially the largest in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/uk" rel="" target="" title="Wales "><span>Wales</span></a><span> and something that really is unknown in this part of the world," Swansea University Associate Professor Alexander Langlands.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was discovered by chance, when a team of geophysical surveyors, commissioned by Langlands, proceeded to scan an unassuming area of the park after concluding their work on the abbey grounds.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They said, 'I think you might want to come over, we've found something'," he said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/pompeii-of-port-talbot-discovery-of-roman-villa-in-wales-changes-the-narrative-for-western-britain/2ffb2be0-b0e6-46f0-bde3-3c59b2817b24" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"As soon as I saw it, I thought 'Wow, that's impressive'."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/melbourne-car-jacking-service-station-truck/b94a195d-46ee-44b0-9af2-565adc7888a6"><strong><span>Brave truckies fight off armed carjackers at servo</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The exact location of the site within the park's grounds is being kept confidential to protect it from treasure hunters.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It is sitting about half to 1.8 metres below the surface, spanning out across an area of about 500 square metres.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Scans have detected portions of walls and the foundations of several structures including the villa and a basilica-like structure, believed to be more than 1600 years old.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Langlands said the discovery suggested the Romano-British people were living more peacefully and prosperously in this area than previously thought.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/us-israel-iran-war-donald-trump-threatens-to-obliterate-iran-power-plants/55c941e2-e4d0-4da8-a4f9-bfeb4f529903" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>'48 HOURS': Trump's chilling deadline for Iran</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This find changes the narrative I think for south Wales and for western Britain more generally," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Often we talk about Wales as being a sort of 'edge of empire', a 'frontier zone' prone to instability and raiding from the west.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But actually, to have something this fancy - something that would not be out of place in somewhere like Somerset or Gloucestershire - suggests that you've really got a civilised and peaceful way of life all the way here in West Glamorgan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"To find one this size is really exceptional."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/williamstown-melbourne-shop-fire-police-suspect-arson-attack/f8e2b162-32ff-4f02-bcac-9cc5155c3663"><strong><span>Ice cream shop 'firebombed' again, residents evacuated</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>The 'Pompeii of Port Talbot'</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Researchers are hoping there may be other artefacts waiting to be discovered at the site like coins, pottery or even mosaics that would explain more about the former inhabitants of what was once known as Britannia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They are hoping to be granted national funding to begin meticulous excavation works.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Councillor Cen Phillips from Neath Port Talbot Council said the site would likely draw international tourists and had already been given the nickname "Pompeii of Port Talbot".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We already have so much heritage just in the park, from the Bronze Age right through to the 19th Century industrialists and their tremendous mansion," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"To be able to add this missing link to the story is going to be huge for our communities."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY: </span></strong></em><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via </span></strong></em><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span> and </span></strong></em><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a><em></em></li><li><em><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by </span></strong></em><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></em></a><em></em></li><li><em><strong><span>Sign up to </span></strong></em><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></em></a><em></em></li></ul></div></div>