THE hunt is on for York’s hidden Roman amphitheatre.

Leading archaeologists, including Time Team’s Stewart Ainsworth, will gather in the city’s Museum Gardens next month to hunt for clues which may reveal the hidden location of a Roman amphitheatre.

The gardens and nearby Kings Manor were chosen as the most likely site in the city for the amphitheatre after school children, community groups and university teams pitched their thoughts at an event last year.

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Their theory will be tested as part of this year’s Eboracum Roman Festival, from June 1-4, using traditional methods and the latest technology, with Stewart being joined by experts from City of York Council, the University of York and Lanpro Archaeology and Heritage.

Stewart said: “A city of York’s importance during the Roman period would have had an amphitheatre. As well as a venue for often violent entertainment it was also a symbol of imperial power and would have probably been positioned near the river to show those arriving to the city its importance and strength.

“With the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey in York Museum Gardens and Kings Manor remaining relatively untouched in terms of modern development, the area is one of the few sites in York which has not been explored in recent times.

“We are looking forward to using new technology and good old traditional research to help us build up a picture of what lies beneath the land and to see if it offers us any clues to answer one of York’s biggest Roman mysteries.”

Prior to the actual search for the amphitheatre, on June 2, Stewart and Tim Sutherland, archaeologist at the University of York, will be hosting a special event called The Discovery of the Chester Amphitheatre and the search for York’s Lost Amphitheatre in the Tempest Anderson Hall from 7pm-9pm. Tickets are £10 line from www.yorkshiremuseum.org Then on June 3 Stewart and Tim will be joined by Mitch Pollington of Lanpro Archaeology and Heritage and city archaeologist John Oxley to carry out the survey of the Gardens and Kings Manor to look for clues of the amphitheatre’s whereabouts. Throughout the day visitors to the Eboracum Roman Festival can talk to the archaeologists as they go about their search using the latest surveying technology.