Carlisle - Roman name 'Luguvallium' - was the most northwestern town in the Roman Empire. Over the years, archaeologists working in the city have discovered artefacts of national and international importance. Luguvallium was an important Roman town at the frontier of an empire which spread to the Middle East. Recent archaeological digs in modern Carlisle have uncovered Roman buildings, roads, water systems and thousands of objects. As a result, experts have been able to build a picture of what life was like in the Roman town. Big digs In 1973, a dig began around the Annetwell Street and Abbey Street area. Over the next 10 years archaeologists revealed the southern gateway to the first Roman fort. Behind it lay barracks, workshop areas and stables. In these buildings, experts found several important pieces, including a small altar used to worship the god 'Fortuna' and a hay ration document, giving the names of the soldiers based in the fort and how much hay they were allocated for their horses.  | Important discoveries were made before the Lanes was built. |
Several big projects followed this, including a dig on the site of The Lanes shopping centre. The archaeologists made many exciting finds - administrative buildings, homes and the remains of insects and animals. This meant that archaeologists could work out what people ate for example, and how the frontier town was managed. It was a major step in piecing together the city's Roman history. Millennium finds The Castle Green dig , or 'Millennium Dig', of 1999 and 2000 turned up some of the most important finds: a wooden fort - the first found in Carlisle a workshop a stone building, thought to be the commanding officer's house.
The buildings themselves were a good find but they pale into insignificance compared to the objects which were discovered.  | 'Tunny Fish Relish' recreated nearly 2000 years on. |
Outside the commanding officer's home, a pot of fish paste called 'Tunny Fish Relish' was found. It had a handwritten label which said the delicacy had been shipped in from Cadiz. In the workshop, pieces of Roman armour - only found once before in Britain - lay where they had been left centuries before. The rare arm-guards were of international importance. Alongside these spectacular artefacts, the diggers found coins as shiny as the day they were dropped, jewellery, glassware and pottery. On display  | Boxes of artifacts are stored in Tullie House. |
Some of the items discovered over the years are on display in the Tullie House Museum and Carlisle Castle. The important pieces of armour are being studied and preserved at Durham University. The majority of pieces lay in the rows and rows of boxes in the basement of Tullie House or in storage at Shaddon Mill, out of public view. This doesn't please many people, who think a lot more could be made of the objects and the information they hold. | 
