Wiltshire Council experts have been unlocking the secrets in five burial urns dating back to Roman times.

Kelly Abbott, contract conservator with the Wiltshire Council Conservation Service, said the dusting away of years of history from the urns has uncovered bones which could be human.

The five ancient burial urns dating back to the Roman conquest were found at the site of Linden Homes’ King Harry Lane development in St Albans.

Foundations Archaeology, which has been working on the site for some time, enlisted the help of council experts to determine whether the remains inside the cremation urns belong to adults or children and to find out more detail about their lives.

BMI The Bath Clinic in Bath allowed the team to use their CT scanner to guide the investigation into what the urns contain.

Using the CT images to guide them, conservators at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham have been excavating the urns on a microscopic scale, detailing their contents and making the finds stable.

Once the cremations were removed from the urns, the bones were cleaned and dried under laboratory conditions.

The information gathered from this micro-excavation will then be sent to the archaeologists who will be able to interpret the evidence alongside the archaeology already discovered.

Ms Abbott said: "Unlocking the mystery of these urns could provide a fascinating glimpse of life during the time of the Roman Conquest.

"Two of the urns contained bones which could be human. An osteoarchaeologist will now examine the bones and help provide even more detail."

As part of the redevelopment of the King Harry Lane site, Linden Homes established a detailed archaeological brief.

Jeremy Alden, Linden Homes technical director, said: "We have spent a great deal of time liaising with archaeologists to ensure a robust dig was successfully concluded as part of the redevelopment process.

"We are delighted that finds of such significance have been uncovered intact and with the help of Foundations Archaeology and the Wiltshire Conservation Service can be properly interpreted and lead to a greater understanding of our past."

Archaeologists have determined that the site King Harry Lane, was of significant importance.

The cremation urns were found at a burial ground, located at the entrance to a late Iron Age 'oppidum' or defended settlement.

St Albans, known as Verulamium, was a key site in the Roman period and as such, the cremation urns, along with the other archaeology on the site, are seen to be nationally important.