Archaeologists have mapped a Roman villa that has been hidden beneath the surface for hundreds of years.

A team at Plumpton College has revealed new images of the villa that lies below the fields between the Downs and the Roman road that passes along the Greensand ridge.

While the existence of the villa has been known about since the 1970s, the new geophysical survey carried out under supervision of archaeologist David Millum for the Sussex School of Archaeology has shown the extent of the building.

The image captured by the survey shows a building of eight to nine rooms, around 40 metres wide and facing south with protruding wings at each end.

The more intense readings to the western wing of the villa may indicate a heated room or a small bath suite.

The school plans to undertake a week-long excavation training scheme at the villa site this summer.

The survey was carried out as part of a wider investigation led by Chris Butler Archaeological Services (CBAS) on behalf of the college.

The school is also running the Sussex Archaeological Symposium on March 15 at Brighton University and two landscape study events at Plumpton College, The Archa-eology of Fields on June 21 and Farming Practices and Archaeology on October 25.

Julian Richards will also give a talk at at Sussex University on April 3.