THE MIGHTY moles of Epiacum have done it again – and dug up more secrets of the Roman Empire.

A rare bead, believed to be from Roman jewellery, has been found in a molehill on the Whitley Castle site near Slaggyford, close to the Northumberland-Cumbria border.

Human excavating is forbidden by law on the four-acre scheduled ancient monument site on Castle Nook Farm, owned by John and Elaine Edgar. But burrowing moles aren’t great at reading human legislation and their oblivious digging is bringing up repeated discoveries.

Last month, the moles uncovered a rare fragment of classic Roman ceramic Samian ware as well as pottery and jewellery.

And now a second molehill search has uncovered the bead as well as still more pottery from the Roman age.

Elaine, who has set up Epic Epiacum Ltd and secured a £49,200 lottery grant to promote the site, said: “At first it was queried whether this bead, which is beautiful and intact, was Anglo-Saxon or Roman.

“But the experts have had a look at it and now it is strongly believed to be Roman.