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A NONDESCRIPT patch of Iand 15 miles north of Dublin has shattered one of Ireland's strangest myths. It indicates that the country was, after all, invaded by the Romans.

For centuries the Irish believed it never happened. While Britain bent to the Roman yoke, the Irish were held to have lived in a heroic Celtic twilight on the fringes of the empire. There were no references in classical literature a Roman presence in Ireland, and any artefacts found were said to be imported. Now archaeologists have revealed one of the most exciting Roman discoveries of the century. From beneath the soil at Drumanagh just north of Dublin, clear evidence has emerged of a Roman coastal fort of up to 40 acres.

The fort has been identified as a significant Roman beachhead, built to support military campaigns in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. It was heavily defended and is believed to have developed into a big trading town. Coins found at the site are stamped with the names of the emperors Titus, Trajan and Hadrian, suggesting that Roman involvement in Ireland extended at least from AD79 to AD138.

The location has been known to a small group of archaeologists and the National Museum of Ireland for more than a decade but they kept it secret. Legal difficulties surround the site, yet to be bought by the Irish government from its private owner. Items including jewellery and valuable ornaments are held at the museum in Dublin but have not been put on display.

Experts on the Roman period hailed the find this weekend. Barry Cunliffe, professor of European archeology at Oxford University, described it as "staggering". "It is one of the most important Roman sites in Europe and fits in exactly with what Rome was doing along all the frontiers of its empire. Drumanagh is absolutely crucial as it may explain the scatter of Roman material which has been turning up in Ireland."

Barry Raftery, professor of archeology at University College, Dublin, said it was the most important find in Ireland. He believes hundreds of people populated the fort in houses densely packed into the enclosure.

Richard Warner, keeper of antiquities at the Ulster Museum, said excavation of the Drumanagh site would be the most significant envisaged for any period in Irish history.

Experts link the discovery to smaller finds which indicate that a large area of Ireland's east coast was under heavy Roman influence.

For Warner and other archeologists, a full excavation of the Drumanagh site will provide the answers to a mystery that has endured for nearly 2,000 years. ENDS