Plans to build a house and garage could dig up more than the owners bargained for as the site has been described as having 'high potential' for finding Roman artefacts.

The property on Roman Crescent in Old Kilpatrick had submitted plans to replace their home with a similar structure, however, an archaeological organisation has asked for a contractor to oversee the developments which may unearth historic items.

West of Scotland Archaeology Service were asked to review the planning documents for the site which sits on an area of 'considerable archaeological sensitivity' as the property is located next to the boundary for the nearby Roman Fort. 

The fort was the western terminus of the Antonine Wall which was built in the years following 140 AD and served the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.

The wall has been described as the most complex frontier constructed by the Empire and preserved sections of it are legally protected as scheduled monuments.

The plans to build a house on the existing residential plot have been described by the archaeological service as having 'reasonably high potential to produce archaeological material'.

Despite this, the application will not be required to obtain Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic Scotland as it is outside of the legally protected area.

However, it will require an appointed archaeological contractor to monitor ground disturbance 'to ensure that any sub-surface archaeological material exposed in this area could be identified, excavated, and recorded'.

Excavations were carried out in the area in 1922 which uncovered remains of the base of the wall before the farmland was built over for housing and a bus depot.

Further excavations were then carried out in 1994 which showed Roman remains still survived in the area and it became a scheduled monument.

The legally protected area in relation to the fort extends right up to the boundary of the garden of the house in this application.

A date for the decision on this application is yet to be set.