ARCHAEOLOGISTS have started a three-year dig at Chester's amphitheatre.
It is hoped the ambitious project will allow historians to uncover the city's Roman and Christian past.
It is expected to attract an extra 40,000 visitors a year, bringing in £5m in investment.
The project is being jointly run by the city council and English Heritage.
David Miles, English Heritage's chief archaeologist, said: "This is a site of international importance. We are talking about a large military base here - 8,000 soldiers overpaid and over here. Plus everything you would expect around that kind of settlement, the markets, pubs and clubs, fast food and fast women.
"The amphitheatre may also have developed as a post-Roman defensive citadel, a centre of power and a focal point of the early Church. The early Christian development around the site of the amphitheatre is central to our understanding of the way the city developed in medieval times and we hope that the project will contribute to our understanding of this period of Chester's past."
Chester was one of the earliest Christian northern cities and the amphitheatre is a key historical site. Archaeologists will examine the site stone by stone and are hoping to discover evidence of a post-Roman church on the land.
As well as traditional excavation, they will be using the latest technology, including lasers and penetrating radars, to carry out non-invasive investigations.
A helium balloon will carry out an aerial survey of the site.
It is expected to become a major tourist attraction as visitors will be able to monitor each step of the dig from specially-built walkways.
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