A rare dye made from snails for the robes of the Roman elite almost 2,000 years ago has been unearthed at a cricket club.

The chunk of Tyrian purple, roughly the size of a ping pong ball, was dug up at Carlisle Cricket Club as part of ongoing yearly excavations.

A Roman bathhouse was discovered at the site in 2017 and in the last three years 2,000 items including pottery, weapons, coins and semi-precious stones have been found.

Lead archaeologist Frank Giecco said the find was of “international significance” and the first time the precious pigment had been discovered in the UK.

Mr Giecco said the pigment was worth more than gold and would have been used to dye the clothes of figures in the imperial court and the “highest echelons” of society.

He said it was made from the glands of marine snail and about 12,000 were needed to obtain less than 2g of pigment.