‘NORRIS’ is a farmer in his mid 30s of traditional Dorset stock. He is also dead and sticking out of a field.

He died around 2,000 years ago and he is one the skeletons being dug up near Winterborne Kingston.

His remains were gradually being removed from the chalky earth by Bournemouth University specialists.

Patricia Furphy, an osteological demonstrator, said there are no signs he died a violent death.

His body is formally buried in the foetal position unique to Dorset, with a lamb placed next to him, possibly as an offering to the gods.

This is the second summer of digging at this site and it has provided more evidence, that on this site at least, the ancient British collaborated with the Romans rather than fighting them. Apart from the bodies of 11 dead babies and seven dead adults, the team has uncovered chicken bones and a small lapdog.

Neither was available in Britain until the Roman invasion so they show the people here traded with the Romans before the invasion of AD 43.

‘Norris’ himself was found in a ‘Banjo Enclosure’, a high status type of home that in his case dates to round 50BC to 50AD.

However most of the site dates consists of grain stores and huts as the farmers became wealthy growing grain for Roman Legions stationed in Germany.

“Britain was regarded as a the bread basket of the Roman Empire,” said senior lecturer Paul Cheetham.

The Durotriges, the tribe who lived in Dorset, are usually thought to have been amongst the most resistant to Roman rule and built their own forts at sites including Maiden Castle and Hod Hill.

However the locals at this site did not seem to fight back but actually grew wealthy from the occupation and then suffered when their conquerors returned home.

Dr Miles Russell said: “We see little disturbance when the Romans arrive. We see if anything increasing prosperity. But around the time the Romans leave it’s suddenly abandoned.”

He added: “The quantity of burials here is odd though. I have never experienced a site where there have been so many of the dead.”

More than 100 students and staff from the School of Conservation Science have been working on the site for three weeks and it is a hive of activity.

One typical find was a comb made from the rib of a cow. Holding it was a genuinely moving experience. You could almost imagine the workman carving the teeth.

The site is behind NorthWest Farm, on West Street, between Winterborne Whitechurch and Winterborne Kingston, west of Blandford. This Sunday, there is an open day for the public from 10am.