A Roman gravestone discovered on a Lancaster building site will stay in the town for good, council bosses have announced.

Nearly 2,000 years after the 6ft tombstone was carved, it will be restored before being put on permanent display in Lancaster City Museum.

The internationally significant find, unearthed at a site on Aldcliffe Road last year, has been bought for the public and is currently being restored by archaeologists.

Cavalryman Insus Vodullus's tomb features a carved frieze depicting the warrior gripping the severed head of a barbarian.

Inscriptions on the stone reveal that he was a curator with the ala Augusta auxiliary cavalry unit.

Split into three parts, the tombstone is being cleaned and reassembled by experts at Lancashire County Council's new St Mary's Conservation Centre.

Edmund Southworth, county museums officer at Lancashire County Council, said: "We know he was a cavalry unit curator - but curator in those days was the equivalent to a military quartermaster or a junior officer in a modern army.

"When the works are complete and it goes on display it will be one of the most complete Roman tombstones ever discovered. It will be of international significance."

Stephen Bull, curator of military history and archaeology at the county council-owned Museum of Lancashire, said: "We can date it from between 75AD and 125AD by the style, and the movement of Roman armies at that time.

"This stone offers us a crucial insight into the history of Lancashire and is an iconic part of Lancaster's dramatic past. The carving and inscription will add detail to what we know about the Roman auxiliary cavalry and its equipment."