PLANS for a £50m business park may have to be put on hold following a chance discovery by airborne archaeologists.

Experts flying over Monks Cross, in York, on their way to Hadrian's Wall, found the remains of two Roman army training camps.

An investigation is under way and council officials have admitted that development plans for the land may have to be revised.

The aerial reconnaissance team from English Heritage was only flying over Monks Cross because they wanted their pilot to follow a different route, which would allow them to see Rievaulx Abbey, near Helmsley.

As they passed over the area, they spotted soil markings and earthworks on the land to the west and south-east of Ryedale Stadium.

The western camp is on the edge of a proposed park-and-ride site, south of Monks Cross retail park, which, if given the go-ahead, would accommodate more than 750 cars.

The eastern camp lies on the boundary between the park-and-ride site and land earmarked for the business park, which could create up to 5,000 science and technology jobs.

York Archaeological Trust has been commissioned to carry out studies of the area and may excavate a number of trenches to investigate the sites in greater detail.

Archaeologist John Oxley said the sites could ultimately become features of any new developments.

"There are two training camps at Clifton Moor, which have been known about for half a century, and the developments there were built to wrap around the finds," he said.

"There is no reason why the same could not happen here, if these remains prove to be significant."