EXHILARATED archaeologists have unearthed a Roman settlement which they say could be evidence of the start of industrial activity in the region.

Remarkable findings at Hardwick Park in Sedgefield suggest there was a large village there making quality products for military personnel stationed at Hadrian's Wall.

Specilaists from Channel 4's Time Team spent three days exploring 17 acres of parkland last week.

Aerial photographs had indicated some form of second-century Roman settlement, but what they have found on the ground has exceeded all expectations.

A Roman road, probably no more than a track, runs through the site and this could have linked a settlement in Chester-le-Street to a River Tees crossing point.

The best evidence is of industrial activity, including what was probably a glass working site, and a site for copper and bronze work.

Most exciting of all is an almost intact firing kiln for making good quality pottery. It is so well preserved that even the handprints of Roman workers are still visible on the walls.

Renowned Time Team archaeologist Mick Aston said: "It's an extraordinary thing to find.

"This is almost the pre-history of industry in County Durham.

"Probably what we're looking at here is a big Roman village and probably a village that's more to do with craftsmen and industrial activity than anything else."

The goods are likely to have been made for and sold to the military, either at Hadrian's Wall or from the side of the road as legions passed through. The television crew was invited to explore the park by Durham County Council, which is planning to restore it to its eighteenth century landscape, complete with a 17-acre lake and follies.

County archaeologist Fiona Macdonald said: "We're delighted with the evidence we've found because it really will put Sedgefield on the Roman map. I can't emphasise its importance enough.

"It's been everything we wanted it to be and much, much more. To have these quite unique features has been absolutely fantastic."

The programme is likely to be broadcast next spring and is expected to make a strong episode.

Presenter Tony Robinson, better known as Blackadder's sidekick Baldrick, said: "It's fantastic for Sedgefield.

"I think that most people coming here think we're just digging some holes in the field, but we can show people what was going on here in Roman times and what local people were living like."

Although the team has now left the site, the work is not over. All of the artefacts gathered will be recorded and examined.

The work on analysing the pottery, coins and other evidence will hopefully answer questions about the size of the village, its population and how its residents lived.

Ms Macdonald said: "This is where all the fun starts. There'll be a whole mass of information that's come out of this site. The results have been recorded and will be written up."

Although the site is probably not suitable for a visitor attraction, it is hoped the finds will be able to form some kind of exhibition in the future.