PRIME Minister Tony Blair last night delved into the North-East's original industrial heartland as he examined a recently unearthed Roman settlement in his County Durham constituency.

Experts from Channel 4's Time Team have discovered an important Second Century settlement on land at Hardwick Park, near Sedgefield. Three days of painstaking excavations have uncovered a heavily industrialised village - making Sedgefield the manufacturing centre of the Roman North.

The pottery, bronze and glass made there are thought to have been sold throughout the forts of Hadrian's Wall and the Roman hinterland of the North-East.

TV archaeologist Phil Harding showed the Prime Minister the most important finds, a well-preserved kiln alongside the Roman road which has the historians very excited.

Durham County Council archaeologist Fiona Macdonald said: "What that is telling us is that quite good pottery was made here, which is very unusual. There's nothing like it in the area.

"It's pottery for a discerning market, not the locals but the military. There was a kind of production, and the economics probably linked in with the road.

"It looks like it was the only big civilian settlement in the area. It had military connections, but it was the ordinary people going about their ordinary tasks."

The team spent yesterday tidying up and reinstating trenches. 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 enable some kind of exhibition to be held in the future.