EXCAVATIONS have revealed rows of medieval homes in a North-East town.

Archaeologists say they are fascinated by the 12th Century house foundations, wells and relics of industry at the site on Hartlepool's Headland.

The dig, which is expected to continue until March, is being carried out during the initial stages of a major redevelopment project in the area.

The excavation site, being lead by Tees Archaeology, is the largest of its kind investigated on the Headland in more than 20 years.

The remains of a row of medieval properties included the foundations of the house walls and back yards, plus wells, and the relics of industries such as iron smelting and baking.

Individual items found include a bronze spoon and a complete medieval pot, which was possibly used as a metal smith's storage pot for scrap, and household waste, including various animal bones and seafood shells. All this helps to build a picture of daily life in what was a bustling medieval seaport.

The redevelopment of the Headland will create a town square and landscaped garden in front of Borough Buildings.

The North Hartlepool Partnership, which is behind the scheme, is using money from regional development agency One NorthEast to fund the regeneration scheme.

Rachel Grahame, project officer with Tees Archaeology, said: "Hartlepool must now be one of the most excavated towns in Britain.

"We are discovering more and more of what life was like in the medieval period.

"We are finding a lot more items than we expected, and these finds are certainly of regional importance - there are not many small medieval towns that have been explored to the extent of the one here in Hartlepool."

A meeting was held this week to enable Tees Archaeology to brief North Hartlepool Partnership board members, Hartlepool councillors and Headland parish councillors on the finds.

Ms Grahame said: "In medieval times, the backyard areas would have been a hive of industry and smallholdings, including smelting metals, agriculture, keeping animals for meat, and dumping household rubbish."

She said that from its design, it appears that some of the pottery found was imported from mainland Europe, and it is clear that there was lots of trading.

"In many ways, our Headland excavations are revealing the 'cutting edge' of medieval life," she added.