A TOWN’S history is coming to the surface as it takes steps to improve its future.

A site behind Darlington’s town hall is being excavated in preparation for the building of a new office block for the Department for Education.

Archaeologists working on the site have uncovered artefacts they believe may date back to medieval times.

Building materials found there are thought to have been part of the Bishop’s Palace, a medieval manor house that once stood on the site and belonged to the Bishops of Durham.

A horse’s head together with a spur has been recovered from an area thought to have been an ornamental pond that would have stood in the gardens of the house.

It is thought the manor house was demolished and its remains used to build a workhouse in around 1808.

Foundations of the workhouse have been uncovered and cooking pots and animal bones found. The remains of a series of columns can also be seen.

Archaeologist Matthew Claydon, from the Archaeological Services department of Durham University, is working on the site.

He said: “The horse’s head has been the biggest surprise so far, it was unexpected.

“Everything else has been as we expected. It has been a great project with a lot of interest from the public.

“People have been coming and asking us about what we’ve found, which is nice.

“We haven’t found anything that would set the building works back.”

Mr Claydon said all items found at the site will be analysed at Durham University before being placed in a depositary at Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle.