A MEDIEVAL village is giving up its secrets.

Archaeologists have made a lucky strike in the first week of a dig on the site of the birthplace village of 18th Century explorer Captain James Cook.

Experts have unearthed the broken, but otherwise virtually complete, remains of a Tudor jug or tankard.

The jug, which is missing its lip, dates back 250 years or more before Captain Cook was born in the the long-vanished village of East Marton, which lies buried under the rolling acres of Stewart Park, in Middlesbrough.

Landowner Bartholomew Rudd turfed out the villagers and flattened their homes in 1786 to build his grand house, Marton Lodge, and have the surrounding land landscaped.

Jenny Phillips, education officer at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, in the centre of Stewart Park, said the jug had come to light during the first week of what has become an annual dig.

She said: "This is probably the best thing we have found to date, and we have been digging the area for about five years.''

The green glazed, handled vessel dates back to the late 16th Century or early 17th Century and was found at the bottom of a partially excavateddried pond, in the rear yard of one of the former village buildings.

Members of Tees Archaeology hope they can find the jug's broken-off top.

There is an archaeology open day at the site on Sunday, when visitors will have a chance to uncover history.