ARTEFACTS discovered on a college dig have been identified as tools of a civilisation which lived in the region more than 2,000 years ago.

The discovery was made by students at Darlington College of Technology, who were taking part in the Time Team's Big Dig event -the country's biggest mass archaeological excavation, which was organised by the Channel 4 television series.

Lecturer Margaret Manchester, who teaches GCSE archaeology, said: "We concentrated on a square metre of ground on the sports field.

"We went down about 10cm at a time and discovered a Georgian coin and a lot of Victorian clay pipes.

"Then, 20cm down, we found the flints.

"Flint is a natural material, but not around here. So if you do find any, you know it must have been brought by man."

The area around the dig has been built up since 1897, when it became the entrance to the town's high school. Before that, it was farmland.

Prehistoric specialists believe the flints are more than 2,000 years old and a rare find