IRON Age villagers living on a Wiveliscombe settlement 2,000 years ago could have been living behind the times - experts have revealed.

The discovery that villagers may have been living in round houses much longer than recorded, was revealed as engineers from Wessex Water unearthed the settlement during work at Maundown Water Treatment Works.

Investigations are being carried out on the site on what is expected to be a village of about six round houses dating back as far as 100BC.

Archaeologists believe a site of this age should show signs of square, Roman houses, but the existence of only round houses shows our Somerset ancestors may have been behind the times in terms of their property style.

The finding was made by an archaeologist from Context One Archaeological Services who were observing the construction of a new pumping station for Wessex Water.

The first find was a pottery funery urn - now commonly referred to as a cremation urn - dating back 4,000 years.

They immediately contacted Somerset County Council, which sent archaeologists to the site alongside experts from Context One, who uncovered pottery and metalwork.

Further digging revealed two round houses, one with its floor still preserved, very rare in a house of this age, and the remains of an iron hanging bowl which had probably fallen from a rafter and has lain on the floor for about 2,000 years.

There is also evidence of metal working taking place on-site, including a furnace structure and pieces of metal slag, suggesting links to a large Roman iron working settlement discovered at nearby Clatworthy Reservoir.

Steven Membery, SCC development control archaeologist, said: "This is a completely unexpected discovery of a Romano-British village and it is fascinating to catch this glimpse into Wiveliscombe's ancient past."

Wessex Water is funding the excavation of the site and yesterday it was open to the public. The excavation is expected to take two weeks.