Students at a Hull college have literally seen history dug up before their eyes.

Archaeological finds have been unearthed on the site of Wilberforce College in east Hull.

And experts reckon the artefacts help fill in missing gaps about the city's ancient settlements.

A dig was prompted after planning permission was sought for a £800,000 building on the site.

The college was revealed as an Iron Age site in the 1960s after evidence of ancient homes was found.

In order to gain planning permission for the new building, the college had to agree to a fresh dig.

Items recovered from the site in the latest dig include pieces of military pottery from the Romano-British era and land division ditches from the Saxo-Norman era.

Doug Jobling, archaeology supervisor for Humber Field Archaeology has been overseeing the dig that was supposed to last just two days.

However, because of the magnitude of the findings it has been extended to two weeks.

He said: "What we have found is a mix between Iron Age, Romano-British and Saxo-Norman, which is indicative of continued use of the landscape for a period of over 1,000 years.

"It is very rare to find Saxo-Norman activity within the Hull city boundary.

"There is a lot of medieval activity from the 12th and 13th century and earlier stuff.

"But to get this sort of activity is very exciting and very rare."

The discovery of settlements from the Iron Age up to the Saxo-Norman era is of massive importance, say experts, because it helps fill in a gap in the area's early history.

A lot is known about the early inhabitants of the East Riding, but no significant knowledge has been unearthed in Hull, until now.

The dig centred around 750sq ft at the back of the college and two archaeology students were able to experience life on a real dig.

Vicky Boynton, 17, said: "We mainly learn from text books. It has been really interesting. I have been digging trenches."

Phill Flintoft, 19, said: "We have experienced something we would never normally do.

"We have been out on field trips, but not done anything like this before. It is very interesting."

Findings from the dig will be documented and items catalogued.

The building of the new site will be "sympathetic" to the Iron Age site.

David Cooper, vice principal of the college and lecturer in archeology and history, said: "It is going to help our understanding of what is a gap in this area's history."