Archaeologists have discovered an 1,800-year-old carved stone and believe that the artefact to be of a Roman god worshiped by people in the north east of England. Alex Kirton, a 19-year-old student earlier found the structure in an ancient rubbish dump during an archaeological dig at the Binchester Roman Fort.

The fort represents a Roman Empire built around the year 100 in north-eastern England's County Durham.

"As an archaeology student this is one of the best things and most exciting things that could have happened."It was an incredible thing to find in a lump of soil in the middle of nowhere -- I've never found anything remotely exciting as this," Alex said.

The sandstone head artefact, measuring about 20cm by 10cm, was buried in Roman rubbish, which was probably a bath house earlier. The head features classic Roman art, regional Romano-British art and African features.

Archaeologists claim that somebody must have tossed the statue in the garbage during the fall of the Roman Empire.

"We found the Binchester head close to where a small Roman altar was found two years ago. We think it may have been associated with a small shrine in the bath house and dumped after the building fell out of use, probably in the 4th century AD," said, Dr David Petts from Durham University, who has been leading the research at the Fort, near Bishop Auckland, in County Durham.

"There are a whole group of gods which we know were only worshipped on and around Hadrian's Wall - so it could be our little god was one of those," Petts said. It is probably the head of a Roman god -- we can't be sure of his name, but it does have similarities to the head of Antenociticus found at Benwell in the 19th century. Antenociticus is one of a number of gods known only from the northern frontier, a region which seems to have had a number of its own deities."

Petts also said that they might not ascertain the real identity of this new head, but they will continue to explore the building to understand the late Roman life at Binchester and the Roman Empire's northern frontier in Northern England.

By working on the Binchester Roman Fort, the archaeologists are also getting to know more about the lifestyles and beliefs of the people who lived close to the Roman fort. They said that their style is a combination of classical Roman art and more regional Romano-British traditions.