Romsey'S historic Sadler's Mill could be much older than people think.

Excavations carried out in connection with restoration and redevelopment work at the mill have uncovered remains of a much earlier mill.

The Mill is owned by Anthony and Sarah de Sigley, who are having the building rescued from a point of near collapse by contractor Quidity Developments, which is converting it to three houses.

Although it is known that the exterior walls of the building went up in 1748, some of the interior brickwork was put in much earlier and efforts are now under way to establish how long ago the newly-discovered foundations were laid.

They comprise a layer of bricks and then a tier of rocks on top of large and still solid-looking timbers and a sample and impressions of the wood are being looked at by an archaeologist who specialises in the age of timbers.

"He is very accurate and he should be able to tell us just how old the timber is." said Mr de Sigley, who added that Sadlers Mill continued producing flour until around 1930.

He added that only a very few similar structures had previously been recorded in England.

Research work into the mysterious foundations is being headed by Professor Roger Leech, of Southampton University, and Mr de Sigley said: "At this stage, Roger can't find another example of what we've got here."

The possibility that a mill at Romsey could date right back to Roman times has not been ruled out as there is a history of a Roman presence in the Test Valley area.

"And if you were going to put a mill somewhere, this would have been an obvious place to put one," Mr de Sigley suggested.

Meanwhile, the painstaking restoration work goes on, but equally painstaking is the recording of what has been found and that is being done in liaison with Test Valley Borough Council's heritage officer, Frank Green.

There will also be a visit by members of the Lower Test Valley Agricultural Society before the floors of the new homes are laid.

Part of the foundation could be covered by the flooring, but it is likely that some will be glazed over to show what lies beneath the surface.

"Obviously, we are very excited about this as it reveals more of the history of this beautiful and much-loved building. It is our intention reflect these structures in the design for the new ground floor in this area.

"We await with interest to see how old Sadler's Mill actually is; certainly much older than we previously thought," Mr de Sigley added.

And while the discoveries and the extra research have probably added to the time and cost of the restoration, he sees as it as an important part of the project.

"I'm quite happy," he said, "to spend some money if we can sensibly add to people's knowledge of this wonderful building."