ARCHAEOLOGISTS around Britain say they are excited by the possibility of another ship being found in the mud on the banks of the River Usk.

More timbers were discovered at the site of Newport's new arts centre in the Kingsway, where an historic ship has already been uncovered and £3.5 million found to preserve and display it, Newport council revealed yesterday.

And they are now trying to find out what historical value they have - along with contacting Welsh historic monuments body Cadw and the National Assembly about the fresh discovery.

A spokeswoman for the council said: "Seven trial pits have been dug. In one of the pits timbers have been found and a second phase of investigation is now under way. This investigation entails a larger hole being dug to enable archaeologists to investigate the find in more detail. At this stage it is too early to say whether the timbers are historically significant.

"The city council will continue to work with the archaeologists, the Assembly and Cadw and will be in discussion about an appropriate course of action for the finds."

Charles Ferris, member of Friends of the Newport Ship said: "This could be a marvellous next chapter in the story, it s something that just gets bigger and bigger. If this is another ship, just think what it could do for Newport."

While council bosses were cautious about the find, The Mary Rose Trust and the British Council of Archaeologists were very excited.

Charles Barker, Director of the trust said: "I am hardly surprised at all and would have to think that if there are timbers below the ship they are older timbers. It is likely that you could have three or four ships there. In Pisa they excavated one Roman Trireme (galley with three banks of oars) and discovered another 13."

Alex Hunt at the British Council for Archaeologists said: "You often find clusters of ships in these ship graveyards because there may have been a convenient site to leave them, and generations of people have dumped old ships there over the centuries."

Paul Flynn, MP for Newport West said: "If this is the skeleton of a second ship, I think this makes the case for a maritime museum to show this and all the other treasures we have."