A MYSTERIOUS 1,000-year-old carved head has been discovered in Leintwardine during a site visit to the re-rendering work at St Mary Magdalene Church.

Architect John Andrews, overseeing the renovations, discovered the head while he looked around the church's tower.

"It's primitive," he said "I believe it's Saxon in origin, around 1000 years ago.

"It's made from relatively hard stone so it has lasted quite well. I think it was originally part of a Saxon tower. It may have been on top of a door or something but is now much higher, impossible to see from the ground without a good pair of binoculars."

The local history group hopes to get an expert to look at the piece and come up with more details of its origin.