A STUDENT found 2000 year old artifacts on a field trip.

University of Sussex geography student Mirea Lauria discovered Native American spear and arrow points on a trip to southern California.

The second year student found the Native American artefacts whilst visiting the Mojave Desert. Mirea came across the two blades whilst exploring the sediments of an ancient lake, known as Lake Manix, which existed across California’s Mojave region around 25,000 years ago.

Californian researchers think the unfinished blades were made by nomadic Native Americans somewhere between 1,400 and 2,100 years ago.

Mirea's finds have now been donated to the San Bernardino County Museum in California and will be made available for teaching purposes.

Mirea said: "I was astounded to find out that these artefacts were genuine, let alone 2000 years old.

"One of the most exciting things about donating these artefacts is that others will be able to see these too and that they can be appreciated.

“Being in the field was really exciting and I recommend those that have an opportunity to go abroad to take it; it's an experience that may not come round twice."

Experts believe the smaller blade would have been used for an arrow or dart and the larger for a spear or knife. The artefacts were found next to each other and researchers believe it is possible they were deliberately buried together as part of a larger cache, to be retrieved at a later date.

Dr Mick Frogley, a senior lecturer in physical geography at Sussex said: “These finds represent a small but fascinating window into the past.

“At around the same time that the Romans were marching into Gaul, in this corner of North America somebody was deliberately fashioning these blades by hand from local materials to be used for hunting and fishing.

“At Sussex we believe that students should be given as many opportunities as possible to get out of the classroom and experience the landscape under their fingernails - this is a brilliant example of how our students can achieve remarkable things whilst they are learning.”