One of Sussex's oldest residents is to get his own bare-bones television documentary.

The star of the show is a 13th Century skeleton which experts believe belonged to a soldier hacked to death in battle.

Known as Skeleton 180, he was unearthed during an archaeological dig in 1994 on the site of a school in Western Road, Lewes.

It was one of more than 100 skeletons found on land previously occupied by the cemetery of a medieval hospital.

The programme follows the search for the skeleton's history by archaeologist Lucy Sibun, who works for the Archaeology South-East organisation in Ditchling, near Lewes.

Martin Brown, East Sussex County Council's assistant county archaeologist, said: "This skeleton is one of the main mysteries of the site.

"What makes it so interesting is its head injuries which must have been made with a sharp object like a sword. And swords are the preserve of warriors."

Mr Brown, who appears in the programme, said the man was probably killed in the Battle of Lewes in 1264.

The soldier, aged between 18 and 35, received a blow to the back of the head and was slashed several times.

Mr Brown said: "The first blow from behind suggests the man was trying to get away. He could have been fighting for Henry III.

"The rest of the injuries were probably just to finish him off."

Henry III's army was defeated by the forces of Simon de Montford, Earl of Leicester, at the Battle of Lewes.

The Unknown Soldier programme is part of Tales From The Grave, a six-part series about human remains around the world made by Brighton Films.

Sally Jenkins, a producer at Brighton Films, said: "We chose Skeleton 180 because we wanted to see what local archaeologists had found. This skeleton's injuries seemed both particularly mysterious and serious."

The Unknown Soldier is on Channel 4 on April 25.