Archaeologists who have been digging in St. George's say further excavations will be needed to confirm if they have found the site of the first governor's house.

The team from Bristol University in England dug up the car park at the Bank of Bermuda off Water Street to try to find evidence of the house of Bermuda's first governor, Richard Moore, which was built in 1612 and dismantled around 1693.

The archaeologists found evidence of a 17th century wall and floor surface at the site, but more digging will be needed to determine if it is Governor Moore's home, said excavation director Dan Hicks.

The team was also digging for remains of the third governor's house on the site of the Unfinished Church, and at Aunt Nea's Inn, as part of a project organised by National Trust.

Although there is no definitive evidence of the first governor's house, the team say they have made exciting discoveries about 17th century buildings in the Old Town.

"The results of our fieldwork are of great significance for the World Heritage site," said Mr. Hicks. "Confirming whether or not these remains relate to the governor's residence would require further excavations, but finding these undisturbed 17th century archaeological horizons means that it is very likely that similar deposits survive across the historic town of St. George's."

The third governor's house was built in 1721 and partially demolished in the 1870s to make way for the Unfinished Church, and remains of the wall have been found.

The excavation has found that two wings of then building, one of which survives as St. Peter's Rectory, were added in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

At Aunt Nea's, which is owned by Tourism Board chairman and Progressive Labour Party MP Delaey Robinson, two phases of an unidentified building with 17th century walls have been found with what appears to be 18th and 19th century ceramics.

"This tallies with the topography of St. George's's and we hope to use this evidence to widen out understanding of the town between the 17th and 19th centuries," said National Trust archaeological research chairman Richard Lowry.

"The results of these excavations have been really encouraging both in the archaeology and in the response from the public.

"The sites have been inundated with locals and tourists alike visiting the excavations and curious about what was happening and what we have found so far.

"Furthermore, some of the older St. George's's residents have visited the sites providing information and photographs of the town. The interest generated has been truly remarkable."

The digs, which began on July 1, will continue for another week and an interim report will be published by the end of the year.