Remains are identified as cattle

The skeletal remains were at first thought to be three horses

Animal remains found buried in a pit on farmland in East Sussex were cattle, not horses, as was first believed.

The three skeletons were found during work to lay a 7km (4.3 mile) water pipeline between Newhaven and Barcombe.

South East Water said the remains, which had no wounds of knife marks to indicate they were used for food, were the most bizarre of a series of finds.

Other artefacts included a spindle whirl used for making thread and a wet stone used to sharpen iron tools.

Transfer water

Remains of mussel and oyster shells from food supplies were also discovered, along with Iron Age pottery and a Roman underfloor heating tile near Glynde.

The £2.1m pipeline, installed in two sections, will transfer water between the coast at Newhaven and north and mid Sussex.

The route was designed to skirt round the downland home of a herd of nearly 600 South American alpacas on a farm at Glynde.

"We were delighted to look after our four-legged Alpaca friends and ensure they could continue to graze at this tranquil spot," said infrastructure manager Graham Webb.

The two sections between Glynde and Ringmer, and South Heighton and Tarring Neville, have been connected to the company's existing strategic water main.