BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. — Archaeologists believe they have uncovered evidence of an ancient village, possibly dating back to the time of Christ, that once thrived along the shores of this Gulf Coast community.

The artifacts were unearthed during recent efforts to rebuild a thoroughfare and major bridge heavily damaged last year by Hurricane Katrina.

Marco Giardino, an archaeologist acting as the city's liaison on a dig to preserve the ancient remains, said as many as 400 people may have lived in the village. "That area was very strategic and would have allowed them to travel, fish and hunt," he said. "It's on high ground at the entrance to the bay, which would allow them to see people coming and they could defend themselves a lot easier."

Giardino said spearheads and pottery found in the area suggest an Indian tribe established the village sometime between 200 B.C. and 400 A.D.

The first sign of the ancient Indians was found while workers were repairing parts of Beach Boulevard that Katrina destroyed last year.

Experts say the center of the village would have been somewhere around the foot of the U.S. 90 bridge over the Bay of St. Louis, where archaeologists have discovered an Indian mound that is believed to be a burial site.

Several tiny man-made vaults or pockets may have been cut through the mound to bury the bodies of high-ranking village members and possibly their belongings.

One reason the mound has remain unearthed for more than 2,000 years is its lackluster appearance. Early French settlers likely believed the mound, at about 50 feet wide and less than six feet tall, was a natural ground formation.

For most of the previous century, the mound was covered by large oak trees and hidden behind massive beachfront homes. Katrina destroyed most of the homes in Bay St. Louis, including the ones that had protected the mound for so long.

The mound is essentially off limits to researchers because it sits on private property, but a lot of the relics found so far have been scattered through the village area.

If human remains are discovered in the village area, federal law requires researchers to locate and return the sacred discovery to whatever Indian tribe may have occupied the village at that time, which could be a tricky thing to do.

Giardino said the hunt for exactly which tribe established the village could last even longer.