DARFIELD All Saints Church could be built on the site of a seventh or eighth century Anglo Saxon monastery or church of royal standing, according to historian Dr David Mercer.
The discovery came after two new fragments of stone dating from the eighth century were found within the church walls in August.
Dr Mercer, of the Workers' Education Association, said: "I was showing some students around the church when I noticed two unusual stones.
"On closer inspection, I could see they were designed with the vine scrolls, a reference to the life of Christ, dating from the eighth century.
"The scrolls would be a common architectural feature in a stone church at that time, confirming the idea that there was, in fact, a stone church or monastery on the site.
"This is very exciting as buildings of this era were made of timber as stone was very expensive. This suggests that if it was a church rather than a monastery it would have been of very high standing, perhaps even royal."
Darfield would have been situated on the southern border of the kingdom of Northumbria.
