Desk-Based Archaeological Assessment of Land at Breck, Chesterfield, Derbyshire

In 1996, ARCUS were commissioned by Fitzwise Ltd to undertake an archaeological desk-based assessment on a site at Breck, Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The assessment was required to inform a planning application for development of the site for coal extraction. The assessment consisted of documentary and cartographic research, and a site visit. This document has shown the application area to contain archaeological interest, and the potential for the presence of additional archaeological features should not be overlooked. Further archaeological investigation within the application area is recommended, to address the following: ** the extent, nature and state of preservation of the features at Site 4 (Roman Road and cropmarks) and to investigate the potential for the presence of features masked by the ridge and furrow in this area. ** the extent, nature and state of preservation of the areas with bell-pit remains (both upstanding and plough-damaged) at Sites 1 2 ** the extent, nature and state of preservation of enclosures and other cropmark features at Sites 5, 6, 7, 8 10 and the area of ridge and furrow (Site 9). ** the nature of the archaeologically blank areas. At this stage, only the impacts on Sites 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 can be assessed. The assessment has shown that parts or all of each of these sites will be directly affected by the present proposed developments, and as a result, field evaluation on each of these sites is recommended.