A total of eighteen 30m x 1.8m trenches were excavated across the site. The trenches were positioned to assess the areas of high impact, such as building foundations, whilst avoiding a public footpath. The evaluation identified features in nine of the trenches, consisting of one linear feature and 26 pits. Two of the pits may have been used as iron-ore roasting pits to test ore for suitability. Evidence of burning was also identified in the linear feature, which contained a substantial quantity of oak charcoal. Twenty-four Post-Medieval mining pits were mapped, but only one was excavated, to inform any future excavation strategy. The base of the excavated mining pit was not reached, but sampling recovered some evidence of burning. It is likely that the mining activity on site, much like that identified at adjacent site Rose Mead Farm, was probably associated with the nearby Heathfield Furnace (in operation 1693-1793) or the Waldron Furnace (in operation c.1574-c.1787).
Clare Shelley (Wed,) studied this question.