Site Event/Activity record ECH6059 - Excavations at an Old Quarry Site, Horton-by-Malpas

Excavation of trenches at an old Quarry site in Horton carried out by an amateur archaeologist and metal detectorist. Reports of a bird carving on Bedrock and chisel marks on sandstone outcrops in the trenches. ( see photo attached) A visit to view two open trenches was made on 30 July by M.Watson and photogrpahic record made. Trench showed two worked surfaces on sandstone forming a narrow passage leading to a circular rock cut feature. A further visit was made on 5 August 2015 to photograph further machine trenching which had uncovered a T shaped rock cut channel 1.4 metres below ground level, heading towards the brook. A second trench closer to brook revealed a small square rock cut feature at its base, possibly for a wooden upright as some evidence of wood was present. The function and date of the feature are unclear. A small number of ceramic fragments were recovered including a piece of brown glazed pottery of probable post medieval date. It seems that the feature was backfilled soon after creation. It is possible it is related to the recorded water management features surrounding Elm farm or that it is the remains of a speculative mineral extraction. There was a coppermine at Bickerton on the Sandstone Ridge.