Monument record 4546 - Birch Heath Early Medieval Iron Working Site

Excavation in advance of the construction of a pipeline revealed an early medieval conjoined roundhouse or workshop with an open fronted extension. Two gullies formed a drainage gully which were the surviving remains of a structure used for iron working, a lot of slag and charcoal was found within the gullies. Other associated features produced further slag, hammer scale and charcoal. However the excavation of this structure did not produce any datable artefacts to suggest that it was anything other than a later phase of the Romano-British site (CHER: 4545). However charcoal from the gully gave a radiocarbon date of AD 590-720 (2).

<1> Network Archaeology, 2004, Birch Heath to Mickle Trafford Gas Pipeline: Archaeological Evaluation, Excavation & Watching Brief 2001. Volumes 1-2, Report & Appendices, R2588.1 (Client Report). SCH4658.

<2> Chester Archaeological Society, Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society, Fairburn et al 2002 vol.77/p.59 (Journal/Periodical). SCH1595.