Monument record 15480 - Pick Mere

<1> Leah, MD; Wells, CE; Appleby, C; Huckerby, E, 1997, The Wetlands of Cheshire (North West Wetlands Survey 4), p.99, 104, 151 (Monograph). SCH3260.

Pick Mere was investigated by the North West Wetlands project, an archaeological and paleoecological study of the varied wetlands of Cheshire, undertaken between 1993-95. It is one of a series of wetlands lying in the north of the county, to the north and west of Knutsford and extending to Nantwich to the south-west. Sites include Rostherne Mere, Tatton Mere, Tabley Mere and Budworth Mere. These wetlands are characterised by areas of open water, many of which are peat-fringed, such as Pick Mere which has potential peat deposits fringing its northern edge. Despite placename evidence suggesting the former existence of mosses, surviving examples are not common in this region, with the only extant site being Holford Moss, located between Knutsford and Northwich, in the centre of a large brine extraction field. The presence of underlying saliferous beds appears to be the reason for the existence/expansion of many of the wetlands. Rostherne Mere, for example, appears to be a kettle hole enlarged by subsidence in antiquity. More recent subsidence activity has been reported in the areas of Tabley and Tatton Meres.

A middle Bronze Age sandstone hammer (CHER 1189) was recovered from the vicinity of Pick Mere.