Monument record 1440/1/1 - Engine Vein opencast copper mine, 150m north of Warden's Cottage.

The Engine Vein: Possible Prehistoric mine workings. Roeder and Graves reported the presence of circular pits, near the surface, half way up the mine. These covered 27ft of ground longitudinally and were interpreted as the method used by prehistoric miners to work directly from the surface to the ore-bearing bed. Graves collected 6 complete & 13 incomplete stone hammers from the rubbish pit. Pre 1905, Roeder & Graves cleared out the floor on western side of the Engine Vein and found a large number of stone hammers, 4 split halves, half a quartzite hammer, 22 fragments mostly from hammer ends and 2 complete hammer stones. Also a hammer stone from a hearth. The most important find was an iron pick, discovered in central part of the excavated floor & measuring 12ins x 0.8ins.This was interpreted as Romano-British (1 & 2).

Warrington described this as broken portion of a boring rod of a type that may have been in use there as recently as late C19 (3).

At the margin of the Engine Vein mine, Roeder found in 1894 and 1901 a 'fair number of tiny flint flakes, cores, knives and a scraper'. In 1901 Graves picked up various chert implements at the same place (1). Longley interprets these as Mesolithic (4).

On an exposed face in the Engine House Lode are distinctive peck marks made by the grooved stone hammers. This open cast trench was cut in C19 but clearly went through earlier small shafts and galleries; some cut by chisel and others by grooved stone hammers. The hammers and peck marked rock faces would seem to confirm mining at a very early period in Britain (5).

The monument includes; the rock cut mine workings, mine entrance, spoil heaps and capped mineshafts associated with the Engine Vein fault line. The Vein contains deposits of copper, cobalt and at least forty other minerals. This has lead to the designation of the site as a geological SSSI. The underlying sandstone is known as the Engine Vein conglomerate. The copper has been extracted from this location from the Bronze Age to the C19th. The eastern half of the site is a steep sided canyon formed by successive periods of open cast cutting down into the fault line and thereby forming an open cut about 15m deep. The floor of the trench has been capped with concrete at c. 8m BGL. The cut to the trench has truncated several shallow pits that were formed by miners using stone hammers to extract the copper nodules. This shallow open pit working dates from the Bronze Age and creates characteristic peck marks in the rock face that may be compared with examples in Europe and the Near East. Discarded and broken stone hammers have been found at or near the site. These are formed from hard river pebbles with a groove pecked around the centre to attach a handle. These are also comparable to examples from Spain and Israel, associated with Bronze Age workings. Evidence for Roman mining at ground level and below the surface has also been recorded. A bisected shaft with an inclined access and rock cut notches for possible windlass mountings are visible on the northern side. This is possibly Roman or medieval activity. In the canyon side below the prehistoric mining are rock faces representing hand picked extraction from the medieval to the C18th and cobalt and copper extraction by blasting, which was taking place from 1857. The concrete floor now covers other rock cut features. Three shafts are located to the west and north of the canyon. The central shaft head is known as ‘Pot Shaft’ and has been shown by excavation to have Roman workings below ground. To the east of the canyon are two spoil heaps which may contain artefacts in secondary context. A pit located on the south-eastern lip of the canyon, which leads to a mine entrance. Above this entrance are further indications of prehistoric mining. Other hand picked pitting and blasting above the entrance are from activities of the TA in 1957 (10).

Roeder and Graves mark the south side of the Engine Vein as a ‘Neolithic Settlement’. The evidence for this was almost certainly the finding of flint scatters in the general area. Other flint artefacts have been found in and around the site such as flint scrapers, waste flakes and blades. The hearths and smelting sites mentioned by Roeder and Graves have not been confirmed by later excavation of the site. The origin of the name is unknown but one possibility is that it refers to a horse engine (whim) that may have been used on the site (11).

<1> Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 1883 -, Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, Roeder 1901 19/77-118 (Journal/Periodical). SCH3293.

<2> Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 1883 -, Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 23/17-29 Roeder C & Graves F S 1905 (Journal/Periodical). SCH3293.

<3> Chester Archaeological Society, Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society, Warrington G 198164/47-73 (Journal/Periodical). SCH1595.

<4> Longley D, 1979, Prehistoric Sites in Cheshire, /11/No.562 (Report). SCH2719.

<5> Various, Current Archaeology, 99/1986/106-109 Craddock P (Y) (Journal/Periodical). SCH1031.

<6> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, 1/39 & 90 Longley D 1987 (Book). SCH3556.

<7> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ87NE2.1/1964 (Index). SCH2487.

<8> Shone W, 1911, Prehistoric Man in Cheshire (Book). SCH2710.

<9> Longley D, 1977-1978, Longley Archive, /no.225 & 562 (Paper Archive). SCH2005.

<10> English Heritage, Various, Old/Original Schedule Entry (Scheduled Ancient Monuments Description), 33859 (Scheduling Record). SCH4606.

<10> English Heritage, Various, Schedule Entry (Scheduled Ancient Monuments Amendment), 33859 (Scheduling Record). SCH2950.

<11> 1998, Alderley Edge Landscape Project Archive, 118 (Unpublished Report). SCH4334.