Find Spot record 824 - Salt Pans from Bostock

On 9 March 1986, three lead salt pans were found on the land of Bank Farm, Bostock with a metal detector. Found in the fieldbank above a clay cliff on the corner of a bend of the River Dane. Pans stacked on top of each other with the lowest upturned. Rick Turner visited the site on l3 March 1986, after the hole which had been dug to locate the pans had been filled in, and the field ploughed. Area of find showed a layer of slag, clinker and charcoal. More slag/clinker was found in a hollow with trees to the south, alongside the stream. Pans probably not in situ, as no salt-making debris was found and the area is far from known brine springs. Presence of slag and clinker suggests they may have been intended for smelting down. All pans are made of sheet lead, c.3ft x 3ft 6ins x 0.37ins thick. Two of pans had a raised cross at the bottom and the other had arc of four raised dots. Date unknown. Pans retained at farm (1).

<1> Turner R C, 1986, Three Lead Salt Pans from Bostock (Unpublished Document). SCH3264.