MEM15461 - Possible Roman or post-medieval iron mining waste at Anstey's Combe (Monument)

Unusually deep sequences of alternating silt and gravel deposits have been geomorphologically sampled and dated to the Roman period and 16th to 17th Centuries AD. They may relate to openwork iron mining within the combe.

Stream gulley erosion in Anstey Combe (named Anstey’s Gully on current Ordnance Survey maps) revealed a sequence of unusually deep alternating silt and gravel deposits. The Anstey Combe deposits reached depths of almost 6 metres in comparison to similar deposits in neighbouring combes that do not exceed 1 to 2 metres. The sediments have been geomorphologically sampled and dated by optically stimulated luminescence to the Roman period and 16th to 17th Centuries AD. Given the small catchment area of the combe, comparable to that of the neighbouring valleys, the two unusually thick sediment deposits may indicate episodes of unusually high sediment supply to the valley floor, perhaps suggesting periods of openwork iron mining in these periods within Anstey Combe. A linear trench to the north of the sampled area has been suggested as a possible extractive feature and source for the silts. [1-3]