MEM23779 - Possible Roman or early post-Roman ironworking remains at Carnarvon New Pit (Monument)

A metric survey of the site in 2015 noted numerous circular shallow pits, with some dumps of excavated material. These were thought to represent shallow iron or extraction during the Roman and / or early medieval periods.

The site was subject to metric survey in December 2014. This recorded numerous shallow pits, with some dumps of excavated material, lying between the 19th Century structures at Carnarvon New Pit to the north and the West Somerset Mineral Railway to the south, covering an area roughly 200 metres northwest to southeast by 30 metres northeast to southwest. The The pits are mostly circular, ranging from 3 to 5 metres in diameter and 0.2 metres to 0.3 metres in depth. Some of the largest pits are oval or sub-rectangular and measure c. 8 by 5 metres and are c. 0.5 metres deep. The pits are most likely to be the remains of shallow iron ore extraction rather than prospecting pits. They are scattered across the area rather than in an organised line, and there is very little spoil material associated with them, suggesting that the ore was close to the surface. Comparison with other sites in the Exmoor area suggests that they date from the Roman and/or early medieval periods. [1]