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Summary

Mound of iron slag including quantities of tap slag and furnace lining. Charcoal from the mound returned a calibrated radiocarbon date of 10BC-AD330. Palaeoenvironmental evidence also showed a spike for charcoal production in the Roman period and again in the later part of the Saxon period. The latter is confirmed by a radiocarbon date from charcoal recovered during earlier fieldwork on the site of AD664-889. An area of discoloured ground visible on aerial photographs of April 1947 approximately 250 metres to the south-west of Bywood Farm might correspond with iron smelting features.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthworks of sub-circular Enclosure abutting slag heap, east of Bywood Farm

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: ST10NE/172
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• SLAG (Roman to Saxon - 43 AD to 1065 AD) + Sci.Date

Full description

Holder, R., 15/01/1995, Untitled Source (Correspondence). SDV109569.

Two sites of slag finds at bywood farm. Exact location not known.

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2302 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

An irregularly shaped dark soilmark was visible.

Hawken, S., 2002, Survey of mound to the south east of Bywood Farm (Report - Survey). SDV341882.

A survey was undertaken by the Community Landscapes Project in 2002 of an oval mound approximately 80 metres by 30 metres by up to 1.2 metres high against the eastern boundary of the field to the south of Bywood Farm. The mound consisted of iron slag which probably came from an iron working site to the north of the farm. The shape of the feature suggest a secondary dumping of the waste possibly in 19th century for spreading phosphate on the surrounding fields

Unknown, 2002, Untitled Source (Ground Photograph). SDV359144.

Wiecken, J., 2003, Report of the watching brief at Bywood Farm (Report - Watching Brief). SDV341875.

Excavation of a small area of the mound during drainage work in 2003 confirmed the presence of three compacted layers of iron rich material connected with bloomery iron production around Bywood Farm

Wiecken, J., 2004, Iron Working in the Blackdown Hills, 3-5 (Report - Excavation). SDV341926.

Oval iron slag mound, 80 metres north-south and 30 metres east-west, rising 1.2 metres. Excavation revealed 3 layers of furnace lining and iron slag. Radiocarbon dated to 1st to 4th century A.D. Other details: Feature 3.

Hawken, S., 2005, A Report on the Recent Archaeological Discoveries at Bywood Farm, Dunkeswell, Blackdown Hills, Devon, 12, 25-26 (Report - Survey). SDV341921.

Oval mound, consists of iron slag and is not thought to be secondary dumping as previously implied, but original iron waste from Romano-British ironworking. The feature is dissected by modern water pipes. Other details: Feature 3.

Cox, M., 2009, How Important were the Blackdown Hills as a Centre for the Iron Industry before the Industrial Revolution, 15, Table 4.1, Fig. 4.5, 4.6 (Undergraduate Dissertation). SDV359500.

Charcoal samples taken during fieldwork in the 1990s returned a calibrated radiocarbon date of AD664-889. Subsequent investigations of two mounds of iron slag [Feature 3 to south of farm and Feature 4 to the north] which included quantities of tap slag and furnace lining suggested smelting activity during the Roman period. A calibrated radiocarbon date of 10BC-AD330 was returned from charcoal samples from Feature 4. These dates are confirmed by palaeoenvironmental evidence which suggests a period of woodland management from the Late Iron Age with spikes in charcoal production in the 1st-2nd century AD and again in the later Saxon period.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2016-2018, The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV359463.

An area of dark, disturbed soil mark evidence approximately 30 metres square was visible on aerial photographs of April 1947 approximately 250 metres to the south-west of Bywood Farm, Dunkeswell parish. The discoloured ground might correspond with iron smelting features recorded by the above authorities.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV109569	Correspondence: Holder, R.. 15/01/1995.
SDV341875	Report - Watching Brief: Wiecken, J.. 2003. Report of the watching brief at Bywood Farm. Community Landscapes Project Report. A4 Stapled + Digital.
SDV341882	Report - Survey: Hawken, S.. 2002. Survey of mound to the south east of Bywood Farm. Community Landscapes Project Interim Report. A4 Stapled + Digital.
SDV341921	Report - Survey: Hawken, S.. 2005. A Report on the Recent Archaeological Discoveries at Bywood Farm, Dunkeswell, Blackdown Hills, Devon. Community Landscapes Project Report. A4 Stapled + Digital. 12, 25-26.
SDV341926	Report - Excavation: Wiecken, J.. 2004. Iron Working in the Blackdown Hills. Community Landscapes Project Report. A4 Stapled + Digital. 3-5.
SDV356127	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1974. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2302 11-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #98494 ]
SDV359144	Ground Photograph: Unknown. 2002. Photocopy + Digital.
SDV359463	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2016-2018. The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. Historic England Research Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:2
SDV359500	Undergraduate Dissertation: Cox, M.. 2009. How Important were the Blackdown Hills as a Centre for the Iron Industry before the Industrial Revolution. University of Exeter Dissertation. Digital. 15, Table 4.1, Fig. 4.5, 4.6.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4440 - Field survey at Bywood Farm
• EDV4442 - Excavation at Bywood Farm
• EDV7508 - The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme (NMP) project (Ref: ACD1228)

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