Dear List,
It seems opportune at this point to throw something of a challenge:
Readers may be aware of the work I have been doing over the last 5 years in searching out the site of the 16th/17th century silver lead smelter here in Combe Martin. Also the location of the early medieval mining as suggested by documentation.
The work in both areas has progressed reasonably well and our knowledge on these subjects has increased appreciably. However, it is often very useful to gain the insights and advice of others who are able to look at the problems with fresh new eyes - I know I often become very blinkered.
On the smelting front, the general area of the site has been identified through archaeological techniques and I simply cannot see how else this could have been carried out. I am not working in an open moorland or rural area, but in the valley bottom of a linear village with properties crowded one ontop of another. Progress has been through micro test pits in peoples gardens and the painstaking reading of multiple contexts to a depth of over 3-4m at times.
On the early mining front I commissioned a geophysical survey (both magnetometer and resistivity) on two fields which suggested the early phases of shallow mining may have commenced at a cost of over £1000 to myself. It was money well spent in that the survey identified possibly a further 5 shafts and considerable amounts of building debris beneath medieval ploughing.
However, I believe the time is now right 'to take stock' and to invite others to look at the work with fresh eyes. I would be delighted to get Lynn Willis, Mike Gill, Martin Roe, Roger Burt and others to look at the work. To tell me where I am going wrong, if needs be, and to offer suggestion on how I can move the knowledge gained further forward.
The mining history of Combe Martin is extremely complex in that centuries of mine waste has travelled down hill towards the valley bottom and covered the evidence in multiple contexts. Up this point it has been the archaeological sciences which have allowed progress in the considerable knowledge gained, but I would be delighted to learn of other techniques and disciplines which could help the project further.
Kindest regards,
Trevor
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