We are delighted to receive the important commission to prepare an Archaeological Management Plan for the Ecton Hill copper mine.

The site is a Scheduled Monument, protected because of its exceptional important industrial archaeology. An 18th-century engine house is most obvious feature, but the land around it is covered with earthwork features such as spoil heaps, reservoirs – and open shafts going hundreds of feet underground!

Our project will report on the condition of the engine house and its immediate surroundings, with recommendations for presentation and interpretation as well. The project is unusually complex because the remains are also part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest for geology and ecology. Our project team therefore includes building conservation specialists, an engineer, an ecologist and a quantity surveyor – as well as us archaeologists! The first project meeting took place on 11 November 2011, and work will continue for several months.

The engine house at Ecton Hill copper mine.