Mellor Heritage Project

A possible Medieval Aisled Hall

In 2003, whilst the team were actually searching for a palisade slot behind the Iron Age ditch in Trench 1, (Area A ) they uncovered a huge (1.2m diameter and 0.7m deep) postpit. Speculation at the time was that this large hole cut into the sandstone bedrock was either an Iron Age storage pit later used as a post hole, or had been made by the Romans as the base of a signal station.

Four further postpits were found however in Trench 35 in 2005, lining up perfectly with the original, spaced about 2.65m apart and running SSW. All the features were roughly circular, 0.8 to 1.2 m across and 0.1 to 0.5 m deep, differences in size and shape possibly explained by the difficulty of cutting into the plated bedrock as well as the structural requirements.

Half sections showed a clear, darker fill where the posts had stood, surrounded by a stone filled packing layer. A date from the rubble which fell into the post holes after the post had gone tells us that the building was standing until between the 13th to 15th Centuries.

 In Trench 33, two similar post-holes were found in a parallel alignment 6m to the West, with a third at right angles 2 m further away. In Trench 24, 2 more were found 6m to the South on a different alignment.

Within the post pits were an arrowhead dated from the 13th to 14th centuries; pottery fragments identified from the 11th to 15th centuries; and a Radiocarbon date in the deep postpit of AD1000 to 1250 cal AD. This suggests a provisional dating of the structure to the Medieval Period.

The extent and shape of the building could not be confirmed in 2005 due to the limits of the excavation, but the investigation continued in 2006 and we await the 2006 Excavation Report to see what else it could tell us.