A Norman Mill Dam and other sites at Hemington Fields, Castle Donington, Leicestershire

Abstract

AbstractIn 1985 a watching brief during gravel extraction at Hemington Fields, Castle Donington, Leicestershire, revealed a substantial timber and stone structure buried beneath 2–2.5 m of alluvium. Salvage excavation and a further watching brief have enabled the structure to be identified as a twelfth century mill dam associated with a possible low breast mill. This is the only mill site o f this date examined on a major river and has provided important information on medieval water management. Such sites indicate the great potential for archaeology within the flood plain of major rivers and contributes to a survey of palaeochannels in this area of the Trent valley.