Cotton Mill Farm 1969
Type                 Medieval Moated Site
Location            Edingley, SK 653558
Project Leader   R.D.Smith
Crop marks of an apparent rectangular enclosure were noted by the aerial photographer Jim Pickering in 1967.
The farmer was interested in the history of his land and three trenches were dug, two to cut the features visible from the air and one to test the central and higher level.  The central oblong features within the enclosure were concluded to have been fishponds and the irregular rectangle of the outer ditch was consistent with other Moated sites in the East Midlands.  The central test pit revealed no structures nor was any firm dating evidence found.  A large house adjacent to the field on the northern side is known as the Grange and this may  provide the clue to the area's original use when attached in some way to a monastic order possibly in Southwell.
When this use of the land was no longer required the field was flooded to provide a head of water for the mill in the S.E. comer of the field. This dam is clearly marked on several maps of the 18th  and 19th centuries.
Further work could be justified on the history of this mill.
An excavation report with section drawings and plans are lodged in Mansfield Museum.

Skegby 1970
Type                 Medieval Iron Bloomery
Location            South of Skegby Church, SK493609
Project Leader   Derek March
The discovery in 1969 of a hoard of 14 th.C. silver coins close to St. Andrew's Church in  Skegby led the society to examine the surrounding area in more detail.  Some irregularities in the plot of land immediately below the graveyard prompted an area excavation of about 100 sq.ms.
The archaeology was very close to the surface and within the top 20 cms. was found a large quantity of iron nails, slag and charcoal.
Three large postholes cut into the bedrock were interpreted as an open sided work shelter.  This contained an extensive hearth area. Outside this structure were a number of unexplained circular cut features whose diameters varied from 500 cms to 1.5 metres.
Pottery finds at the time were diagnosed green glazed Stamford ware.  Evidence of a cobbled road or trackway was identified running across the hillside in a S.W/N.E direction.
No artefacts, report or drawings can be found of this work; the only record is this eye-witness evidence.

Sookholm Church Foundations 1972
Type                 Tower base
Location            Sookholm, SK 548669
Project Leaders  Jim Turner and Frank Fletcher
A local group of enthusiasts were involved in the restoration of the tiny and neglected church at Sookholm . Pevsner describes the building as a 'simple, two cell, Norman chapel which could be as early as 1100'.
Evidence in the stonework of the west elevation suggested that a tower may have existed and the Society was asked to confirm this.
A small area excavation revealed the foundations of a square tower and the only small find was a fragment of a decorated clasp possibly from a prayer book.
Drawings of these foundations and a south elevation of the church are filed in Mansfield Museum.

Meden Valley Fieldwalk Project 1973/74 and
Hardwick Area Fieldwalking Project 1980/81
Type                 Surface finds analysis
Location            River Meden catchment area, Hardwick Park to 
                         Pleasley Vale, SK4964
Project Leaders  David Bowler, Frank Fletcher, and Jack Chapman.
A general fieldwalking survey of the available arable land surrounding Mansfield began in 1969.  It soon became clear that large areas had been lost to archaeology through open cast mining, pit tipping and soft-wood forestry.  Much of the remaining farmland particularly on the sandstone to the south and east of the town yielded very few finds either of flint or pottery. However to the north and west in the region of  the Meden and its tributaries there was an abundance of occupation evidence.
Almost every field examined yielded worked flints and several localised scatters of Romano-British pottery were recorded.
Over 100 fields were systematically walked and the finds plotted. Frank Fletcher subsequently drew more than 1000 flint artefacts.
These drawings and the distribution reports were published in 1975 and 1986; copies of these  reports and their assesments are available for study in Mansfield Museum.
A sample cross-section of the assemblage was despatched to Dr.Pat Phillips of Sheffield  University for her expert appraisal.
The assemblage from the Harwick Park area was studied by Mr. A.J.B. Parton also of Sheffield and his report of 1986 is also filed in the Museum.
The broad conclusions of both these prehistorians were that the area had been intensively used by hunter-gatherer societies since the Mesolithic period and a continuity of flint implement techniques was traceable into the iron-age.  
Our shelves in Mansfield Museum contain around 40 boxes of flints and pottery, the results of this work, each labelled with the field locations.

Farnsfield Roman Camp 1978  
Type                 Roman Marching Camp 
Location            Blidworth Lane, Farnsfield, SK639557
Project Leaders  Jim Turner and Catherine Swarbrick 
The results of aerial photography by Dr. Derek Riley prompted an investigation 1 mile s.w. of Farnsfield. Three trenches were dug across the visible cropmarks and a very typical Roman defensive ditch was sectioned.  In the infill 4 romano-British coarse-ware pottery sherds were found plus one base sherd thought to be of iron-age date.
There was much conjecture as to the time lapse of the back-filling as some of the exposed surfaces showed signs of weathering.
It is also unclear whether the pottery sherds were residual or contemporary; possibly quite an important point.
The report and all the photographs and drawings are filed in Mansfield Museum.  

Dorket Head 1973-1993
Type                 Iron-age/Romano-British Enclosure
Location            Ramsdale near Calverton, SK 596485
Project Leaders  James and Catherine Turner  
In the ongoing examinations of the Nottinghamshire earthworks recorded by Major Hayman Rooke in the 18th. C. Dorket Head has received by far the most archaeological attention. 
Over a 20 year period using weekends mostly in the summer months the team sectioned samples of all the visible features and recovered the largest assemblage of Iron-age pottery yet found in Nottinghamshire.
In the report published in 1992 Jim stated, with his usual flair for understatement, 'Dorket Head is a difficult site to assess'.  
The typical playing-card outline of a Roman encampment is undoubtedly there as observed by Rooke but the iron-age pottery finds outnumber the Roman by four to one.  Also a ditch system outside the rectangular one was sectioned at several points and was very clearly Iron-age in character.
The finds from the whole site reflect a very long period of occupation which is not surprising given the commanding strategic position of the headland.
The report, drawings and the day books kept by the excavator are available for study in the Museum.
The pottery finds are also easily accessible in the racking as is a preserved Iron-age sickle which was excavated after the publication of the main report.  

Pleasley Chapel / Moorhaigh Farm 1974/1975  
Type                 Medieval church and multi-period occupation site 
Location            Moorhaigh near Pleasley, SK 5012 6328  
Project Leaders  Derek March, David Bowler (surveyor) Frank Fletcher  (drawings)
In 1974 the Society was seeking a research project within easy travelling distance of its membership and the enigmatic 'Chapel' placed by the Ordnance Survey in a field at Moorhaigh Farm was, and has been proved to be, a good choice.
The site had been noted in the general Meden Valley field survey but as it had never been under the plough an excavation would be most propitious.  The farmer Mr. Holingsworth was not in good health and had grave concerns for the security of  his farm. It required a most tactful and professional approach to gain his confidence and open up his land.
The work in 1974 was carried out over 15 weeks and was successful in exposing the plan of a simple two cell early medieval church.  It also became apparent that there was evidence of earlier stone footings on a differing alignment from which stone had been robbed and re-used.  The team were further surprised by a substantial quantity of Romano-British pottery sherds and two Roman brooches.  Also within the sub-soil were two rim sherds of Bronze-age food vessel.  This scatter and other features visible on the surface prompted the team to return the following year.
In 1975 the trench which had yielded the R.B. pottery was extended southwards and more pottery was recovered.
Some ten metres distant from the chancel end of the church a further stone structure was found.  This 'building' was totally excavated and was 6 metres square, consisting of a low wall, possibly robbed to ground level, with a stone flagged interior.  In the centre of the floor was a deep fissure which was at the time interpreted as a old water source.  In the debris outside the walls were found numerous stone roof tiles with a single perforation.  It was assumed that this roof had slowly decayed over time rather than collapsing at one time into the interior.  Leading from the hypothesis that the function of the structure was the control of a water source the building has been referred to as a sistern. Probably with a timber frame on sleeper walls with a stone tile roof.  The northern side of the floor and outer wall facing the church, showed much signs of wear; this fact and the similarity of the stonework to that of the church led the team to believe that the two structures were contemporary.  It was obvious that at some future date the whole site must be more thoroughly examined and researched.
The excavation reports and full scale drawings of the work are filed at Mansfield Museum, as are the boxed and labelled finds.

Sookholme Tile Kiln 1995
Type                 Roman Tile Kiln 
Location            Sookholm, SK541666
Project Leader   David Burton
Large quantities of Roman tile fragments have been noted on several occasions in the field to the south of the pond known locally as the Roman Bath.
Adrian Oswald in the 1930s also recorded the presence of a stack of waster tiles in a uniform heap running east-west along the boundary of the field.  In 1979 Chris Brookes attempted to pinpoint the presumed site of the kiln by resistivity survey.  Although his results showed anomalies beneath the field his work was not conclusive.
In 1995 a mineral extraction application was submitted to Mansfield District Council and it was likely that the site was in immediate danger.
The Society began the work of assessing the Brooks resistivity anomalies and investigating more closely the so-called tile stack.
After two seasons work no kiln structures were found.
From the random nature of the heap of tile wasters it was concluded that the most likely explanation for their presence was that of a systematic field clearance probably in the 19th. C.
The scope for further searches is by no means exhausted but the overgrown nature of the pond margins and the water itself pose much difficulty.
In the archive of Major Hayman Rooke there exists a most convincing drawing of 'the Roman bath at Sookholm'. From his sketches the best guess is that the structure he observed lies beneath the existing pond.
The excavation report, drawings and tile samples can be studied in Mansfield Museum's Archaeology store room.

Watching Brief at Mansfield Woodhouse 1994 
In 1994 the Society tendered a figure to carry out a watching brief at a housing development in Castle Street in Mansfield Woodhouse.  The site was immediately behind the parish church and the Manor House and was a rare opportunity to examine a potentially sensitive area.  Although a quantity of post-medieval pottery and glass was recovered no significant structures were encounted which could be dated earlier than the 19th C.
To fully comply with the P.P.G. 16 directive the project involved a considerable workload including a continuous on-site presence, photography and the maintenance of a daily logbook.  Despite any remuneration, the unanimous conclusion of those involved about the possibility of subsequent P.P.G. 16s was that they should be left to the professionals.
The logbook, finds and photographs are filed at Mansfield Museum.  

Pleasley Park Survey 2001
Type                 Medieval Deer Park topographical survey
Location            Pleasley Vale, SK 520654
Project Leaders  R.D.Smith and Jim Priest
The Pleasley Vale regeneration scheme highlighted the need to assess the surface features within the woodland known as Pleasley Park.
The earliest record of these 'earthworks' was in a paper by Hayman Rooke 1790 which, under pressure from his mentor Sir George Younge, he ascribed to Roman military activity.
A local history group with the help of the Creswell Crags Centre identified some sections around the periphery as the remains of deer-leaps.
The interior of the wood and in particular the southern quarter is criss-crossed by fissures and gullies which at first glance can appear to be man made.
Following the measurement of the most well defined of these features we were able to reject the accuracy of Rooke's drawings and dismiss the theory of Roman activity. Our conclusions were that the park had been intensively used for limestone extraction and logging and all other features were the result of the weathering of the magnesium limestone and natural fissures.
                                                                         

Nottingham University, The Felix Oswald Samian Collection  2007/08
Dr. Gwladys Monteil of the Department of Archaeology at Nottingham University contacted the Society in the Autumn of 2007 to see if we could supply volunteers for a project at Nottingham University.  The Archaeological Museum there holds a large collection of Roman Samian pottery donated by Felix Oswald, the excavator of Margidunum.
The purpose of the project was to take rubbings of potter's stamps, and also the moulded decoration of decorated Samian pots.  There were also a few  moulds for making decorated Samian bowls.  The technique was exactly that of taking church brass rubbings, but on a lot smaller scale.
Over the Winter a group of volunteers from the Society went to the Museum of Archaeology on a weekly basis, and worked with other volunteers and students.
Artefacts were rubbed, mounted, digitally scanned, and entered onto a computer database, this database is fully operational and freely available for all to see, go to
www.nottingham.ac.uk/archaeology/research/materials/samian/index.aspx