Monument details
| HER Number: | 1440/1/1 |
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| Type of record: | Archaeology |
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| Name: | Engine Vein opencast copper mine, 150m north of Warden's Cottage. |
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Summary
The Engine Vein contains deposits of copper, cobalt and at least forty other minerals.
Copper was first extracted from this location during the Bronze Age; a shallow open pit has been discovered with characteristic peck marks in the rock face. Discarded stone hammers have been found on and near the site.
Possible evidence for Roman or medieval mining below the surface includes a bisected shaft with an inclined access and rock cut notches for possible windlass mountings; the windlass was used to draw up the minerals.
In the canyon side below the prehistoric mining are rock faces representing hand picked extraction from the medieval to the eighteenth century and cobalt and copper extraction by blasting, which was taking place from 1857.
Several Mesolithic chert implements have also been discovered at this site, along with Neolithic flint scrapers and blades, although they predate the mining activity.
The origin of the site’s name is unknown, but one possibility is that it refers to a horse engine, which may have been used on the site.
| Parish: | NETHER ALDERLEY, MACCLESFIELD, CHESHIRE EAST |
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Monument Types
- INDUSTRIAL SITE (Early Bronze Age to AD 19TH CENTURY - 2350 BC? to 1899 AD?)
| Protected Status: | Scheduled Monument 33859: Engine Vein Opencast Copper Mine, 150M North Of Warden'S Cottage |
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Related records
| 1440/0/0 | Related to: Alderley Edge Mines (Monument) |