Land off King Edward Street, Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Trial Trenching Evaluation (OASIS ID: oxfordar2-321455)

Oxford Archaeology (OA) North were commissioned by Orion Heritage Ltd to initially undertake a trial trenching evaluation of Land off King Edward Street, Ashbourne, Derbyshire (NGR SK 1797 4647). The evaluation confirmed the presence of structural remains relating to the mill, with floor surfaces and walls being identified. As structural remains were identified during the evaluation, a mitigation strategy was put in place and involved the exposure and recording of the remains of the saw mill, to mitigate its loss or damage during subsequent development of the Proposed Development Area (PDA). Further aims of the excavation were to identify a power source for the mill, as none was recorded on any of the historic maps, as well as identify if any earlier structures survived. The excavation revealed that the mill structures were fairly well preserved throughout the eastern half of the PDA and the structures also correlated well with the historic mapping, which allowed a better understanding of the phasing of the saw mill, suggesting that the mill had been heavily modified prior to the Ordnance Survey map of 1922. A potential power source was also identified as being steam, this interpretation was suggested due to the presence of a possible boiler base, machine base, and several service conduits for cast-iron pipes. The identification of the power source of the mill is a significant discovery in the context of the mill, as it was not previously known.

奥赖恩遗产有限公司（Orion Heritage Ltd）委托牛津考古（Oxford Archaeology，OA）北区分部，率先对德比郡阿什伯德市爱德华国王街周边地块（国家网格参考SK 1797 4647）开展试掘勘探评估。本次勘探确认存在与磨坊相关的结构遗迹，已辨识出地面层与墙体遗存。鉴于勘探过程中发现了结构遗迹，项目组随即制定了遗迹保护方案，对该锯磨坊遗迹进行揭露与记录，以避免该遗迹在拟开发区域（Proposed Development Area，PDA）后续开发过程中遭到损毁或破坏。本次发掘的附加目标包括：探明该磨坊的动力来源——因所有历史地图均未记载相关动力设施——以及探查是否存在更早的建筑遗存。发掘结果显示，拟开发区域东部半区的磨坊结构整体保存状况较好，且遗迹与历史地图的对应度较高，这为厘清该锯磨坊的营建改造时序提供了支撑，研究表明该磨坊在1922年英国地形测量局（Ordnance Survey）出版地图刊印前曾经历大规模改建。研究人员还通过现场发现的疑似锅炉基座、机器基座及数条配套铸铁管道的服务管沟，推断该磨坊的潜在动力来源为蒸汽。确定该磨坊的动力来源是本次发掘的一项重要发现，因此前学界对该磨坊的动力系统完全未知。