Important: Please note that the chimney structure is unstable at the moment, and it is not safe for people to get close to it. It is temporarily fenced off, and all visitors must stay outside the fenced area. Stabilisation work begins at the start of September, and access will be arranged as soon as possible after that.
At the beginning of July another archaeological dig took place at the Dukesfield Arches and the excavations revealed some unexpected discoveries!
This time the dig was focused around the site of the chimneys to the rear of the arches which, last October, were revealed under trees and debris.
October 2012 revealed the top of what was left of the chimneys
The painstaking removal of tonnes of rock, brick and soil have revealed the chimneys in a new light.
July 2013 the chimneys cleared of debris
This is causing quite a stir with the archaeologists.
What they discovered was;
“The downhill two ‘chimneys’ appear to have lintels (many now broken) and access openings, along with some unexplained holes in their walls.
Lintels discovered within the chimneys
It has been suggested that possibly there were only two chimneys (the uphill ones), each of which fed by a flue crossing the Arches. Each flue fed into a condensing chamber (the downhill ‘chimneys’) in which was stacked material such as brushwood, which would trap particulates from the fumes before they passed up the chimneys. The minerals caught on the brushwood, could then be periodically removed via the access opening and re-smelted”.
Revealing these structures has thrown up evidence which may support a new interpretation of this part of the site as the archaeologists believe that Dukesfield Mill may have been the first mill of its type to experiment with condensing chambers and long flues, which could make Dukesfield Smelting site unique in terms of lead smelting archaeology.
