Rusland Charcoal Pits
In February 2004 the owner of Bark House Bank, Ickenthwaite in the Rusland valley, reported the discovery of large amounts of charcoal. It was found on land on the east side of Bethacar Moor, mounded for tree planting as part of a New Native Woodland Initiative scheme.
The Authority’s archaeological staff surveyed the site in April and 27 individual features were recorded over approximately 100 acres, using GPS. These features appear to be shallow pits, between 3m and 4m diameter, in which wood was reduced to charcoal. They are located in an area that is now open fell, above the densely wooded intakes further down slope.
Pitsteads and pits
It is thought that the flat charcoal burning platforms (pitsteads) common in Lake District woods are from 17th century and produced charcoal from poles of coppiced wood.
However the copious charcoal from the pits at Bark House Bank is of mature timber with tight ring-growth, indicating the exploitation of woodland that was not coppiced. These charcoal pits are therefore likely to date from the Medieval period (c. 1000 – 1600 AD) and used to make charcoal from non-coppiced timber of all shapes, sizes and ages. The charcoal is likely to have been used for iron production. There is a known Medieval bloomery at the southern end of the site.
This is the first time that charcoal pits have been recognised in the Lake District. In the future areas mounded for tree planting will need to be examined for archaeological remains.
This information is of major importance for the area's woodland history. Charcoal samples have been taken from each feature to identify the tree species used. Funding will be sought for radiocarbon dating in order to establish their chronology more precisely.
July 2005 update
English Heritage Science Adviser identified the wide variety of trees that were converted to charcoal and also identified numerous tool marks on the larger pieces of charcoal.
Two samples were submitted for radiocarbon dating and the results have just become available.The date ranges for the two pits from which the submitted samples came were between 1290 and 1410 and 1280 and 1400 – all dates AD. This demonstrates that the charcoal pits are medieval and contemporary with the adjacent bloomery. This work has also given us a good idea of the structure of medieval woodland on the lower Lake District fells.
A successful application has been made to the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society for £1,400 for an additional six radiocarbon dates. This will allow us to obtain a date for the adjacent bloomery and to see if the charcoal production was a single episode or took place periodically over many years.
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