Deerplay Colliery, Lancashire. Archaeological Assessment Report

An archaeological assessment was undertaken in September 1999 for the proposed treatment of
discharge water from a former mine (centred at NGR SD 8707 2655) by Lancaster University
Archaeological Unit (LUAU), on behalf of IMC Environmental Consultants.
The desk-based study demonstrated that there has been prehistoric activity in the area, as evidenced
by Mesolithic flint artefacts found from exposures through the extensive peat cover over Deerplay
Moor. Nearby Thieveley Pike was a focus of activity during the medieval and post-medieval periods
and on the highest point, at Thieveley Pike, is an earthwork which is believed to have been a beacon.
An early boundary bank, between the township of Cliviger and the Forest of Rossendale, extended
along the ridge of Deerplay Moor and over Thieveley Pike. There is also documented evidence for a
saltway, a road that went from Cheshire to Knaresborough, in Yorkshire and passed by way of
Thieveley Pike; this extended through the study area. The trackway survives as a broad embanked
road platform and is now in use as a footpath.