Harbottle Hill Millstones Quarry, Northumberland. Survey Report

In 1999, as part of a wider programme of research and interpretation of historic sites in
Upper Coquetdale the Northumberland National Park commissioned an archaeological
survey and recording project focused on the Harbottle quarry area, together with
additional fieldwalking of adjacent moorland to establish the full extent of the
millstone working. The project was grant aided by the European Rural Development
Fund (ERDF) and English Heritage. The survey was commissioned following a
moorland fire in 1994, which started on the MoD land west of Harbottle Lough and
spread eastwards past the Drake Stone (Fig 2), and burned off the thick heather cover
over much of the survey area. The fire revealed more of the millstone quarry than had
previously been visible and focused attention on the scale and significance of the
remains.