Archaeologists unearth mystery finds at site of historic home

A team of about 70 people, led by specialists from Sheffield University, began work eight weeks ago at the site of Sheffield's Manor Lodge to find out more about its history.

But staff were amazed when the remains of what was probably an early coal mining site were discovered, along with a set of previously hidden foundations close to the ruined Long Gallery.

The education officer at the Sheffield Council-owned site, Peter Machan, said: "This dig has just blown what we thought to be true about this particular part of the site wide open."

The teams involved were just getting ready to fill in their trenches at the end of last week, when the unexpected finds came to light.

Project director Dawn Hadley said: "We weren't expecting to find big holes in cut into the bedrock and when we followed the shelves of bedrock down, we couldn't believe what we found.

"A lot of tests will now be conducted, but we are quite certain that what we have found is an early attempt to extract coal, dating back to the early 18th century."