This dome of iron slag is one of a cluster of about ten similar objects found in a 20m radius. Its size and shape is consistent with the build up of waste metal at the bottom of a smithing hearth, and this diagnosis has been confirmed by metallurgical analysis.
It is very difficult to date slag, and these smithing hearth bottoms (or cakes) may be found as early as the Iron Age. However, the number of them found at the site suggests iron was abundant, which indicates a more recent date. As such, they were probably deposited between the 17th and 19th centuries. The ironworking may have been associated with Eastwood Farm.
It, like the others, was found with the flat side uppermost, resting on its characteristically domed underside.