The proposed development site covers an area of 169.3ha and is located on the southern edge of Mansfield. It lies either side of the east-to-west-running A617 (Sherwood Way) to the east of the A60 (Nottingham Road). The scheme of archaeological excavation took place prior to the start of any development to investigate the purpose and extent of the archaeological remains identified during the evaluation stage of the project. Two areas targeted around one trench of the evaluation were machine excavated down to the first archaeologically sensitive layer, followed by the excavation of an additional six smaller trenches on the surrounding area to confirm the results. These works were undertaken using a machine fitted with a toothless bucket under archaeological supervision. No further evidence of prehistoric activity was recorded during the course of this excavation. As suggested by the evaluation results, it is likely that activity in the area during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age was transitory, and perhaps related to hunting. Previously known prehistoric artefacts from the area, as identified in the desk-based assessment, support this theory; a disperse scatter of unstratified finds dating from this same broad period. The two new pits revealed by the excavation contained no dateable finds, although the fragment of coke recovered from one of them, in addition to the information gathered in the evaluation, suggest these features all date from the later post-medieval period. Coke was first used in the UK in the late 17th century, but its use did not become widespread until the 19th century as the process of producing the coke was refined. It is therefore likely that this feature dates from the 19th or 20th century, and may, as suggested in the evaluation report, be related to small scale forestry activity in the neighbouring Harlow Wood. No further features were found in these open area excavations, or in the additional six trenches that were excavated around the second area, suggesting very low level activity. The investigation of the potential palaeochannel deposits confirmed the presence of a channel in the natural stream valley at the northern end of one field; however no palaeoenvironmental evidence was recovered due to preservation conditions. Two further potential palaeochannels were lynchets - ridges resulting from ploughing over an extended period of time.