In June 2013 the Friends of Toton Fields learned of a planned play area to be situated on a potential site of one of the ancient water mills. Through the Connected Communities scheme funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, they were able to commission a geophysical survey of the area, which was conducted by the University of Nottingham in partnership with Trent & Peak Archaeology. Both magnetometry and resistivity methods were employed to reveal reasonably clear anomalies, particularly in the resistance data. High-resistance anomalies in the north-east of the area were interpreted as sub-surface structural remains of a mill building, while low-resistance anomalies were interpreted as the northernmost extent of the in-filled millpond. Following the evaluation process a full-scale archaeological excavation was undertaken of the site. Amongst the material excavated were two large upright oak stake piles along with a horizontal timber with a mortise. The alignment of this structure suggests a possible timber revetment for the 18th century mill related to stones however they may also relate to an earlier medieval mill. In an attempt to obtain accurate and reliable dates for these timbers Trent & Peak Archaeology commissioned analysis by dendrochronology of samples from two different beams. It was hoped that tree-ring analysis would provide some dating for the structure, there being no other certain evidence for its period of use or its potential sequential development. Sliced samples were thus taken from the two submitted timbers. Having been buried for some time the timbers were waterlogged, and the sliced samples were initially frozen for a short period to harden them. Once sufficiently solid the slices were reduced in size to narrow-width, cross-sectional, radii. The radii were then allowed to air dry naturally for three weeks before being prepared for measuring by sanding and polishing to clearly reveal the annual tree-ring growth. The two samples were given the Nottingham Tree-ring Laboratory code TOT-M (for Toton Mill) as well as being denoted by their Trent and Peak excavation code. The individual date span of each dated sample is also given. Thus, once sufficiently prepared, the widths of the annual growth rings of the two samples were measured, the data of these measurements then being initially compared with each other as described in the notes above. This comparative process indicated that although there was some cross-matching between the two samples at one particular position (when the first ring of sample TOT-M01 (DBP) is at +56 years relative to the first ring of sample TOT-M02 (DBO)), this was not at a significantly high level. Because of this, the two samples were then compared individually to the full corpus of reference data, this indicating cross-matches and dates for both of them; sample TOT-M01 (DBP) cross-matching significantly well and repeatedly with a large number of reference chronologies when its 101 rings span the years 1116–1216, while sample TOT-M02 (DBO) cross-matches significantly well and repeatedly with a large number of reference chronologies when its 136 rings span the years 1060–1195. It will be seen that the first ring date of each sample corresponds to the relative position of the low level cross-matching between the two samples seen in the initial analysis (ie, +56 rings). Because of the satisfactory dating of the two individual samples, and because of their corresponding, though low-level, cross-matching, the samples were combined at their indicated offset positions to form a single site chronology, TOTMSQ01, this has a combined overall length of 157 rings. Site chronology TOTMSQ01 was then compared with the full corpus of reference data, this indicating a cross-match spanning the years 1060–1216. Neither of the dated samples retains complete sapwood (the last ring produced by a tree before felling), and it is thus not possible to reliably determine the precise felling date of either of the trees represented. The two samples do, though, retain the heartwood/sapwood boundary, this meaning that although each sample has lost its sapwood rings, it is only the sapwood rings that have been lost. This situation allows an estimated date range within which it is highly likely that the trees were felled. Allowing for a likely minimum of 15 sapwood rings and a likely maximum of 40 sapwood rings (the usual 95% confidence interval), and given that the heartwood/sapwood boundary on sample TOT-M02 (DBO) is dated to 1195, it is likely that the tree represented was felled at some point between 1210 at the earliest and 1235 at the latest. Likewise, allowing for the same sapwood estimates as above, 15–40 rings, and given that the heartwood/sapwood boundary on sample TOT-M01 (DBO) is dated to 1216, it is likely that the tree represented by this sample was felled at some point between 1231 at the earliest and 1256 at the latest.