The SAM and adjacent land is enclosed by two gravel pits to the west and south that since the end of extraction have been turned into lakes that form part of the Attenborough Nature Reserve. The land lies immediately to the south of the Grade II listed 16th century property of Ireton House and medieval church of St. Mary. The fields have not been disturbed during the phase of mineral extraction and therefore held the potential of having preserved archaeological features and possible palaeo-environmental deposits. The fields where the ground works were to be undertaken were divided into 6 areas. During stripping of the topsoil the surface was monitored for any visible archaeological features, artefacts or deposits. These were recorded in plan and photographed. Sections were drawn where appropriate. Within the SAM no excavation took place, all features being preserved in situ. Outside the SAM features were excavated and recorded. Twenty three post holes were excavated by hand in the top of the bank marking the boundary of the church.. Each was inspected for any archaeological deposits and the stratigraphy recorded. The south-east facing bank of the churchyard was machine excavated to between 1.20m and 1.50m under full archaeological supervision. Seven 0.50m wide slots were hand cleaned and recorded. The entire extent of the soil stripping was carried out under archaeological supervision both within the boundary of the SAM and the field to the east of it. A small assemblage of medieval pottery was recovered from the stripped surface within the SAM along side a similarly small assemblage of modern pot. None of the pottery finds came from cut features with the exception of one shard of medieval pottery. The field boundary, thought to be a medieval fish pond was shown after the removal of the top soil to extend to the modern church boundary. Observations made during the groundworks could not conclusively determine whether its designation as a fish pond is correct or otherwise. The exposed section of the boundary, being within the SAM was preserved ‘in situ’ without further disturbance. An area to be used as a storage compound was stripped of top soil revealing interleaved bands of alluvial clays. There were no features exposed as a result of the soil stripping. A feature was recorded.This was fully excavated and found to be very shallow with indeterminate edges. A significant assemblage of pot was recovered from the excavation which has been provisionally dated to the medieval period and includes tile as well as shards from domestic vessels. It may be a very truncated pit or the remains of a rubbish dump. Whether it is to be associated directly with activity related to the fish ponds or the medieval site in the adjacent field to the east is uncertain. Three trenches were excavated either side of sheet piles that that been inserted into the ground to provide the core of the new flood defence. These proved to be archaeologically sterile with the exception of one area. Seen in section, opposite Ireton House, a post medieval rubbish pit containing pottery and a dead dog was recorded. This has been interpreted as originating from refuse disposal from Ireton House itself. A further pit contained modern concrete and has been interpreted as a post hole for a gate or a boundary fence. No damage occurred within the SAM as a result of the ground works. Evidence for activity in the medieval and post medieval periods was recovered in the form of pottery finds. No cut features, e.g. pits or ditches, were present in the SAM during the monitoring of the ground works.