A narrow trench was initially machine excavated, which exposed a stone-lined well or cistern at its south end. This was 1.6m in diameter, and excavated to a depth of 3.5m. It contained two fills; the upper fill consisting of reddish brown silty sand, which sealed a dark grey waterlogged silty sand. This yielded most of the animal bone from the site, which included a horse skull and other horse bones, along with butchered bones of cattle and sheep/goat. This appears to represent waste deposition.

The construction of the marketplace in the early Victorian period appears to have totally obscured evidence of an earlier market or structures, at least in the area of the trench observed. This construction activity shows that, at least in front of the town hall, the area was stripped to the surface of the bedrock; municipal drainage was installed, and the ground was made-up to a new level. The well encountered was probably the water source of a municipal pump.

S.A. Savage, 2006, Market Place, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire: Archaeological Watching Brief Report (Unpublished document). SNT5983.