The find was a burnt spread, a type of site characterised by discoloured, fire-affected soil and charcoal, which can indicate anything from prehistoric cooking activity to craft processes involving sustained heat. These spreads are often modest in appearance and easily missed, which is precisely why so many go unrecorded until ground disturbance brings them to light.

When excavation was carried out at the site in 2004, designated Site 8 in the broader programme of works, archaeologists uncovered thin deposits of charcoal-rich soil. The thinness of those deposits is itself telling. It suggests either a short-lived episode of burning, or activity that left only the faintest trace after centuries of compression and agricultural use above it. Without the coincidental timing of the quarry's expansion, this small pocket of evidence would almost certainly have been removed without record.