British Isles British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe that consists of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man and over six thousand smaller isles. They have a total area of about 315,159 km and a combined population of just under 70 million, and include two sovereign states, the Republic of Ireland (which covers roughly five-sixths of the island of Ireland) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The islands of Alderney, Jersey, Guernsey and Sark, and their neighbouring smaller islands, are sometimes
Mining archaeology in the British Isles assemblages remained undisturbed by 19th century deeds due to the low quality of its veins. With the beginning of the Iron Age about 700 BC operations associated with ore exploitations spread around the British Isles. A representative example of the period are Puzzlewood's surface mines. The site prospered especially in the Romano-British period and the late Middle Ages. The limonite ores represent a small part of the local Carboniferous Limestone. The archaeological remains of mining which can be detected in the area are opencasts, known as Scowles Holes. It's important to underline the discovery of habitations areas in close proximity,