2004 there were 43 trenches, 14 trial trenches, and 17 test pits. The investigation of the site has revealed two ditches. While the external ditch encloses a larger area, it has smaller dimensions than the internal ditch. The chronological relation between the two ditches is uncertain. The internal ditch has been cut into the sandstone bedrock and is wide and deep; there was a palisade beyond the inner edge of the ditch. At some point, part of the ditch was refilled and a posthole inserted into it, possibly relating to a gateway. Artefacts recovered from the ditch indicate that the inhabitants of the site had links with salt-producing communities in lowland Cheshire. The Very Coarse Pottery (VCP) which was used to contain the salt at Mellor is similar to fragments recovered from the Iron Age site at Beeston Castle. A layer of charcoal has been radiocarbon dated to 830–190 BC. The latest deposits in the ditch include hundreds of fragments of Roman pottery dating from the 1st to 4th centuries, bronze Roman brooches, and Roman nails. The outer ditch is wide and deep, and like the inner ditch was cut in the local bedrock. A rare Iron Age pot was recovered from the outer ditch, with 125 shards found. The material used to make the pot originated about away in Castleton, Derbyshire. The pot was found in one of the earliest contexts in the ditch, and dates to the Iron Age. It was probably deliberately placed at the bottom of the ditch as part of a ritual after a significant event such as digging the ditch. While the inner ditch did have a palisade, neither ditch had a bank associated with it. The archaeological excavations that have been undertaken since 1998 are funded by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and have received news coverage. The site is used as a training excavation for students and a community dig to introduce people to ancient history, with the participation of Mellor Archaeological Trust. In 2002, students from Ridge Danyers Sixth Form College built a replica roundhouse that is still standing on the site. Many of the artefacts discovered at Mellor during the excavations are on permanent display at Stockport Museum. The site is open to the public annually, in the first week of September, so that people can view the work done over the past season