 This discovery was said to offer significant evidence relating to the medieval town of Sheffield, still a small market town, before its growth during the subsequent Industrial Revolution.Dating of the well indicates that it was probably dug around the time of the rebuilding of Sheffield Castle in stone, in 1270, and the granting of Sheffield's Market Charter by Edward I in 1296.Due to the conditions in the well, animal bones and plant remains (possibly including microscopic pollen grains) were preserved and analysed by the University's Department of Archaeology laboratories.