From Roman times onwards iron from the Forest was also vital to the national economy. Perhaps because the Forest was subsequently associated with coal mining, this is the full story of the Forest's iron industry that has not been told before. John Meredith is a member of the Dean Archaeological Group and has lived in the Forest man and boy. He has been assisted by Jasper Blake, who has constructed a full-scale Iron Age Village opposite the much-visited prehistoric ironworking caves at Clearwell.