The Romans have long been credited with bringing industry to Britain involving large-scale lead and iron production. It was generally assumed that industrial-scale production declined, as no written evidence for lead exploitation after the 3rd century exists. Their findings, published in the journal Antiquity, confirm that metal production did not collapse immediately after the Romans left Britain. The study indicates that lead and iron production was very active again before the Vikings arrived and expanded under their control. The study goes on to show a decline in metal production through the 11th century with renewed large-scale growth in lead and iron production reflected again from the mid-12th to early 13th centuries.