Yesterday I was digging over a patch of uncultivated land for a potato bed in our allotment (recently taken on and unused for several years). I moved a clump of grass and underneath was what looked at first like a patch of very sandy soil (we have fairly heavy clay). When I looked more closely it was clear that they were millions of tiny orange eggs - each one about the size of a grain of sand. What took me aback was how many of them, the clump must have been at least six inches across and 2-3 inches deep of solid eggs.
What could produce this many eggs (surely it must be big

We live in Kent, and the area was mostly brambles and couch grass before I got my fork out.
What I really want to know is, should I be reaching for the boiling kettle or carefully moving the eggs to a safe sheltered place?