Scheduled Monument: Roman Fortlet At Ince, 150M North East Of Hall Farm (1014723)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Roman fortlet at Ince, 150m north east of Hall Farm PARISH: INCE DISTRICT: ELLESMERE PORT AND NESTON COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 27589 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ44877708 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a double ditched enclosure to the north of the village of Ince identified as a Roman fortlet. The enclosure was first discovered by aerial photographs in 1994 and subsequent excavation has confirmed its form and established a date in the Roman period. The enclosure has two rock-cut ditches surrounding the site. These enclose an area of 0.48ha. Excavation has established that there are postholes for wooden buildings on the site, and that these buildings were in occupation during the time of the occupation of the Roman fortress at Chester. The area enclosed is rectangular with well rounded corners. The interior measures 80m by 60m, the ditches being 9m apart. The site commands a wide view of the estuary of the Mersey, being on a promontory overlooking the former channel of the river which used to flow beneath the cliffs. The fortlet is comparative with that near Castleshaw in Greater Manchester. Its function seems to have been the observation of sea traffic in the estuary. Buildings shown on the 1:10000 map to overlie the monument no longer exist. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE Roman fortlets are small rectangular enclosures with rounded corners defined by a fortified rampart of turf and earth with one or more outer ditches. The ramparts were originally revetted at the front and rear by timber uprights in shallow trenches and were almost certainly crowned with timber wall walks and parapets. Fortlets were constructed from the first century AD to at least the later fourth century AD to provide accommodation for a small detachment of troops generally deployed on a temporary basis of between one to two years and supplied by a fort in the same area. The function of fortlets varies from place to place; some were positioned to guard river crossings or roads, particularly at vulnerable points such as crossroads, whilst others acted as supply bases for signal towers. Roman fortlets are rare nationally with approximately 50 examples known in Britain, half of which are located in Scotland. As such, and as one of a small group of Roman military monuments which are important in representing army strategy and therefore government policy, fortlets are of particular significance to our understanding of the period and all surviving examples are considered nationally important. The Roman fortlet at Ince is visible as a cropmark in aerial photographs and excavation has shown that it is well preserved beneath the topsoil. The interior will have much evidence of the form and function of the monument and the ditch bottoms will have evidence of the refuse discarded by the original inhabitants. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 16th July 1996