Site Event/Activity record ECH2509 - Salvage recording at the new school site, Batchelors Lane, Boughton, Chester in 1975

A quantity of Roman Pottery including one cremation, was found on the western side of Batchelor’s Lane, during construction work on a new school in 1975. The site lies on a pronounced sandstone shelf with a steep drop down to the river Dee, some 300m to the west. All the finds were recovered from the service trench excavated for a main drain. The trench was 6m deep and ran east-west across the (future) playing fields. The majority of the pottery sherds came from the excavation spoil, but the cremation (vessel No.1) and vessel No.4 came from the eastern face of the trench, within 3m of each other, both at 1.2m BGL. Six vessels identified from the assemblage, of mid C1st to late C2nd date. Vessel No.1 (cremation urn) was a gray ware globular jar, badly weathered, with a plain base and everted, cavetto like rim. It is uncertain whether all the vessels belong to a group deposited at the time of the cremation or multiple cremations. A sestertius of Trajan (possibly a IVDAEA CAPTA type) was also found (late C1st, Early C2nd). A number of other stray finds have been recorded in this area (1).