Site Event/Activity record ECH3144 - Excavations in Goss Street, Chester in 1948 (Astons Site)

Excavations carried out by the Chester Excavation Committee following demoliton of condemned property in Goss Street. Trench 1 revealed evidence for a street some 4.5m wide on a north-south alignment with at least three street levels between two buildings one of which had a veranda Trench 2 again recorded the veranda this time cut by a Roman pit containing ashes. Two phases of construction were also noted. Several internal floor layers recorded Trench 4 again recorded the front wall of the western building and disclosed a regular series of internal compartments indicating heavily occupied rooms. Trenches 6 & 7 both recorded the southern end of the barrack block. It would appear that a latrine was added to the later structure in the early 2nd century. The east side of the road recorded in Trench 1 was bordered by a well laid open gutter itself bordering a building (the Headquarters) seen in Trench 5 where robbed out foundations, a column base and post holes were recorded. Trench 1 also recorded evidence of an earlier timber built structure. (2) Possible south front of headquarters building traced not far north of Watergate Street, in a backyard. A Roman pavement was discovered on rectangular sandstone slabs. Below this were small rock-cut pits, belonging to an earlier phase of Roman occupation. The Roman pavement lay c.1m above the level of Watergate Street itself and at the same level as the colonnade found in Goss Street (RN:3000/2/36). This suggests the building had an impressive and terraced approach (2).