Site Event/Activity record ECH3579 - Archaeological evaluation at Weaver Street, Chester in 1994

Evaluation requested in advance of planned development proposals on the site of the Weaver Street car park. Aim of the investigation was to assess the potential for below ground survival of archaeological evidence given the site's location in the centre of the Roman fortress and the later medieval city. The results of the evaluation demonstrate there was limited prehistoric evidence in the area, limited to just a single find. Evidence of the Roman fortress was more forthcoming with features relating to the collapsed revetment wall, the outer defensive ditch and the remains of a possible rampart building from the defences. Post Roman evidence was limited for Saxon pottery finds while later evidence suggests limited use in the medieval period. As the area was held by the Whitefriars it is suggested that it was given over to garden or orchards. In the later medieval period, a graveyard associated with the Church of St Martin's was located near the site. The site appears to have been given over to residential terracing from the late eighteenth century until the twentieth century (1). Environmental samples from four medieval to post medieval contexts were also taken, however the environmental potential appears to be low (2). Referred to as Site No 33 in the City Defences Monograph (6).