Site Event/Activity record ECH6017 - An Archaeological Assessment for Proposed Landscaping at the King Charles Tower Green, City Walls, Chester

An archaeological assessment of the King Charles Tower Green, at the base of the City Walls, was carried out in November 2014. In this potentially sensitive and unexplored location, and ahead of a programme of landscape improvement works, five test trenches were excavated to identify the depth, significance and extent of underlying archaeological deposits. The results have shown that the steep embankment that runs north-south and parallel to the line of the City Walls, was probably formed from up-cast material during the cutting of the adjacent canal in the late 18th century. Closer to the line of the City Walls, an earlier and potentially more significant bank, was recorded and, due to its shallow depth below ground level, this earlier bank will require avoidance during the forthcoming landscape works. This has resulted in the identification of a narrow, sensitive zone of archaeology up against the base of the City Walls. The information retrieved will assist in the protection of the vulnerable archaeology during the future programme of landscaping works.