Site Event/Activity record ECH6304 - Report on an Archaeological Watching Brief at Deva Garage, 27 Grosvenor Park Road, Chester

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken in April 2001 at 27 Grosvenor Park Road, Chester, the former site of Deva Garage, in advance of a proposed residential development. The watching brief monitored the excavation of groundworks, including a programme of hydrocarbon test pitting (23 pits), to ascertain ground contamination levels in the area below the former garage canopy in the forecourt, the removal of redundant petrol tanks and the installation of interceptor drains in front of the former petrol pumps. This work followed on from an earlier evaluation done in 2000 (see ECH 6303, SCH 8164, R3956). The watching brief recovered evidence to suggest five phases in the development of the site. These comprise: 2nd century Roman domestic activity; a surviving portion of the civil war defensive ditch for Eastgate/Foregate Street; post civil war cesspits; late 17th century/early 18th century cultivation of the site; limited evidence of back-filled street front, cellar, sandstone structures of uncertain date. Palaeoenvironmental samples were taken. (1)