Site Event/Activity record ECH6892 - Chester's Sewers: Archaeological Impact Assessment

In 2019, an assessment was undertaken of the potential impact on Chester’s nationally important buried archaeological resource, of the principal modern sewers beneath the city’s streets. For the most part, the study area was bounded by the settlement’s medieval defences (encompassing the Roman legionary fortress), though sections of the main roads leading from (and immediately outside) the city gates were also included (including the area of the Roman amphitheatre), since these are known to have been the focus of significant suburban development in the past. The area of Frodsham Street, immediately east of the city walls, was included for the same reason. The purpose of the project was to generate a dataset that could be used to inform decision making with regard to the management of Chester’s archaeology, and to inform advice to utility companies on the likely archaeological impact of future utility schemes within the historic city centre. The principal outcome of the study was the production of a GIS dataset providing information on the alignment and depth of each sewer, and the likely disturbance caused to the buried archaeology in each of the 47 streets within the study area. (1)