Site Event/Activity record ECH7127 - 83-89 Foregate Street, Chester: Archaeological Fieldwork Report

Archaeological recording was undertaken in 2021-2022 during groundworks as part of the construction of a new build retail store at 83–89 Foregate Street, Chester. Work comprised monitoring of the lifting of the ground floor slab and sub-base of the former building on the site, archaeological monitoring during the excavation of 25 ground beam trenches and 102 pile caps, also the excavation of an attenuation tank and drainage run to connect with the existing drainage system. This work was the latest stage of archaeological mitigation on the site dating from 2017 (see also: ECH6429, 2017; ECH6930, 2020; ECH 6931, 2020), which had demonstrated that there were significant below-ground remains present from an approximate depth of 0.4m below ground level. As a result, extensive efforts were made to mitigate the impact upon the archaeological remains through the design of the foundations of the proposed development, in order to preserve the majority of remains in situ (it was agreed that a loss of approximately 5% of significant archaeological remains was acceptable). After some areas of significant archaeology were encountered during the groundworks, the height of the foundation levels of the building were further raised and the loss of significant archaeology was reduced to just the impact of the piling (0.55%). The majority of remains identified, occurring at circa 0.50–0.60m below the current ground level, related to post-medieval/modern occupation of the site, which had truncated the earlier archaeological remains. Several brick walls, floor surfaces, pits, occupation layers and demolition deposits were recorded, indicative of late post-medieval cellars, modern services and foundations/pile caps, and demolition associated with the former buildings that occupied the site. The post medieval remains corresponded fairly well with the historic mapping of the site. Remains of significant, earlier archaeology (recorded in Rows A, B and C) comprised the upper surviving level of Roman sandstone walls and metalled floor surfaces. These potentially relate to a single Roman building forming part of the civilian settlement (canabae legionis) outside the Roman walls of Chester. Occupation deposits overlying these surfaces produced small quantities of Roman pottery and animal bone, as well as a Roman coin. Similar occupation/demolition deposits were observed elsewhere on site. An assemblage of finds were recovered from mixed contexts and are typical of sites in and around Chester. They date from the early Roman period through to the modern era, with a notable absence of material from the early medieval period. Notable finds include a fragment from the base of a Gaulish samian vessel which has a partial maker's stamp, also two copper alloy Roman coins. Two soil samples were taken from a dark, silt soil deposit (context 241/240) in the area of the excavation of the attenuation tank, located at the northern extent of the site. One of these was a monolith sample producing information on the pollen record for the site from the Roman to post medieval periods. The pollen and the animal bone data are suggestive of an open, grassy environment potentially used for pasture in the Roman period (to the rear of buildings fronting Foregate Street), with later management/housing of livestock and horn working in the earlier post-medieval period. Similar anaerobic deposits were encountered during the 2020 evaluation of the site and were considered to have been related to medieval/post-medieval activity (see ECH6930). (1)