Site Event/Activity record ECH7235 - Archaeological Site Attendance at White Friars, Chester

During works at White Friars, Chester, for brick sewer renovations, a collection of disarticulated faunal remains were identified by groundworkers. The site is located within the carriageway of White Friars, in front of number 6, at NGR (SJ) 340512, 366098. The site lies within the centre of Chester inside the location of the Roman Fort of Deva, and in an area of known Medieval monastic activity. Previous work in the area has identified Roman and Medieval deposits, features and finds. It has also been shown across Chester that within service excavations islands of in situ archaeology survive between disturbed areas and service cuts. Below the cobbled carriageway (100) was a series of compacted modern layers (101) forming a sub base for the road surface. These sealed a 1m thick deposit of sand, sandstone and silt, with gravel inclusions (102). This was identified as an already disturbed deposit within which a series of late post-medieval and modern services were already present. Fragments of modern brick and gravel within the matrix supports this. At approximately 22.65mOD, a depth of 1.15m below the kerb level, a small assemblage of bone elements had been recovered. This comprised 9 elements, with a total weight of 577g, including cattle, sheep and pig remains. All elements, excluding the mandible fragments, showed butchery marks, indicating that these were likely waste products, and are typical of domestic kitchen waste from the area. (1)