Site Event/Activity record ECH7291 - Land at Union Terrace, Chester: Archaeological Evaluation Report

Following on from the production of a Desk Based Assessment (Orion Heritage 2023), an archaeological evaluation was undertaken at land at Union Terrace, Chester (centred on NGR: SJ 40917 66663); it was conducted over 5 days between 19th and 23rd February 2024. Originally, five test pits were due to be excavated, however, due to the extreme space limitations, it was decided to change this to a single trench that incorporated all of the pit locations. The trench measured 13.6m long x 1.5m wide. The investigation revealed a simple sequence of remains overlying the natural geology, which included a relict soil horizon, and the well-preserved remains of an 19th-century cellar. The relict soil, predating the 19th-century house remains, is analogous to other post-Roman soil and dark earth deposits recorded in Chester, and in particular, bears similarity to the post-Roman layers uncovered during the investigations at the Bus Interchange (ECH6524) which were thought to have developed over a considerable period of time. The extant Gaumont Place (now Mecca Bingo) does not contain a cellar/basement therefore its foundations and insubstantial sub-floor are unlikely to have significantly removed or impacted any pre-existing archaeological remains now covered by the building’s footprint. The survival of other 19th-century structural remains, houses or industrial buildings, together with any earlier archaeology is therefore anticipated across the remainder of the site. (1)