Monument record 8041 - Roman Cemetery south of Watergate

It is thought that a Roman cemetery existed to the south-west of the fortress, possibly following the line of the harbour (9). With the exception of the burial from Grey Friars Lane, all the discoveries so far have been beyond the presumed line of the Roman quay wall, given the suggested late date of the burials it is possible this area had been heavily silted up by this point.

The burials consists only of internments and not cremations, indicating it may have been used in the later stages of Roman occupation, possibly contemporary with Infirmary Field since the style is similar. Roman burials were frequently accompanied by grave goods, which were included in the belief that the dead person should be supplied with all possible earthly comforts for their journey to the underworld. At present at least ten inhumations have been recorded however the full extent of the cemetery is not known (3).

The greatest concentration of inhumations comes from the Dee Stands area where seven of the ten inhumations are recorded including a tiled grave from 1865 (8041/2), five inhumations during extensions to the Dee Stands in the late 19th century (8041/3 & 8041/4) and a tombstone from 1920 (8041/6).

A nearby inhumation burial was also noted in a garden on or near Grey Friars in the 1920s (8041/1).

Some 45m to the south of these burials, two further inhumations were recorded within a single grave context at the south end of the Roodee Racecourse in 1874 (8041/5)

An inhumation burial with a denarius of Vespasian was seen in a garden in or near Grey Friars by Mr W J Williams post 1920 (2). Probably part of this inhumation cemetery (1).

Dating evidence (including pottery and coins) was recovered from several of the inhumations suggesting a period of use for the cemetery between AD43 and AD199, however not all of the inhumations contained datable finds.

<1> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, p182 (Book). SCH3556.

<2> Williams, W J, 1959, The Fortress of Deva, p75-6 (Article in Journal). SCH6341.

<3> Thompson Watkin W. T., 1886, Roman Cheshire: A Description of Roman Remains in the County of Chester, p214 (Book). SCH2878.

<4> n/a, 1864, A Brief Abstract of the Proceedings of the Society, p425 (Article in Journal). SCH5525.

<5> Henig D.F, 1976, An intaglio from Chester (Article in Journal). SCH5911.

<6> Lawson, P H, 1926, Schedule of the Roman Remains of Chester with Maps and Plans (Article in Journal). SCH5956.

<7> Chester Courant, 1878-1990, The Cheshire Sheaf, p390; 394 (Newspaper-Magazine). SCH3105.

<8> Hughes, Thomas, 1876, Chester in its Early Youth, or the Colony of Deva, seen by the Light of the Roman Remains Discovered there (Article in Journal). SCH5533.

<9> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, P Carrington, 23/01/2012 (Oral Communication). SCH2330.