Monument record 8101 - Roman Rubbish / Tip Deposits, West of Souter's Lane

During an archaeological evaluation of nine test pits in the southern part of the Roman Gardens (or the land to the west of Souter's Ln.) in 1999, a sequence of sloped rubbish tip deposits were excavated in Test Pit X (1). Containing exclusively Roman material, these layers were truncated by twentieth century activity, and in addition to finds, contained a large amount of rough sandstone blocks or pieces of sandstone (1, 2).

The excavators suggested that the material may have been dumped into a disused Roman quarry, and while the quarry is known to have existed, note this particular excavation did not identify or record it (1). An extension of the same rubbish deposits was identified during a 2002 watching brief within the Roman Gardens (2).

<1> University of Manchester Archaeological Unit, 1999, Land to the West of Souter's Lane, Chester; an archaeological evaluation., R2697 (Client Report). SCH4806.

<2> University of Manchester Archaeological Unit, 2002, Roman Gardens, Souters Lane, Chester; an archaeological watching brief., R2716 (Client Report). SCH4831.