Monument record 8444 - East-west road north of St Michael's Row

Archaeological investigations carried out in 1926-7 by Newstead to the rear of Brown’s Department Store in St Michael’s Row in advance of an eastern extension to that building recorded evidence of Roman structures, believed to be the northern end of a series of barracks on a north-south alignment in the first insula of the Roman fortress.

In addition to the structural evidence, traces of a possible road surface was recorded to the north of the barracks on an east-west alignment from Bridge Street (via Praetoria) to the intervallum road (via Sagularis) running along the eastern perimeter of the fortress. A spread of river gravel immediately north of a barrack block is suggestive of metalling for a road surface. A small quantity of samian pottery dated to the late first century was recovered from this deposit. (1)

<1> Newstead, Robert (Prof.), 1926, Records of Archaeological Finds at Chester, p129-136 (Article in Journal). SCH5955.