Monument record 9042 - Saxon Stone Robbing, Amphitheatre Site

Although identified as a result of the 1960s excavations at the amphitheatre (ECH2809), and perhaps earlier in its excavation history, definitive evidence of stone robbing during the Saxon period was identified during the 2000 excavations on the site (ECH4299). In Trench IX, near the amphitheatre’s minor entrance 4, three consecutive robber trenches were outlined clearly, and towards the base of one was dressed sandstone masonry belonging to the outer face of the ‘concentric’ wall (1). No finds were associated with these trenches, but, because this wall would have been structural support for a functioning amphitheatre, the robbing could not have occurred before the mid-fourth century when the structure was abandoned. The stratigraphic position of these three robbing trenches demonstrate that it was a protracted and intermittent process, interrupted by the accumulation of midden deposits containing Saxon period finds (CHER 9043), and the lack of medieval finds in the backfill of these trenches, combined with the presence of many medieval period pits across the site, strongly indicates that these stone robbing activities pre-date those later events (1). Note that the monument’s GIS point is placed in the trench where this activity was identified, however, stone had been robbed from each part of the excavated amphitheatre. Given the site’s location, it is thought that the large amount of stone removed was used at nearby St John’s Church (1).

<1> Chester Archaeology, 2001, Chester Amphitheatre Investigations Summer 2000, R2705 (Client Report). SCH4814.