Monument record 1189/1/23 - Roman Cobbled Surface/Road Road?, North of Holmes Chapel Road

<1> Earthworks Archaeological Services, 2018, Land at Holmes Chapel Road, Middlewich, Cheshire: An Archaeological Watching Brief, R4235 (Client Report). SCH8572.

A cobbled surface was recorded during a watching brief in 2018 during groundworks for a development on land north of Holmes Chapel Road. The surface comprised a layer of small, rounded pebbles, measuring up to 40mm in diameter, and larger cobbles, measuring up to 0.10m in diameter, pressed directly into the surface of the underlying clay geology. Although no definitive edge or alignment to this surface was evident, the fact that it petered out towards the west implied a potential north-south alignment. It extended eastwards for approximately 6.0m. A few small fragments of Roman pottery were pressed directly into the pebbled surface. It is thought that this surface may form part of the southern extent of the Roman road from Middlewich to Manchester.