Monument record 15189 - Roman Occupation Layer, 74 Greenhall's Avenue, Warrington

<1> Wardell Armstrong LLP, 2020, 74 Greenall's Avenue, Warrington, Cheshire: Archaeological Mitigation Assessment Report, R4445 (Client Report). SCH8905.

A potential Romano-British occupation layer was identified during an archaeological watching brief, in 2020, undertaken during excavations in the rear garden of No. 74 Greenall Avenue, Warrington. In trench 1, a dark earth layer was identified containing occasional fragments of white sandy lime mortar and heavily abraded fragmented ceramic building material inclusions. Three sherds of Romano-British pottery were recovered from this deposit, including one Roman grey ware body sherd, one body sherd of black burnished ware, and one Mortarium body sherd. This deposit was then sealed gradually over time by natural silting processes which in turn was covered by a deposit of probable/postmedieval/modern made ground in order to level the site for the purpose of landscaping for use as a rear garden. Roman activity was further evidenced by four sherds of unstratified grey ware pottery recovered from the spoil heap relating to removed material from the trench in the centre of the garden.

Further evidence of the Romano-British activity was also observed within Trench 2, where a levelling deposit contained
fragmented red sandstone inclusions which could relate to Romano-British buildings that were once present within
the vicinity of the site.

Although no cut features or in-situ structural remains were observed during the excavation at 74 Greenall’s Avenue, the sandy white lime mortar and ceramic building material inclusions observed in the dark earth layer, along with the red sandstone inclusions within the levelling deposit, are reflective of Roman activity and the deposits could represent evidence of the demolition/destruction of the settlement sometime in the early 4th century AD when the site is thought to have been finally abandoned.