Monument record 13009 - Excavated Medieval/Post Medieval Dark Soil Deposit, Hunter Street

<1> Oxford Archaeology North, 2020, Northgate Redevelopment, Phase 1, Chester: Archaeological Watching Brief Report, R4492 (Client Report). SCH8981.

A thick, dark soil deposit was observed in three archaeological test pits (TPs 1, 2, 3) excavated on Hunter Street in 2020. The soil deposit, in each of the test pits, overlay Roman contexts (see CHER 8706 and 8707). The build-up of dark soils appear to have accumulated over a prolonged period, potentially (on stratigraphic grounds), from the early post-Roman period to the post-medieval period. Details of the deposit in each of the test pits follows:-

Test Pit 1: A 0.32m-deep dark soil (1003) consisting of a mid- to dark brownish-grey sandy silt containing frequent sandstone rubble and three sherds of medieval pottery. The soil deposit was sealed by a 0.36m-thick modern sandstone and brick levelling layer (1002), modern hardcore 1001 and tarmac 1000.

Test Pit 2: A dark greyish-brown clayey silt (2003). This lay directly beneath modern rubble make-up, hardcore and tarmac.

Test Pit 3: A 0.44m-thick layer of dark grey-brown clayey silty sand (3003), which had clearly been disturbed by services, and itself underlay a modern make-up layer, hardcore and tarmac.