Monument record 8714 - Roman floors and occupation layers, 87-89 Foregate Street

<1> L-P Archaeology, 2021, Archaeological Evaluation Report: 87-89 Foregate Street, Chester, R4517 (Client Report). SCH9055.

A series of clay surfaces and silty soil occupation layers of Roman date were recorded during an archaeological evaluation (Trench 7) in 2020 at 87-89 Foregate Street.

Archaeological deposits in the south of the trench had been largely removed by a brick cellar, however, in the north part of the trench there was some archaeological survival with the top of Roman archaeology encountered at 0.76m below ground level (20.754m OD). There were a complex series of deposits with a combined thickness of 1.2m. The uppermost of these was a dark yellow/brown silty clay (712) that was 0.2m thick, this overlay a layer of pale yellow/brown clay (713), 0.1m thick. Beneath (713) was a mottled layer of dark yellow/brown silty clay (714) which was 0.2m thick and produced sherds of Roman pottery.

The lower deposits had the appearance of a series of tipped layers perhaps associated with the creation of an artificial bank c.0.5m high. The uppermost of these was a red/brown clay (715); beneath this was a charcoal-rich dark yellow/brown clay silt (716); then another layer of red/brown clay (720) over a black silt (717); and then a third layer of red/brown clay (718). Layer (716) produced Roman pottery and CBM. Beneath layer (718) was a layer of dark yellow/brown silty clay (719) 0.2m thick which lay directly above the natural clay sub-soil (730) which was encountered at 2m below ground level (19.514m OD).

The deposits recorded were similar to the alternating layers of clay and silt observed in Trenches 5 and 6 (see CHER 8712 and CHER 8713) which have also been interpreted as a series of internal clay floors and occupation soils.