Monument record 11524 - Post Medieval Garden Boundaries and Soil Deposits, Boughton Road, Chester

<1> Wessex Archaeology, 2020, Moxy Hotel, Chester, Cheshire: Post-excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design, R4525 (Client Report). SCH9068.

Post Medieval garden boundaries in the form of sandstone walls and ditches, also garden soil deposits, were recorded during an archaeological strip, map and sample evaluation between 2018 and 2020. These deposits and features overlay Romano-British features (see CHER 8715). The lower soil layer could be readily identified by a distinctive olive green colour. The soils contained artefacts of a variety of dates, the latest of which originated in the 19th century. Although some Roman and medieval pottery was recovered from these layers, it is thought to be residual. The soil deposits probably relate to use of the site as gardens as depicted on historic maps.

Boundaries contemporary with the post-medieval gardens were identified, comprising
ditches and sandstone walls. The boundaries largely followed the same north to south and west to east grid as the earlier Romano-British ditch boundaries, although the post-medieval boundaries were not direct redefinitions of the Romano-British enclosures. The boundaries formed north-south aligned strips leading back from Boughton road. These strips were around 13 m wide, approximately 2.5 perches.

Evidence for these boundaries was best-preserved in the north of the site and had been
impacted by later development.