Monument record 8299/1 - Roman Centurion's House (latera praetorii west), further evidence

<1> Oxford Archaeology North, 2022, Chester Northgate Redevelopment: Phase 1 Post-Excavation Assessment Report, R4690 (Client Report). SCH9431.

Evidence for the centurion's quarters (CHER 8299) at the western end of the northern-most barrack block in Insula XXII (block 6; OAN Building 800; CHER 8270) was recorded in 2020-1 during the excavation of a surface-water drainage trench, on the south side of Hunter Street, as part of the Northgate redevelopment scheme. The trench traversed the stone-built (third/fourth century AD) centurion’s accommodation as well as several of the adjacent contubernia to the east. From earlier work on the barracks in Insula XXII (Mason 2012, see source 2), the centurion’s quarters are thought to have been rectangular, c 25m long east to west, and occupying the full width of the barrack block (c 11m), with two east/west ranges of rooms north and south of a central corridor.

Within the excavated trench, the west wall of the centurion’s quarters (and the whole barrack block) survived as a fragment of sandstone walling, 0.75m wide. The trench also cut across five rooms (R1 to R5, west to east) in the south range of the centurion's quarters, defined by north/south walls; part of the north wall of the south range, separating it from the central corridor, was also exposed. All the recorded walls were of similar size (c 0.5-0.55m wide) and construction, being of coursed sandstone rubble, faced with roughly dressed blocks and bonded with pale cream/brown mortar. Whilst some of the recorded walls conform, approximately, to the postulated groundplan of the building, some did not, suggesting that the internal layout may have differed from the ‘predicted’ model.

The western-most room (R1) had a crude flagged surface and R2 and R3 were floored with mixed clay and mortar. R4 and R5 appear to have been the best-appointed rooms investigated, as they had opus signinum floors and the walls were rendered with a smooth, off-white plaster, as was the south wall of the central corridor, adjacent to R5. In places, this survived in situ on the walls themselves whilst other fragments were found where they had fallen. Traces of paint were found on the east wall of R4, where blue paint had been applied at the base of the wall. Additionally, a small collection of ‘detached’ fragments, painted with a variety of colours, was recovered from deposits within, and adjacent to, the centurion’s accommodation.

Later Roman deposits, including the period of the abandonment of fortress, were also present in the trench. These comprised spreads of coarse sandstone rubble, including dressed facing blocks and ceramic tiles, with little mixed-in soil, recorded in the rooms in the south range, which appear to represent demolished/collapsed walls. In one place, a thin layer of dark soil containing mortar fragments and pieces of wall plaster had accumulated, the plaster seemingly having collapsed from the face of the wall. These ‘primary’ rubble deposits were overlain by more extensive spreads of mixed dark earth and rubble that also accumulated over the latest occupation levels where the rubble was not present. In the centurion’s quarters, such soils were present in all the rooms investigated and were c 0.2-0.5m thick.

<2> Mason, D. J. P., 2012, Roman Chester – Fortress at the Edge of the World (Book). SCH7101.