Monument record 1080/0/0 - Salinae - Roman Middlewich

<1> Bestwick J D, 1972, Excavations of the Roman Town of Middlewich 1964-1971, /1-4 (Book). SCH1207.

Middlewich - Roman settlement of Salinae. Covers an area of some 50 acres centred along the Roman road King Street. It was a non military settlement and reports, dating to the 18th and 19th centuries, of a fort in Harbutt's Field are probably unfounded. However, Bestwick suggests that occupation began around 90AD, possibly as a vicus of an auxiliary fort which was soon abandoned. Several ditches and banks are reported from the edges of the settlement. The town consisted of buildings of a rectangular plan lying on an E-W axis, centred on N-S road from Littlechester to Warrington. It flourished in the 2nd century and by this time more than one N-S street appears to have been in existence. The settlement was mainly of an industrial nature with 1st-4th century evidence of salt working, iron smelting, smithying, leadworking, glassworking & potting.

<2> Thompson, P, 1981, Middlewich: The Archaeological Potential of a Town, /2 (Report). SCH2194.

<3> Thompson Watkin W. T., 1886, Roman Cheshire: A Description of Roman Remains in the County of Chester, /246-249 (Book). SCH2878.

Many finds were made in the area in the l8th and 19th centuries including much pottery (some stamped samian vessels), querns, brooches, knives, bronze key and 7 coins held by Mr Vawdrey at Tushingham Hall in 1886 (including 3 of Vespasian, 1 of Trajan and 3 of Severus).

<4> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, 1/202-8 Petch D F 1987 (Book). SCH3556.

<5> Vaudrey B H, 1875, Antiquarian Scrapbook (Graphic Material). SCH283.

Copy of letter by B H Vaudrey to W Thompson Watkin describes the C19 find from Middlewich in some detail. Much of this information was used by Watkin in "Roman Cheshire". Mr Moore-Dutton, a descendant of B Vaudrey, still retains a collection of Roman material from Middlewich, including a complete cremation urn illustrated by Watkin. A second letter from Vaudrey to G Shrubsole, Curator of the Grosvenor Museum, refers to the deposition of some material from Middlewich and elsewhere.

<6> Gifford and Partners, 1992, Archaeological Evaluation at King Street, Middlewich, Cheshire., R2056 (Client Report). SCH4167.

Summary of historical and archaeological knowledge in desk based assessment and trial trenching of 19.6ha of land on north east side of Middlewich in the area of Kinderton Hall (SMR 753).

<7> Longley D, 1977-1978, Longley Archive, /no.137 (Paper Archive). SCH2005.

<8> Chester Archaeological Society, Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society, Shotter D C A 1998-9 75/51-60 (Journal/Periodical). SCH1595.

A study of the Roman coins found in the area points towards an earlier date for the settlement. . A number of republican coins, and those of Augustus (27BC - 14AD) and Nero (54-68AD) suggests that there was a military presence in Middlewich in pre Flavian times, possibly related to Roman campaigns to conquer the Brigantian territory.

<9> Chester Archaeological Society, Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society, Vol 83, 2009, p.37-93 (Journal/Periodical). SCH1595.

Article assessing the current state of knowledge for Roman Middlewich, including the fort, vicus and road network, based on evidence from a series of developer-funded archaeological evaluations occurring in the 1990s and 2000s, but also drawing from the results from the significant body of work undertaken previously.

Whilst it is apparent that there was some late Iron Age activity at Middlwich, exploiting the brine springs to make salt, the main impetus for the establishment of the Roman settlement was the construction of the fort (1080/0/1) in around AD 70, probably to accommodate a small auxiliary infantry unit. Whether the choice of site was influenced by the presence of brine springs is not clear. It may be that the known fort may have been preceded by some form of campaign camp. From the recent investigations it would appear that Middlewich was a military vicus. It could represent a 'street type' vicus where the buildings were concentrated on either side of the road leading to the main gate. Another form of vicus is the 'tangent type' where the major road by-passed the fort for topographical reasons. At Middlewich the orientation of the fort has yet to be established and it is not known whether its main gate lay to the south or to the east adjacent to the Roman road King Street. The investigations have shown that King Street was partially realigned , probably in the second quarter of the second century, by-passing it in the manner of the 'tangent type' vicus. Significantly an east-west road was also identified during evaluation in the 1990s, this may have connected Middlewich to Chester. It is possible that the settlement outwith the fort may not represent solely a vicus, but could also represent at least in part an separate military annexe to the fort, if this were the case, it is thought that for Middlewich the most likely location for an annexe would be to the east of the fort, or less likely, to the north.

The ordered arrangement of roads, property boundaries and buildings seems to imply a high degree of planning in the initial layout of the settlement and subsequent development. Remains for numerous timber structures have been found throughout the settlement, the majority of which appear to be strip buildings. No in situ stone buildings have been identified. There are notably fewer buildings of third and fourth century date, together with a markedly reduced pottery assemblage. This may indicate a declining population and/or economic changes bought about by military changes.