Monument record 1080/0/51 - Layers of cobbles and gravel, Harbutts Field South

<1> Gifford and Partners, 1993, Report on an Archaeological Evaluation Carried Out on Land Between the River Croco and King Street, Middlewich, Cheshire., R2103 (Client Report). SCH4183.

A programme of archaeological evaluation was initiated in 1993 in Harbutt's Field, Middlewich, in advance of a residential housing development. The possible existance of a fort here had been postulated by eighteenth and nineteenth century antiquaries. The archaeological work comprised a desk-based survey, a geophysical survey and trial-trenching. The geophysical survey successfully revealed the plan of the fort (1080/1/0), including entrances in all four sides, in Harbutt's Field. Subsequent trial-trenching across the fort confirmed its existance. Additional trenches were excavated in the field to the south of Harbutt's field and included trenches 7 and 8, approximately 85m apart, which were positioned with the aim of identifying the road approaching the southern entrance of the fort. These trenches located layers of cobbles and gravel overlain by iron panning but these were interpreted as natural deposits rather than a Roman road.

<2> Chester Archaeological Society, Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society, Vol 83, 2009, 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 of the significant body of work undertaken previously.

The 1.4ha fort in Harbutt's Field represents the earliest structural evidence for Roman occupation at Middlewich. The existanceof a contemporary road leading to the southern gate is indicated by the presence of a single, strip building, fronting onto the road, just outside the southern entrance of the fort. Additionally, the road itself was detected further to the south. No further roads entering the fort have been identified.