Monument record 8114 - Roman Road, Cuppin Street (Magistrates Court)

Excavations at the site of the Magistrates Court, off Cuppin St. in 1986 revealed a sequence of Roman activity just to the southwest of the Roman fortress (1). The north half of the excavation was covered by a very substantial surface made of broken and crushed sandstone.

This may have been part of a road running northeast – southwest to the harbour area where the Roodee now lies. The road post-dated a substantial timber-lined drain (CHER 8251), to the north of an area of occupation debris and a cess pit (CHER 8250), and near a rampart construction that is thought to have been outside the fortress’ defensive circuit (CHER 8209/2) (1). Please note that although no finds records have been attached to this monument, this is due to a lack of published information on the site, and likely not a reflection of the archaeology.

<1> Grosvenor Museum Excavations Newsletter, 1986, Summary of Excavations in Chester (Newsletter). SCH6272.

<2> Grosvenor Museum, 1988, Grosvenor Museum Excavation section: Current Activities & Upcoming Sites (Unpublished Report). SCH6282.

<3> Youngs S. Clark J & Barry T, 1987, Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1986 (Article in Journal). SCH5627.