Monument record 8188 - Roman Barracks G at Crook Street (First Cohort)

Evidence of a Roman barrack block of the first Cohort has been recorded to the west of Crook Street on two occasions. Between 1963 and 1965 a large area of the city to the rear of Watergate Street and Northgate Street was subject to a series of archaeological evaluation trenches under the auspices of Mr Petch from the Grosvenor Museum, sadly however the work has never been published due to financial constraints at the time and the available resource is limited to trench plans and the site archive. Evidence of the barrack block was encountered in trench 1 across the centre of the barracks while trenches 8, 10 and 11 recorded evidence of the northern end of the building. Subsequent archaeological investigations at 1-11 Crook Street in 1973 recorded the southern end of the barrack block. On this occasion, more detailed recording was carried out and two contubernia and traces of the verandah on the east side was identified. Although this site has not been published in full, detailed notes survive in draft form. The evidence from Crook Street was sufficient to indicate at least five phases of activity beginning in the mid to late first century AD with evidence of early site clearance and ground levelling deposits. A series of post and stake holes were also encountered, however, it is uncertain whether they represent archaeological or natural features. Also in this phase, a series of deliberately cut post and stake holes were then cut into the levelling deposits forming at least one linear feature. It was suggested by the excavator that this represented boundary demarcation for later structures. The second phase consists of a series of post holes and beam slots representing the construction of a timber framed building, believed to be a barrack block. The excavations encountered the two southern most contubernia (pair of rooms) as well as evidence of a verandah on the east face supported by wooden posts. Dating evidence was not discussed in detail, however, the excavator indicated that this phase dated to the late first to early second century AD. The third phase of activity consists of the reconstruction of the barrack block in around 120 AD using stone foundations, evidence of wall foundations along with internal doorways as a well constructed fireplace was recorded as well as stone columns for the verandah. The new building followed largely the same layout as the timber framed structure, however, it was constructed some 4m to the north. Sometime after the initial construction of the barrack, evidence of a change in activity was recorded consisting of a series of shallow pits cut into the previously tidy structure and subsequently sealed by a thick layer described as ‘dark earth’ comprising organic and rubbish deposits. In the barrack building this layer was approximately 0.25-0.30m thick while on the verandah it was 0.15m thick and served to partially bury the fireplace added in the stone reconstruction. Although tentatively linked to the military ‘hiatus’ of the mid second century recorded on several occasions in the city, there was no clear dating evidence confirming a second century date. Rather the evidence appeared to post date the earlier stone reconstruction and predate the later redevelopment of the site. The fourth phase of activity consists of the rebuilding of the barrack block. Although dating was again not discussed in detail, it appears to have occurred in the late second to early third century AD. The walls of the barrack block were taken down to the lower courses and rebuilt using different construction techniques while new floor surfaces were added to both the internal and external spaces. The verandah was also enclosed in this phase. The remainder of the Roman period consisted of evidence of two further phases of activity largely comprising repair and maintenance to the existing structure. Legionary barrack blocks each accommodated a century of 80 men plus their officers, and were normally arranged in groups of 6 (a cohort of 480 men). Narrow streets gave access to facing pairs of barracks. The centurions' quarters were situated at the ends of the barracks, adjacent to a major road - either the perimeter road (via sagularis) or main transverse street (via principalis). The centurions' quarters were divided from those of the rank-and-file by a narrow alley. They were wider than the men's quarters but lacked a veranda. In ground plan they consisted of a corridor with rooms (including a private latrine) opening off on each side. The men's quarters consisted on 14 (later 11 or 12) units of two rooms for approximately eight men, fronted by a veranda that often contained an enclosed latrine at one end. The outer room was used to store equipment; the inner was for living and sleeping and contained a hearth. Only 10 pairs of rooms should have been needed to accommodate a century; the purpose of the spare rooms is uncertain. The first barracks were constructed using a timber frame with wattle-and-daub infilled panels. These timber barracks underwent a varying number of re-buildings in a relatively short period of time. From about AD 100, there was intermittent rebuilding in stone (perhaps with timber superstructures). However, there were also periods of abandonment. A comprehensive rebuilding was finally undertaken in the early third century. These barracks had much the same plan as their timber predecessors. A diminished number of barracks continued to be occupied into the fourth century. The First Cohort was double strength in the first century AD under the command of 5 centurions, and continued thereafter to be stronger than the other cohorts. It was situated on the right-hand side of the headquarters building. At Chester its accommodation is currently poorly understood; it appears to have consisted of at least 5 barracks of normal type and 5 single-range buildings. The buildings at the eastern end of the cohort are yet to be interpreted satisfactorily. There is room for 6 buildings in the position reserved for centurions' quarters.