Monument record 1958 - Roman Fortlet, Ince

<1> Cheshire County Council, 1992-1995, Cheshire Past, 3/6-7 Philpott R 1994 (Newsletter). SCH870.

Double-ditched enclosure recorded by aerial photography

<2> Cheshire County Council, 1992-1995, Cheshire Past, 4/7 Philpott R 1995 (Newsletter). SCH870.

Measures 70 x 60 metres externally with an internal area of 0.3ha. Minor excavation in March 1994 revealed two rock-cut ditches 4.8 metres apart: the outer ditch was shallower and narrower; and both ditches appear to have been deliberately backfilled with material from the rampart. Near the inner ditch was a large squarish post-hole. In the interior were two certain and one possible post-holes, but no dating evidence. One small piece of Samian was found in a modern feature dating to c.AD 80-100/110. Excavation suggests the site was in occupation after the foundation of the legionary fortress at Chester c.AD 79

<3> English Heritage, Various, Schedule Entry (Scheduled Ancient Monuments Amendment), SAM 27589 (Scheduling Record). SCH2950.

<4> Historic England, 2011, The National Heritage List for England (Web Site). SCH6528.

The monument includes a double ditched enclosure to the north of the village of Ince identified as a Roman fortlet. The enclosure was first discovered by aerial photographs in 1994 and subsequent excavation has confirmed its form and established a date in the Roman period. The enclosure has two rock-cut ditches surrounding the site. These enclose an area of 0.48ha. Excavation has established that there are postholes for wooden buildings on the site, and that these buildings were in occupation during the time of the occupation of the Roman fortress at Chester. The area enclosed is rectangular with well rounded corners. The interior measures 80m by 60m, the ditches being 9m apart. The site commands a wide view of the estuary of the Mersey, being on a promontory overlooking the former channel of the river which used to flow beneath the cliffs. The fortlet is comparative with that near Castleshaw in Greater Manchester. Its function seems to have been the observation of sea traffic in the estuary. Buildings shown on the 1:10000 map to overlie the monument no longer exist.

<5> Philpott, R A, 1998, New Evidence from Aerial Reconnaissance for Military Sites in Cheshire, p.349-350 (Article in Journal). SCH5632.

A double-ditched subrectangular enclosure with a probable entrance in the centre of the south side was observed as a cropmark in cereal and rough pasture at Ince, Cheshire on 29 June 1992.
AThe enclosure stands on a sandstone eminence rising to 24 m AOD on the southern coastal fringe of the Mersey estuary overlooking the flat saltmarshes of Ince. The ground slopes away steeply to the north, a little less so to the east and west, with a more gradual slope to the south. The site commands an extensive view along the broad sweep of the estuary from Ellesmere Port in the north-west to Runcorn, taking in Helsby Hill surmounted by its Iron Age hill-fort to the east, and across the river to Hale in the north. There are good views inland to the south and south-east.

A small excavation was carried out in March 1994, consisting of two trenches, one on the line of the defences, the other inside the enclosure. . Near the inner ditch was a large subrectangular post-hole.

Dating evidence was sparse. A single sherd of La Graufesenque South Gaulish samian dated to A.D. 80--I0/I 0269 was recovered from the topsoil and, while suggesting occupation or activity at that time, does not date the site precisely. A few sherds of Cheshire Plains fabric from a single vessel were recovered from an early fill of the inner ditch but were not more closely datable than to the second century A.D.270

The form of the enclosure and its prominent situation make a Roman military function certain. The Ince site bears an interesting similarity to the later fortlet at Castleshaw, West Yorkshire, in both size and in the possession of the relatively slight double-ditched defences