Monument record 8016 - Deva Aqueduct

That an aqueduct based at Boughton may have supplied the fortress has been long conjectured based on natural topography and the presence of numerous natural water springs in the area. Archaeological evidence and chance finds have further supported this theory and it would appear that a system of wood and/or lead pipes ran parallel to the Roman road from a site at the Cherry Orchard on Tarvin Road. The evidence suggests two water lines entered the fortress, both began at the natural spring at Boughton where an altar dedicated to the Nymphs and Fountains was discovered in 1821. Although the altar was erected after the arrival of Legio XX in AD 79 the water supply appears to have already been in place for some years. A pig of lead cast in AD 74 was also discovered nearby at Tarvin Bridge in 1838 and is thought to have been intended to be used for lead water pipes or cistern lining. The main water line then followed the line of Boughton Road leading into Foregate Street where it entered the fortress near the Eastgate. Evidence of the water pipe has been encountered on just two occasions along this line – at Boughton Road in 1978 when a series of wooden pipes were recorded following the line of the road, and at Foregate Street near the Eastgate when a series of water pipes were recorded in 1895. Evidence of a second water line to the south of the first has also been noted on a number of occasions. This line appeared to break away from the main line at Dee Hills, running through the Grosvenor Park across St John Street before entering the fortress approximately 100m to the south of the Eastgate. This line has been recorded in Dee Hills in 1814, although the date of these pipes are not certain; at Grosvenor Park in 1987 and at two neighbouring sites at St John Street in 1970 and Priory Place in 1989. Water delivered by the aqueduct will have supplied a settling tank, possibly in elevated position close to east defences. Water was then distributed to buildings in lead & wooden pipes. The aqueduct followed the line of the road which runs west to the Eastgate of the fortress.