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E-book Excavations at Chester : Roman Land Division and a Probable Villa in the Hinterland of Deva

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Penilaian

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The former Saighton Camp (centred on NGR SJ 4290 6420) was built for training by the British Army just prior to the start of the Second World War. The camp was located on the plain to the west of the mid-Cheshire ridge, to the east of the River Dee and to the south of Huntington village, separated from the latter by the A55 (Figure 1). It remained in use by the military, in much reduced form, until the turn of the millennium. At its greatest extent in the early 1960s, it covered over 40 hectares, but demolition of redundant buildings started in the later years of that decade. Following withdrawal of the military, by 2005 the site was largely abandoned and the majority of the structures had been demolished.The land is generally flat, lying at approximately 20m above Ordnance Datum, although there is evidence that local variations in the ground were levelled as part of construction of the camp, especially in its eastern portion. The camp’s redevelopment as housing started in that year and was undertaken in several phases by Commercial Estates Group, Taylor Wimpey, Bovis Homes, and Redrow. Northern Archaeological Associates Ltd (NAA) carried out the archaeological works for each phase and the subsequent post-excavation analysis. The archive resulting from this work has been deposited with the Grosvenor Museum, Chester. The excavations revealed important and extensive Roman period remains located 3km from the Roman legionary fortress of Chester (Deva Victrix). Part of a high-status settlement of second- to fourth-century date, together with a regular field system laid out over more than 20 hectares, were encountered. The excavated settlement appears to be an ancillary area to a much larger site, the centre of which lies to the south and is believed to be a villa. This is the closest such site to Chester, and villas are notably rare in the region. The field system runs parallel with a modern road (Sandy Lane), suggesting the latter is a Roman route. The field system was probably laid out by the legion at Deva as part of the lands they controlled around the fortress. Saighton Camp lay 3km south-east of the legionary fortress of Deva Victrix at Chester (Figure 2), which was founded probably in AD74 or 75 as part of the Flavian advance into Wales and northern England. Although experiencing phases of less intensive occupation, it appears to have remained as a permanent military establishment, probably to the end of the Roman period. The extensive civilian settlement (canabae legionis) which soon grew up around the fortress also appears to have been occupied well into the fourth century (Mason 2012: 44–5, 50, 109–10, 227–8). The large military presence would have had a substantial impact not only in the immediate vicinity of the fortress, but also across a much wider area, and the spheres of influence of Deva and its legion (first Legio II Adutrix and after c. AD 90, Legio XX Valeria Victrix) can be detected as far away as Hadrian’s Wall and the west coast of Wales. The legion had authority over a considerable number of auxiliary forts and their units, the extent of this command area denoted by evidence of legionary activity; stamped brick and tile, or inscriptions recording building work, have been found at many forts in north-west England and northern Wales (Mason 2012: 131–6). The legion itself established a major brick, tile and pottery works at Holt, 12km south of Chester, producing pottery from c. AD 85 until c. AD 130, with the production of building materials continuing into the third century (Grimes 1930: 48–52; Mason 2012: 158–62).

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

930.1 WOO e

Penerbit

USA : Archaeopress Publishing., 2023

Deskripsi Fisik

114 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9781803272283

Klasifikasi

930.1

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

Archaeology

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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