CAER: Chester Amphitheatre Environs Research Project

Holly M and Jack D report from trench 4... Holly M : Today we have carried on excavating the ditch and have been looking for the gulley for the Roman road as well as looking for the cut of the ditch. We also spent the morning interacting with various spectators, all with an interest in what we were looking for and whether we had found any ‘treasure’ 😂. It had been a long day in the sun and it was a nice end to the day when we were surprised with ice lollies to help us cool off after a hard day’s work. Hard work in the sun! Jack D:  Today the weather was boiling even before we arrived on site, and we had to put sun-cream on before anything started to prevent sunburn. Our group began the day bailing out one of the pits alongside the ditch we have been excavating as it had once again filled with groundwater, which wasn't too bad as there was less than previous days. Once the water was all but bucketed out, we began to take down the baulk section between the sections th...

Abigail’s group make a nice find in trench 4… Today we continued to dig down into the next context alongside the Roman road. Upon doing so we discovered a range of Roman pottery, building materials and animal bone. The discovery of a copper alloy Roman coin by Kayleigh was also a highlight. A copper alloy coin dating to the Roman period. Keep an eye out for more info towards the end of the dig! Alfie’s group find a big cat… Today Group C’s main job was using tools such as the mattocks, shovels and hand trowels to slowly work down the section in the supposed Anglo-Saxon ditch whilst occasionally cleaning it to see if there were any changes in the soil’s context. The main kinds of contexts we worked through today were mixed clay soils and a grey silty deposit. In terms of finds, many sherds of pottery, including samian ware and black burnished ware, were found along with ceramic building material all dating to the Roman period. Lots of animal bones were found as well. Mos...

Sophie’s team has mattock mania… Today Teams A and Bee were tasked with mattocking trench 8 to determine whether we had reached a new context. The mattocking was hard work but we all cooled off in the breaks in the shade after the first full sunny day in Grosvenor Park! Finally  some sunny weather for excavation in the Park! Alex  discusses dust and discovery… The mattocks were out for the A-team on a roasting day. The dry mud caused hassle but once in the swing of it the A-team and team B continued on with their work finally getting past most of the backfill and into the new contexts. Discoveries were plentiful with large pieces of bone and pottery being found. Throughout the day the A-team engaged with the interested public answering questions and showing our finds. However, the heat was a difficult opponent causing much needed water and shade breaks, yet the A-team continued through this and completed the day. Now the A-team is in preparation for the next day of...

A spell of wet weather brings the week to a muddy and wet end... Jack gets stuck in….MUD, MUD, MUD, MUD EVERYWHERE! As you can guess it was quite the muddy day. But certainly not uneventful. Focusing on finds cleaning today was originally a slow start. However, after intensive cleaning and just as intensive rain, Team A unearthed a rather interesting find. Believed to be a shoulder bone (from an animal) the piece was an exciting discovery, sparking much buzz in the trench. Team A will continue to strive to uncover more archaeology as we finally excavate the new deposits. Rain makes work on site more difficult! Sammy  puts his foot in it… Activities today were varied and mostly overshadowed by intermittent downpours. Despite this and a thoroughly sodden foot some interesting artefacts were found; notably large quantities of Samian pottery. In the afternoon we took up the task of cleaning finds. A combination of warm water, toothbrushes and patience allowed for the a...