Roman Chester



=Visiting Roman Chester=

We have a Roman Festival Trail page which documents the location of the principal Roman remains visible to the casual visitor to Chester.

=The Roman Invasion=



'''In 69, the "year of four emperors", civil war raged in Rome and weak governors were unable to control the legions in Britain. Venutius of the Brigantes seized his chance, ending up in control of the north of the country. After Vespasian secured the empire, his first two appointments as governor, Quintus Petillius Cerialis and Sextus Julius Frontinus, took on the task of subduing the Brigantes and Silures respectively - the Romans then conquered more of the island, building a fort at Chester on the way. The governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola, with XX Valeria Victrix, defeated the Caledonians in 84 at the Battle of Mons Graupius (somewhere in northern Scotland). Chester was occupied for the next 300 years and may have been the effective capital of Roman Britain. Somewhat surprisingly, the cost in GDP to the Roman Empire of maintaining the Legions was apparently to the percentage of GDP spend by Britain on maintaining the armed forces alone (2-3%), and for that the Roman managed to conquer and hold a quarter of the world's population and provide a fairly effective police force.'''

'''Around 384, the usurper Magnus Maximus (he is mentioned on the "Pillar of Eliseg") fought a successful campaign against the Picts and Scots, but his continental exploits required troops from Britain, and it appears that forts at Chester and elsewhere were abandoned at this period. Not all of the troops in Britain may have returned, but by around 396, there were increasing barbarian incursions in Britain.'''

Early beginnings - the invasion of southern Britain
Most sources state that "Deva" was founded around 74-79 CE during the reign of Vespasian. It is thought that the title "victrix" in the name of the legion and fortress refers to the defeat of Boudicca and the British rebellion against Roman rule by the twentieth legion (60-61AD). The Roman name of Deva for Chester was pronounced "Deewa" and derives from "goddess". Thus, the Roman fortress was named after the goddess of the River Dee. Today's name Chester derives from the Latin word "castra", which is present in many other cities that were once Roman towns and forts.

The Roman invasion of Britain marks the formal end of the British Iron Age, although some believe that the Iron Age still continues (unless recently superseded by the age of the "Bakelite People", or the "Paleosilicic"). By AD 43, the time of the main Roman invasion of Britain, Great Britain had already been the target of planned or actual Roman invasions, starting with Julius Caesar's failed expeditions in 55 and 54 BC. Augustus prepared invasions in 34 BC, 27 BC and 25 BC, but these were called off due to the troops being needed to quell trouble elsewhere in the Roman Empire. Strabo's Geography, written during this period, says that the Client Kingdoms of Britain paid more in customs and duties than could be raised by taxation if the islands were conquered.

By the 40s AD, however, the political situation within Britain was rapidly changing. The Catuvellauni had displaced the Trinovantes as the most powerful kingdom in south-eastern Britain, taking over the former Trinovantian capital of Camulodunum (Colchester), and were pressing their neighbours the Atrebates, then ruled by the descendants of Julius Caesar's former ally Commius. "Barking mad" Caligula planned a campaign against the British in 40, but its execution was bizarre, he had the troops gather sea shells, referring to them as "plunder from the ocean, due to the Capitol and the Palace" - then he went home.

Finally, in 43, Claudius mounted an invasion under Aulus Plautius, leading four legions, totalling about 20,000 men, plus about the same number of auxiliaries. The legions included Legio II Augusta and Legio XX Valeria Victrix, both of which were later to be associated with Chester. The II Augusta was commanded by the future emperor Vespasian. The invasion was delayed by a mutiny of the troops, who were eventually persuaded by an imperial freedman to overcome their fear of crossing the Ocean and campaigning beyond the limits of the known world.

British resistance was led by Togodumnus and Caratacus, sons of the late king of the Catuvellauni, Cunobelinus. A substantial British force met the Romans at a river crossing thought to be near Rochester on the River Medway. The battle raged for two days. Hosidius Geta (who probably led the IX Hispana) was almost captured, but recovered and turned the battle so decisively that he was awarded the ornamenta triumphalia. The British were pushed back to the Thames. The Romans pursued them across the river causing them to lose men in the marshes of Essex. Whether the Romans made use of an existing bridge for this purpose or built a temporary one is uncertain. At least one division of auxiliary Batavian troops swam across the river as a separate force. Togodumnus died shortly after the battle on the Thames. Plautius halted and sent word for Claudius to join him for the final push.

Cassius Dio presents this as Plautius needing the emperor's assistance to defeat the resurgent British, who were determined to avenge the recently deceased Togodumnus. However, Claudius was not a man for bloody victory when negotiation would do. Claudius's arch says he received the surrender of eleven kings without any loss, and Suetonius says that Claudius received the surrender of the Britons without battle or bloodshed. It is likely that the Catuvellauni were already as good as beaten, allowing the emperor to appear as conqueror on the final march on Camulodunum. Cassius Dio relates that Claudius brought war elephants and heavy armaments which would have overawed any remaining native resistance. Eleven tribes of South East Britain surrendered to Claudius and the Romans prepared to move further west and north. The Romans established their new capital at Camulodunum and Claudius returned to Rome to celebrate his victory. Caratacus escaped and would continue the resistance further west.

For his part in the conquest, Claudius honoured by being given the surname "Britannicus", which also passed to his sons. Several triumphal arches were errected after his achievement, including one on the Palatine hill. The arch is portrayed on a number of gold and silver coins of Claudius. It features an equestrian statue atop the arch, undoubtedly representing Claudius, between two trophies, a trophy being a pile of captured shields, spears, armour and other spoils of war. On the architrave of the arch is inscribed "DE BRITAN", "DE BRITANN", "DE BRITANNI", or "DE BRITANNIS", depending on the space available.

Late in 47 the new governor of Britain, Ostorius Scapula, began a campaign against the tribes of modern day Wales, and the Cheshire Gap. The Silures of south east Wales caused considerable problems to Ostorius and fiercely defended the Welsh border country. Caratacus himself was defeated in one encounter and fled to the Roman client tribe of the Brigantes who occupied the Pennines. Their queen, Cartimandua was unable or unwilling to protect him however given her own truce with the Romans and handed him over to the invaders in chains. In 52 C.E. Ostorius died and was replaced by Aulus Didius Gallus who brought the Welsh borders under control but did not move further north or west, probably because Claudius was keen to avoid what he considered a difficult and drawn-out war for little material gain in the mountainous terrain of upland Britain.

As for Caratacus, he was taken to Rome to be killed after a triumphal parade. However, he so impressed the Romans with his speech (as recorded by Tacitus) that he was freed and lived out his life in Rome:


 * If the degree of my nobility and fortune had been matched by moderation in success, I would have come to this City as a friend rather than a captive, nor would you have disdained to receive with a treaty of peace one sprung from brilliant ancestors and commanding a great many nations. But my present lot, disfiguring as it is for me, is magnificent for you. I had horses, men, arms, and wealth: what wonder if I was unwilling to lose them? If you wish to command everyone, does it really follow that everyone should accept your slavery? If I were now being handed over as one who had surrendered immediately, neither my fortune nor your glory would have achieved brilliance. It is also true that in my case any reprisal will be followed by oblivion. On the other hand, if you preserve me safe and sound, I shall be an eternal example of your clemency.

Rome moves north
When Nero (another lunatic) became emperor in AD 54, he seems to have decided to continue the invasion and appointed Quintus Veranius as governor, a man experienced in dealing with the troublesome hill tribes of Asia Minor. He was dead within a year, and according to Tacitus:


 * "... Veranius, after having ravaged the Silures in some trifling raids, was prevented by death from extending the war. While he lived, he had a great name for manly independence, though, in his will's final words, he betrayed a flatterer's weakness; for, after heaping adulation on Nero, he added that he should have conquered the province for him, had he lived for the next two years."

Veranius and his successor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus mounted a successful campaign across Wales, famously destroying the druidical centre at Mona or Anglesey in AD 60. Final occupation of Wales was postponed however when the rebellion of Boudica forced the Romans to return to the south east. Suetonius defeated Boudica, reinforced his army with legionaries and auxiliaries from Germania and conducted punitive operations against any remaining pockets of resistance, but this proved counterproductive. The new procurator, Gaius Julius Alpinus Classicianus, expressed concern to the Emperor Nero that Suetonius's activities would only lead to continued hostilities. An inquiry was set up under Nero's freedman, Polyclitus, and an excuse, that Suetonius had lost some ships, was found to relieve him of his command (and governorship of Britain). He was replaced by the more conciliatory Publius Petronius Turpilianus.

Following the suppression of Boudicca, a number of new Roman governors continued the conquest by edging north. Quintus Petillius Cerialis took his legions from Lincoln as far as York and defeated Venutius near Stanwick around 69. This resulted in the already Romanised Brigantes and Parisii tribes being further assimilated into the empire proper.

Oman (History of England, Methuen, 1910) gives the year c57 as the date that either Aulus Didius Gallus or Suetonius moved the headquarters of one or both of his legions from Wroxeter to Deva, and built a flotilla of flat-bottomed boats on the Dee so that in 60 A.D. he could invade North Wales. As Gallus died in 57 it was probably the latter who started and completed the invasion.



In 69 the Romans overthrew the Brigantes. This tribe was a Roman ally ruled by Cartimandua and her consort, Venutius. Cartimandua had been responsible for handing over resistance leader Caratacus to the Romans in 51 AD. Shortly afterwards, she divorced Venutius who revolted but was driven off by Roman arms. But in 69 AD, with the Romans in the midst of civil war, Venutius staged a second revolt and successfully overthrew Cartimandua, who fled to the Romans. According to one scrap of fragmentary evidence she may have lived out her days in Chester. The collapse of the treaty relationship with the Brigantes was an important turning point in Roman history in Britain. The Romans could have reinstated their ally Cartamandua but instead they chose to annex Brigantia and conquer Wales. Having commanded Legio II Augusta back in 43 C.E., under the emperor Claudius, the eventual ruler after the civil war, Vespasian, could well understand how a large-scale conquest in Britain could bolster his reputation back in Rome and help secure his position as emperor.

It is possible that there was already a settlement on the site before the Romans arrived, or at least a "campsite" near the Gloverstone. Some early historical speculation is found in Samuel Lewis's 1848 Topographical Dictionary of England which includes the following information for Chester:


 * The origin of this ancient city has been ascribed to the Cornavii, a British tribe who, at the time of the Roman invasion, inhabited that part of the island which now includes the counties of Chester, Salop, Stafford, Warwick, and Worcester; and its British name Caer Leon Vawr, "city of Leon the Great," has been referred to Leon, son of Brût Darian Là, eighth king of Britain.

There may be some confusion here with Caerleon in south Wales. Caerleon is also a site of considerable archaeological importance, with a Roman legionary fortress (it was the headquarters for Legio II Augusta from about 75 to 300 AD) and an Iron Age hill fort. The name Caerleon is derived from the Welsh for "fortress of the legion" (compare with the Anglo-Saxon name for Chester - Legercyestre). "Brût Darian Là" (Welsh: Bryttys darian las) appears to be a reference to Brutus Greenshield one of the legendary kings mentioned by the notoriously inaccurate Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical (i.e. mostly "made up") Historia Regum Britanniae ("the History of the Kings of Britain"). The "Leon" in question may be Liel after whom Carlisle (another Roman fort) may or may not be named.

Raphael Hollinshead tells a similar story, including mention of a specific governor of Britain, P. Ostorius Scapula (who was governor of Britain from AD47-52):


 * Carleil builded. Chester repaired. Leill the sonne of Brute Greeneshield, began to reigne in the yeare of the world 3021, the same time that Asa was reigning in Iuda, and Ambri in Israell. He built the citie now called Carleil, which then after his owne name was called Caerleil, that is, Leill his citie, or the citie of Leill. He repaired also (as Henrie Bradshaw saith) the citie of Caerleon now called Chester, which (as in the same Bradshaw appeareth) was built before Brutus entrie into this land by a giant named Leon Gauer. But what authoritie he had to auouch this, it may be doubted, for Ranulfe Higden in his woorke intituled "Polychronicon," saith in plaine wordes, that it is vnknowen who was the first founder of Chester, but that it tooke the name of the soiourning there of some Romaine legions, by whome also it is not vnlike that it might be first built by P. Ostorius Scapula, who as we find, after he had subdued Caratacus king of the Ordouices that inhabited the countries now called Lancashire, Cheshire, and Salopshire, built in those parts, and among the Silures, certeine places of defense, for the better harbrough of his men of warre, and kéeping downe of such Britaines as were still readie to moue rebellion.

Ptolemy's 2nd century Geographia has a passing mention (text) of the two cities of the Cornovii as:


 * ..From these toward the east are the Cornavi, among whom are the towns: Deva, Legio XX Victrix 17°30 56°45 and Viroconium 16°45 55°45

"Deva Victrix" is Chester, and "Viroconium" is Wroxeter. The later had become the capital of the Cornovii under Roman rule.

Vespasian
With the intend of extending the boundaries of the Roman Empire Vespasian send Sextus Julius Frontinus into Roman Britain in 74 AD to succeed Cerialis as governor. He subdued the Silures and other "hostile" tribes of Wales, establishing a new base at Caerleon for Legio II Augusta and a network of smaller forts fifteen to twenty kilometres apart for his auxiliary units. During his tenure, he probably established the fort at Pumsaint in west Wales, largely to exploit the gold deposits at Dolaucothi. He retired in 78 AD, and later he was appointed water commissioner in Rome. The new governor was the famous Gnaeus Julius Agricola. He finished off the Ordovices in North Wales and then took his troops north along the Pennines, building roads as he went.



Raphael Hollinshead gets the story a a little confused and has the Romans responsible for the undercrofts on the Rows:


 * There be some led by coniecture grounded vpon good aduised considerations, that suppose this Ostorius Scapula began to build the citie of Chester after the ouerthrow of Caratacus: for in those parties he fortified sundrie holds, and placed a number of old souldiers either there in that selfe place, or in some other néere therevnto by waie of a colonie. And for somuch (saie they) as we read of none other of anie name thereabouts, it is to be thought that he planted the same in Chester, where his successors did afterwards vse to harbour their legions for the winter season, and in time of rest from iournies which they haue to make against their common enimies. In déed it is a common opinion among the people there vnto this daie, that the Romans built those vaults or tauerns (which in that citie are vnder the ground) with some part of the castell. And verelie as Ranulfe Higden saith, a man that shall view and well consider those buildings, maie thinke the same to be the woorke of Romans rather than of anie other people. That the Romane legions did make their abode there, no man séene in antiquities can doubt thereof, for the ancient name Caer leon ardour deuy, that is, The citie of legions vpon the water of Dée, proueth it sufficientlie enough.



The precise date at which the Romans began construction at Chester has been the subject of much debate. According to one version, sometime around 74 CE, the then governor of Roman Britain, Sextus Julius Frontinus constructed an "auxiliary fort" at Deva Victrix (Chester). The placement of this fort (at the lowest ford of the Dee) appears to have been a strategic move by Frontinus with the intent of both blocking the route of any routed British trying to escape to the north, and to guard against help arriving from the Brigantes and other northern tribes. Frontinus was a noted engineer as well as being a governor, and author of De aquis urbis Romae, a history and description of the water supply of Rome. It is not known whether he was involved in providing Chester's water supply from the springs at Boughton to the Roman fort, but is is known that at this time lead (such as is used for plumbing) was traded with the Deceangli of north Wales. The lead was probably mined at Pentre


 * In June 1885 (at the Roodee) a lead 'pig' was found inscribed IMP•VESP•AVGV•T•IMP•III: the word DECEANGI appears on the side (this has been dated: AD74).


 * In 1838 (1¼ miles east of Chester's Eastgate) another 'pig' was found with the inscription; IMP•VESP•V•T•IMP•III•COS, and again, on the side; DECEANGI (again dated: AD74).

Sextus Julius Frontinus was succeeded as governor (in AD78) by Gnaeus Julius Agricola a Roman general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. His biography, the well known De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae (The Life and Character of Julius Agricola), was the first published work of his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus (and says nothing at all about Chester). By AD79, the fort had developed into the extensive base of Legio II Adiutrix Pia Fidelis. There is another naval link here as the Second Legion were initially raised by Vespasian from the marines (Classis Ravennatis) of the Adriatic fleet. There is no real agreement on the size of the roman fleet which might have been associated with Chester - however it may have been the embarkation point for an attempted invasion of Ireland (see below). There is also no real agreement about what is often called the "massive Roman harbour" and pictured to be the size of the modern Roodee. The nautical character of the city, and the need for combined land and sea operations was probably one reason why the "marine-based" Legio II Adiutrix Pia Fidelis was placed here rather than moving the Legio XX from its base 40 miles away at Wroxeter, where it had take over from Legio XIV Gemina c.65. Another reason for putting Legio II in Chester was that it was the most loyal legion to Vespasian and his Flavian dynasty. In 87, Legio II was recalled to the continent to participate in the Dacian wars of emperor Domitian last of the Flavian dynasty.



Further lead piping can be seen in the Grosvenor Museum which bears the name of Gnaeus Julius Agricola in the following form:


 * IMP•VESP•VIIII•T•IMP•VII•COS•CN•IVLIO•AGRICOLA•LEG•AVG•PR•PR


 * (Imperator Vespasian nine times and Imperator Titus seven times consul. For Gnaeus Julius Agricola, pro-praetorian legate of the emperor)

Lead pipes had names on them because (according to Sextus Julius Frontinus) in Roman times it was not uncommon to fit a larger diameter pipe and steal extra water from the local aqueduct!

The earlier lead pigs have been used to argue that they were supplies provided for the construction of the city, and there is a fragmentary inscription from the baths which show that the baths were in operation in 79. It is known that the baths were not (quite) the first thing built in a Roman city so it appears that a date around AD 74 is probably correct.



In the year 84,the governor of Britain (and Chester resident) Gnaeus Julius Agricola, with the help of XX Valeria Victrix, defeated the Caledonians in 84 at the Battle of Mons Graupius (somewhere in Scotland). Before the battle Calgacus (the Cadedonian leader) supposedly makes his much quoted "Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant" ("you make a wasteland and you call it peace") speech. The following year Agricola was recalled from Britain, and in 87 Legio II Adiutrixwas recalled from Chester to the continent to participate in the Dacian wars of emperor Domitian. In 88 The Roman legion XX Valeria Victrix returned to Chester. 93; Agricola died on his family estates in Gallia Narbonensis aged fifty-three. Rumours circulated attributing the death to a poison administered by the Emperor Domitian, but no positive evidence for this was ever produced. Agricola's successors are not named in any surviving source, but it seems they were unable or unwilling to further subdue the far north. The fortress at Inchtuthil was dismantled before its completion and the other fortifications of the Gask Ridge in Perthshire, erected to consolidate the Roman presence in Scotland in the aftermath of Mons Graupius, were abandoned within the space of a few years. It is equally likely that the costs of a drawn-out war outweighed any economic or political benefit and it was more profitable to leave the Caledonians alone. The following century of the "five good emperors" brought previously unknown prosperity to Chester.

=Chronology of Roman Chester=



Legio secunda adiutrix ("Rescuer Second Legion"), was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD 70 by the emperor Vespasian (r. 69-79), originally composed of Roman navy marines of the classis Ravennatis (the navy based at Ravenna on the Adriatic), the first assignment of II Adiutrix was in Germania Inferior, where the Batavian rebellion was at its peak. After the defeat of the rebels, II Adiutrix followed general Quintus Petillius Cerialis to Britain to deal with another rebellion led by Venutius. During the next years, the legion was to stay in the British Islands to subdue the tribes of Scotland and Wales, with their base camp at Chester.

c74-90 - Founding the Fortress
Taking 74 AD as the first establishment of a permanent encampment at Chester, there was an initial flurry of activity. Lead ingots have been found dated 74 AD and lead waterpipes dated 79 AD have been found underground in association with the Eliptical Building. The baths seem to have been in use by 79 AD at the latest. Chester (planned as the largest legionary fortress in Britain) was well placed to be the residence of the Governor of the province, having the best port on the west coast and being equidistant from the other major legionary forts at Caerleon and York. several buildings in Chester were possibly added to the normal fortress plan to make it larger than other major legionary fortresses. These include the large building behind the Principia: the courtyard of the large building forms the Town Hall square, the mysterious "Eliptical Building" and some accomodation for "high status" individuals near the site of the Odeon. In addition, the hospital, baths and amphitheater seem larger than would be normally present at a fortress.

However, II Adiutrix would not enjoy their new and presumably quite peaceful fortress for long. In 87 Legio II Adiutrix was recalled from Chester to the continent to participate in the Dacian wars of emperor Domitian. In 88 The Roman legion XX Valeria Victrix returned to Chester from a campaign in what is now Scotland.

c90-120 - From Earth Ramparts to Stone
By c. 90 the Second Legion had no further need of its base at Chester and the depot's future had to be decided. It was quickly realized that, since much of Brigantia was controlled by the army, and Wales had been subjugated, Chester was more usefully placed than Wroxeter, which was effectively landlocked. Accordingly, the legionary depot at Wroxeter was abandoned c. 90, and the Twentieth Legion, Valeria Victrix, established itself instead at Chester, possibly after a short stay at Gloucester. Legio vigesima Valeria victrix ("Valerius' Victorious Twentieth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was probably founded shortly after 31 BC by the emperor Augustus. It served in Hispania, Illyricum, and Germania before participating in the invasion of Britannia in 43 AD. It remained active in Britain until at least the beginning of the 4th century.

It appears that the first thind that the XXth legion did was rebuild the existing timber barracks, again in timber. These were eventually replaced by stone buildings before 120. At Abbey Green, a new timber-lined main sewage culvert was inserted alongside the Via Sagularis (the road running round the depot inside the defences) and new timber-framed cookhouses and mess huts were inserted alongside the ramparts. By the beginning of the second century rebuilding of the fortress defences in stone appears also to have been completed. This was the time of the Roman Empires greatest extent.

Attracted to Chester by the chance of a living from the large number of well-paid legionaries were local tribesmen, traders of all kinds from near and far, an army of servants and labourers (both slave and free), and officials employed to run the extramural posting houses, harbour facilities, and other official establishments. There were, too, retired soldiers, some probably from Wroxeter, who preferred to live close to their former comrades-in-arms in a lifestyle which retained a military flavour. Many had wives and families. Thus, quite quickly, a sizeable settlement, known as the canabae, grew up outside the walls of the fortress. It remained under direct military supervision, unlike the nearby independent and very large civil settlement at Heronbridge.

c120-210 - Neglect and Decay


In the "canabae" (the extramural civilian settlement) the rebuilding programme seems scarcely to have begun by the 120s. One of the earliest extramural buildings reconstructed in stone was the amphitheatre, the various official functions of which presumably demanded priority. On a much grander scale than its predecessor, with seating for at least 7,000 spectators, more than the full strength of the legion, it reflected the expansion of the canabae and perhaps also the requirements of an increasing population, both military and civilian, for entertainments.

In 122AD construction of Hadrian's Wall started and the XXth Legion (or at least large parts of it) moved north again. During the following years not only did building work at Chester almost cease, but significant areas within the Roman fortress were abandonned to the point of dereliction, stones were stripped from pavements for re-use and some area's even used as rubbish-tips. Barracks which had not yet been rebuilt in stone were either demolished, or allowed to collapse. One was abandonned half-built, another used for cremation burials. The Large Building accumulated a foot of soil on its floor (in which at least one burial occurred), and the Principia appears to have been neglected. In fact this was a time of considerable unrest in the province of Britannia and the lack of discipline among the troops may have contributed to the dereliction and decay at Chester.

From the barracks which had not fallen into disuse during this period it is possible to estimate that only a small part of the XXth Legion remained in Chester. At this time the fortress at Chester was probably used as a storage and supply station. Changes in the character of occupation after c. 130 may be explained by an intention, perhaps implied in an incomplete inscription found reused behind the headquarters, to demilitarize the site and establish an independent civilian settlement.

In 163 the order is given to abandon the Antonine Wall and for Roman troops to withdraw to Hadrian's Wall. Although the reasons are unclear, it is probable an uprising by the Brigantes forced the retreat.

In 175, a large force of Sarmatian (Iranian) cavalry, consisting of 5,500 men, arrived in Britannia, probably to reinforce troops fighting unrecorded uprisings - or possibly as a highly mobile force to deal with the stirrings of revolt amongst the troops. In 180, Hadrian's Wall was breached by the Picts and the commanding officer or governor was killed there in what Cassius Dio described as the most serious war of the reign of Emperor Commodus. Ulpius Marcellus was sent as replacement governor and by 184 he had won a new peace, only to be faced with a mutiny from his own troops, who tried to elect the legate Priscus as usurper governor; he refused, but Marcellus was lucky to leave the province alive. Back in Rome, commemorative coins were issued and Commodus assumed the title of Britannicus for his "victory". The Roman army in Britannia continued its insubordination: they sent a delegation of 1,500 to Rome (they had been drafted to Italy to suppress brigands) to demand the execution of Tigidius Perennis, a Praetorian prefect who they felt had earlier wronged them by posting lowly equites to legate ranks in Britannia. Commodus met the party outside Rome and agreed to have Perennis killed (Herodian reports that Perennis was also implicated in a plot against Commodus), but this only made the troops from Britannia feel more secure in their mutiny. The future emperor Pertinax was sent to Britannia to quell the mutiny and was initially successful in regaining control, until a riot broke out among the troops in which Pertinax was attacked and left for dead (he survived and asked to be recalled the Rome).



Commodus, who like some other Roman Emperors was barking-mad, gained the hatred of many military officials in Rome for his "Hercules" persona in the arena. Often, wounded soldiers and amputees would be placed in the arena for Commodus (dressed as a gladiator) to slay with a sword. After he changed the name of Rome to reflect his own greatness, had various statues re-modelled in his likeness (with outrageous claims of his fighting prowess added) and started to charge the Romans a million a time for his "gladitorial" appearances. It was decided he had to go, and he was assassinated at the end of 192.

The death of Commodus (31 December 192 AD) triggered events which led to civil war. Following the short reign of Pertinax (the first three months of 193), several rivals for the emperorship emerged, including Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus. The latter was the new governor of Britannia, and had seemingly won the natives over after their earlier rebellions; he also controlled the three legions in Britannia, making him a potentially significant claimant to the role of Emperor. His sometime rival Severus promised him the title of Caesar in return for Albinus's support against Pescennius Niger in the east. Once Niger was dealt with, Severus turned on his ally in Britannia — although Albinus had almost certainly worked-out that he would be the next target and he was already preparing for war. Albinus crossed to Gaul (France) in 195, where the provinces were also sympathetic to him, and set up at Lugdunum. Severus arrived in February 196, and the ensuing battle was decisive. Albinus came close to victory, Severus's reinforcements won the day, and the British governor committed suicide.

Albinus had demonstrated the major problem posed by Roman Britain: in order to maintain security, the province required the presence of three legions; but command of these forces provided an ideal power base for ambitious rivals. Deploying those legions elsewhere, however, would strip the island of its garrison, leaving the province defenceless against uprisings by the native Celtic tribes and against invasion by the Picts and Scots. Severus had a simple solution - exterminate the Caledonians.

c210-260 - Restoration
In 208 Severus traveled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia. Cassius Dio's account of the invasion reads:


 * "Severus, accordingly, desiring to subjugate the whole of it, invaded Caledonia. But as he advanced through the country he experienced countless hardships in cutting down the forests, levelling the heights, filling up the swamps, and bridging the rivers; but he fought no battle and beheld no enemy in battle array. The enemy purposely put sheep and cattle in front of the soldiers for them to seize, in order that they might be lured on still further until they were worn out; for in fact the water caused great suffering to the Romans, and when they became scattered, they would be attacked. Then, unable to walk, they would be slain by their own men, in order to avoid capture, so that a full fifty thousand died. But Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory."

Fortunately for the Caledonians, Severus fell ill during his attempted extermination (hence the litter) and died in early 211 at Eboracum (York). As one of his last acts, Severus tried to solve the problem of powerful and rebellious governors in Britain by dividing the province into Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior. This kept the potential for rebellion in check for almost a century - a period known as the "Long Peace".

Following the cessation of warfare it seems that the 20th Legion returned to Chester and began rebuilding the (by now quite decrepit) fortress. The entire street and sewer system was repaired, with the new, much enlarged Roman sewers surviving until relatively recent times and giving rise to many of the legends about underground tunnels beneath the City. The barracks were repaired as stone or part stone structures and the Centurion's quarters gained underfloor heating. Tile manufacture at nearby Holt had ceased but gradually Welsh slate came to be used for roofing. The Principia was rebuilt from the foundations up, indicating that this important ceremonial building had fallen into serious disrepair in the previous century.

c260-350 - A Tranquil Backwater


During the latter half of the 3rd century, the Roman Empire faced a crisis. Internally weakened by civil wars, the violent succession of brief emperors, and secession in the provinces, it faced a new wave of attacks by "barbarian" tribes. Most of Britain had been a Roman province since the mid-1st century, mostly (but not always) protected from raids in the north by the Hadrianic and Antonine Walls, and by the Classis Britannica patrolling the English Channel. As frontiers came under increasing external pressure, a "fortification" program was undertaken throughout the Empire to protect cities and other strategically important locations. At this time the forts of the Saxon Shore were built. As early as the 230s, under Severus Alexander, units were being withdrawn from the north and garrisoned at locations in the south.

By 261 troops in Britannia had joined the revolt of Postumus as part of his Gallic Empire. In 274 the Gallic Empire was re-absorbed into the main Roman Empire. However, in 287 the admiral of the Roman Channel fleet, Carausius, declared himself Emperor of Britain and Northern Gaul and started minting his own coinage. Carausius was assassinated by his treasurer, Allectus, in 293 who quickly started work on his palace in London to solidify his claim to authority. New forts were constructed at Brancaster, Caister-on-Sea and Reculver. Dover was already fortified since the early 2nd century. By the 290s, the full chain of forts was completed. They would buy the Romano-British another 100 years. The Roman Empire recaptures Britannia and Allectus was killed in battle near Silchester in 296. Britain was then split up into four provinces.

There is some evidence for major repair work at Chester around 300, especially to the walls. The later Emperor Constantine was in Britain campaigning with his father Constantius Chlorus who died on 25 July 306, at York, leading to Constantine being proclaimed emperor. He was later known as "Constantine the Great". After his promotion to emperor, Constantine remained in Britain for a while, and secured his control in the northwestern dioceses. He completed the reconstruction of military bases begun under his father's rule, and ordered the repair of the region's roadways. It is not known whether either the older or younger Constantine ever visited Chester, but given their importance in the north of Britannia it is probable that they did - evidence being provided by Roman milestones found in North Wales.

Following yet another revolt (that of Magnentius), Paulus "Catena" was dispatched to Roman Britain in 353 by the paranoid Constantius II to exact savage reprisals against supporters of Magnentius in the army garrisons of Britain. Paulus was also probably a paranoid psychopath. Once he arrived, he widened his remit and began arresting other figures, often on apparently trumped-up charges and without evidence. So harsh were his measures that he earned the nickname Catena meaning 'The Chain'.

c350-400 - Rome fades from Chester (for further detail see: Dark Ages)


In the winter of 367, as part of the "Great Conspiracy" the Roman garrison on Hadrian's Wall rebelled, and allowed Picts from Caledonia to enter Britannia. Simultaneously co-ordinated and pre-arranged waves of, Attacotti, Scotti from Hibernia, and Saxons from Germania, landed on the island's mid-western and south-eastern borders, respectively. These groups managed to overwhelm the entire western and northern areas of Britannia. The cities were sacked and some civilian Romano-British murdered, raped, or enslaved. Marcellinus records that Nectaridus, the "Count of the Saxon Shore" was killed, and that the "Dux Britanniarum", Fullofaudes was either besieged or captured.

In the spring of 368, a relief force commanded by the elderly Flavius Theodosius arrived in Britannia from Gaul. He brought with him four units of comitatenses, (Batavii (Dutch), Heruli (Germans), Jovii and Victores) as well as his son, the later Emperor Theodosius I (379-395). Order was restored, but only after yet another rebel, Valentinus and his co-conspirators for yet another revolt were handed over to the new "Dux Britanniarum", Dulcitius, for execution (see Ammianus; Book 28 Chapter III). Theodosius – unlike Paulus Catena – made it clear that he did not want to indulge in a wholesale purge:


 * de coniuratibus quaestionibus agitari prohibuit, ne formidine sparsa per multos reuiuscerent prouinciarum turbines (he forbade public investigation of the conspirators, to prevent fear spreading through many places and reviving the storms of the provinces)

It appears that a coastal defence network was constructed along the coast of North Wales, with a small fort at Caer Gybi (Holyhead) on Angelsey and a series of forts (Caer) and signal towers along the Welsh coast at Hen Waliau (Caernafon), Bangor, Braich yr Dinas, Caerhun, Deganwy, Varis (St Asaph) and Pentre. Collingwood describes the new fortification at Caernafon as follows:


 * "At Carnarvon, the lower fort, 150 yards west of the earlier fort, has its east wall complete, about 230 feet long; of the north and south walls about 120 and 180 feet remain. The walls are 5½ feet thick and up to 12 feet high; bastions were once visible. There are bonding-courses of flat stones and regular rows of put-log holes. The area was something over an acre, and the fort was probably a small Saxon Shore castellum (Segontium, 95)." (Collingwood, p.54)

Much more detail on the Romans in North Wales can be found on the Kanovium Project site. The defences of the "Irish Shore" may not have been as impressive as those of the Saxon Shore, but they would have given some comfort to the Romano -British of Gwynedd and Chester. In the longer term, they may well have helped to preserve Romano-British culture in Gwynedd while the rest of the Roman province of Britannia fell apart. A curious left-over of the Romans in North Wales is that there is a substantial percentage of Balkan DNA in Abergele. Membership in Y chromosome haplogroup E1b1b1a2 (E-V13) was found to average at 38.97%. This genetic marker is found at its highest concentrations in the Balkans (at up to approximately 40% in areas) but at much lower percentages in Northern Europe at less than 5%. The reason for the high levels of E1b1b in Abergele is most likely due to the heavy Roman legionary presence. Notably. the "Valeria" part of the name of Legio XX (based at Chester), is believed to be a reference to the area the Romans called Pannonia Valeria on the river Danube in east-central Europe. Perhaps this explains why both the Albanian and Welsh words for "red" are borrowed from Latin coccum - "scarlet".

In 383 there was yet another attempt for someone in Britannia to become emperor - in this case Magnus Maximus (a Spaniard) was made emperor in Britain by the Roman troops and led his troops to control Gaul and Spain, before a conquest of Italy. He was defeated (388) by Theodosius I and beheaded.

After 400 - Endgame (for further detail see: Dark Ages)


Claudian's de consulatu Stilichonis, (2, 250-5), written in January 400 is possible evidence for an expedition to Britain mounted by Stilicho in 396-8. The following is put into the mouth of Britannia, dressed in the skin of some Caledonian beast, her cheeks tattooed, her sea-blue mantle sweeping over her footsteps like the surge of ocean:


 * "Inde Caledonio velata Britannia monstro, ferro picta genas, cuius vestigia verrit caerulus Oceanique aestum mentitur amictus: me quoque vicinis pereuntem gentibus inquit munivit Stilicho, totam cum Scottus Hivernen movit et infesto spumavit remige Tethys illius effectum curis, ne tela timerem Scottica, ne Pictum tremerem, ne litore toto prospicerem dubiis venturum Saxona ventis." (When I too was about to succumb to the attack of neighbouring peoples - for the Scots had raised all Ireland against me, and the sea foamed under hostile oars - you, Stilicho, fortified me. This was to such effect that I no longer fear the weapons of the Scots, nor tremble at the Pict, nor along my shore do I look for the approaching Saxon on each uncertain wind.)

Frere (1987) believed this was evidence of naval activity against the Irish, Picts, and Saxons, as Gildas mentions in is sixth century writings. If this is the case then it may well have taken place offshore of the line of forts and signalling towers along the northern Welsh coast.

The "XXth" legion, Valeria Victrix, based at Chester, appears to have been recalled to the continent by Stilicho about 402. Claudian's poem, De Bello Getico, indicates that the troops in question had done service against the Picts and Scots, as had the XXth under Hadrian and Pius:


 * "Venit et extremis legio praetenta Britannis; Quae Scoto dat frena truci, ferroque notatas; Pertegit exsangues Picto moriente figuras." This legion, which curbs the savage Scot and studies the designs marked with iron on the face of the dying Pict.

The mention of the invasions of the Scots, the implication of coastal defence and the possible link with the XXth legion, may indicate that Stilchio was active in the Chester/N.Wales area.

The provinces of Britain were now isolated, lacking support from the Empire, and the setting up and pulling down a final series of usurper emperors as the soldiers supported the revolts of:


 * Marcus (406 - 407), a soldier in Roman Britain who was proclaimed emperor by the army there some time in 406. All that is known of his rule is that he did not please the army, and was soon killed by them;
 * Gratianus (407), acclaimed as emperor by the army in Britain in early 407. His army wanted to cross to Gaul and stop the barbarians who were attacking the empire but Gratian ordered them to remain (he should have known better). Unhappy with this, the troops killed him - and finally
 * Constantine "III" (who actually listened to the troops). Constantine III was a British common soldier and invaded Gaul in 407, eventually occupying Arles, but in the process probably drained Britain of the last of it's Roman legions.;

It is noteworthy that the Roman troops in Britannia considered that they still had a chance of defeating the continental Roman troops (in 407 - at that time being governed from Ravenna). This does not support the older theory that Stilcho had completly drained Britain of troops in 401. In mainland Europe things were far worse - on 31 December in 405 or 406 several tribes of Germanic invaders, including the Vandals, the Burgundians, the Alans and the Sueves, crossed the frozen Rhine river perhaps near Mainz, and overran the Roman defensive works in a successful invasion of the Western Roman Empire. This crossing initiated a wave of destruction of Roman cities and military revolt in Britannia and Gaul. This was a mortal blow to the Western Empire, from which it never recovered.

links and sources

 * "Ruin" at "From dot to Domesday";
 * British History Online - Roman Chester;

=The Roman Fortress=

Much of Roman Chester survived the Dark Ages and the subsequent re-building in Mediaeval times. Unfortunately, even mighty Rome could not stand up to Chester City Council in the 1960's when a great part of the surviving remains were vandalized in the name of "progress".





Key to map:
 * Roman walls are shown with a black solid line
 * 5/B - Barracks
 * 4/G - Commanders Residence
 * 1/P - Headquarters Building
 * 8/T - Baths
 * 2/S - Large building with various proposed uses
 * 9&10/W - Workshops
 * 6&7/O - Officers Quarters
 * V - Hospital
 * ii/H - Granaries
 * 3/E - The Elliptical Building
 * 15/C - Cemeteries
 * 28/PG - Parade Ground
 * 12/X - Extra-mural Buildings
 * 17/Y - Harbour areas
 * 14/A - Amphitheatre
 * 29/Q - Quarry, and Minerva Shrine
 * 13/M - "Mansio" -official inn
 * 16/Br - Roman Bridge

The Romans positioned the larger than normal fortress high on a sandstone bluff above the marshes. The fortress covered 60.90 acres, 20% larger than those in York and Caerleon, which were founded at the same time. Free from the floods of winter and the ever-changing shorelines of the estuary, the bend in the River Dee provides protection on two sides – south and west. It is also the lowest bridgeable and fordable point on the River Dee before it becomes too wide and treacherous. Drinking water was piped in from a spring in the suburb of Boughton. It's location on the bluff left the highest point at Northgate and the land sloping away on both sides and southward, allowing for an effective sewer and drainage system.

The fortress was designed in the standard "playing card" shape, with some modifications to the normal plan of buildings. It had four gates, corner towers and interval towers between the gates. The Roman gates had double arches and the Roman Eastgate had a statue of Mars, the Roman god of war, in the middle of the two arches. A fosse or ditch was dug around the north and east sides to provide extra protection. It has been calculated that the fortress was designed to accommodate 6,000 soldiers. The internal buildings consisted of barracks, baths, a hospital, a granary and some "headquarters" buildings. The main fortress baths were located halfway down the modern Bridge Street on the right-hand side. The full plan of Roman Deva is still not known because only limited excavations have taken place following demolition work of later buildings. It has been speculated that a Roman temple may have existed under Chester Cathedral – this is yet to be proved.



The original fortress was constructed of timber and replaced later with a stone fortress. Traces have been found under the Amphitheatre and market hall of pre-fortress buildings on a different alignment. It has been speculated that a forward camp was established before the first timber fortress was constructed. The castle hill is also a possible site for such a camp. The timber fortress would have looked like the one reconstructed at Lunt Roman Fort.

Local sandstone was quarried from the south of the river around the area now called Edgar's Field to provide building material for the fortress and its buildings. The Roman quarry face is still visible today on the outcrop of rock in the field. Through excavations, it has been established that many of the stone buildings were not completed and they were left abandoned for as much as 100 years before they were completed to a slightly modified plan.

The second Legion built their fortress in the territory of the Cornovii. It soon became the main base for Legio XX Valeria Victrix, the 20th Legion, which used it as a port administration base and military fort. It was then one of the principal towns of Roman Britain, with many relics remaining today, including parts of the original Chester Roman walls, parts of a hypocaust system from a Roman bathhouse, and a strongroom from the 'principia', as well as the street pattern at the Cross, where the four main streets intersect and half of its original amphitheatre (controversially, the other half was built over, but is currently being excavated).



Parts of the Roman quay wall of the port can still be seen under the medieval walls at the racecourse. It has been suggested that this quay wall formed a platform for a jetty which stretched out across the river to allow ships to dock at low tide.

Later on in the fortress's history, settlements began to develop outside the fortress walls between the west wall and the port area near the river. Mansion buildings were created for wealthy Romans outside the Walls, an example of which was discovered on Castle Street. Roman shops and workshops lined the incoming roads and to the south as far away as modern day Eccleston. A new bath complex was established outside the fortress walls on the modern Watergate Street under the site now occupied by Sedan House.

The Roman fortress was occupied up to the 4th Century. Roman coins have been found in the area dating up to this time. The fortress was described as waste land in the 6th century. It is thought that some Roman buildings remained standing as late as the Norman period. This is the reason why Northgate Street is dog-legged in shape. A massive column base of the Roman 'principia' can be seen through the floor in a shop (which used to be Blacks). Much of the Roman masonry was robbed out and reused in later periods.

A recent Timewatch investigation by the BBC speculated that, from the size and scale of the fort, had the Roman Empire not begun to collapse, Deva would have become the Roman capital of Britain and a launch post for invasions on Ireland. In fact, recent discoveries of a fort in Ireland suggest that at least one foray was made.

Although both Gildas and Bede located the Roman martyrs, Julius and Aaron, in the "City of the Legions", this is generally identified as Isca Augusta (Caerleon) rather than Deva, because of the chapels there dedicated to the two saints from at least medieval times.

Roman Walls




No Roman army ever camped even for a single night without fortifying its position. The shape of such a marching camp, was a rectangle which measured (for a legion of 6000) roughly a quarter mile on two sides and rather more on the other two. It would take around twenty minutes for a person to walk around such a rectangle. The remains of such a marching camp can be seen in ariel photographs near Upton. The marching camp would be constructed by digging a ditch (fossa), about nine feet broad and seven deep, the earth from which was thrown up so as to make an embankment (agger) on the inside of the ditch.. The top of the agger was sufficiently broad for troops to stand on it and it could be further defended by a fence of wooden posts (vallum). The internal layout of these marching forts was more or less standardized, and when permanent garrison forts were built they followed a similar plan.

The remains of a roman marching fort can be seen in some ariel photographs, and one such fort can be seen under the A41 just north of Chester. Putting up a regular marching fort so close to the city does not seem to make much sense, so this may have been a fort which pre-dated the city, or one which was built for training purposes - possibly prior to a major campaign. This could have been prior to the hiatus in construction work from about 120 to 210 CE.

For permanent forts the agger would have a core of piled sand, clay or rubble covered in stacked turves. A timber walkway would top this with a palisade of posts on the outward side and a wooden safety rail on the inner edge.

The Roman walls of Chester were once thought to have been rebuilt in stone from the middle of the second century CE. There has been much debate on this. However, it now appears that the facing of the ramparts with stone started earlier and the rebuilding of the ramparts with solid stone was well underway by the end of the first century, i.e. within a few years of the establishment of the city. This would have been a massive undertaking, as the stone walls, towers and gates comprise some 55 thousand tons of stone (about 70 thousand Roman wagon-loads).



The Roman walls of Chester were built to a very high standard of large sandstone blocks without mortar, a technique known as opus caementicium and usually reserved for temple or city walls rather than those of a fortress. Along the walls the Romans built 34 or 36 square towers about 60m (a bowshot) apart. The corner towers would have mounted a ballista. The Roman walls enclosed just less than half of the area enclosed by the current city walls (see map above), but a larger area than most Roman forts. There were four gates in the locations of the present Northgate (Porta Decumana) and Eastgate (Porta Principalis Dextra), at the junction of upper and lower Bridge Street (Porta Praetoria), and where Watergate Street meets St Martin's way (Porta Principalis Sinistra).

Some remains of the North-East and South-West corner towers can still be seen. The base of the South-West corner tower being the better of the two.

links

 * List of Roman finds (defences);
 * Roman tombstones recorded in the North Wall at Deanery Field at Revealing Cheshire's Past
 * Roman Fortress Defences at Chester (Deva) listed at Revealing Cheshire's Past;
 * A series of papers read before the Chester archaeological and historic society, etc. Earwaker, J. P. (John Parsons), 1847-1895 ed.

Barracks


The garrison at Chester possibly consisted of about 5,500 legionaries per se. They lived in barrack blocks which would initially have been made of wood but were later replaced by stone (all those investigated so far show replacement with stone soon after 200). The blocks were arranged in a similar fashion to the tent lines of a marching camp. The blocks comprised 11-12 individual sets of two rooms for each squad ("contubernia"), with a verandah and a separate accommodation for the Centurion. At the far end of the block from the Centurion was a latrine connected to the sewers (Centurions often had the benefit of an "inside toilet"). The blocks were arranged in clusters of 12 or 24, mainly in the corners of the City.



The inner room of each dwelling unit slept eight men and, given their size, bunk beds were probably fitted. These men would eat, sleep, drill and march together, fight the enemy side by side, go on duty at the same time, share their ablutions, and also spend much of their off-duty moments in each-others company. It is apparent from a pottery graffito found in the Neronian fortress at Usk, that each contubernium had a leader appointed from among its members - probably based on the length of military service - who was presumably responsible for the general conduct of the men and would also ensure that the rooms allocated for their use in the barrack-block were kept in order. The inner room also contained a hearth for heating and cooking. The outer room (arma) was about 3m deep, the inner (papilio) about 5m deep and the width was 4m for both. With 8 men in a single squad, this means that 80 men (a full century) would live together in a single block. The front room may have housed the squad leader or may have been used, as its name suggests, for storage of weapons and other kit.

The floors were sand or clay for the men and possibly concrete for the officers. Much later some of the rooms even had a hypocaust installed. Excavations have shown that the walls were decorated with painted plaster.

The roofs of the early stone barracks were tiled with red ceramic tiles of the type still widely used in Rome today. The tiles were manufactured at Holt (where possible remains of Roman barracks have also been found) and Saltney and were probably transported by river. Later, tile manufacture seems to have ceased and roofs were covered with Welsh slate. The slate industry in Wales began during the Roman period when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, (now Caernarfon), originally roofed with tiles, but in later remains also showing numerous slates, used for both roofing and flooring.

Robert Newstead of the Grosvenor Museum excavated parts of barracks in Deanery Field in the 1920's and 30's. In the 1970's and 80's there were further excavations and together these turned-up many relics of the everyday life of the Roman soldier including: miniature altars, gaming pieces, a small lock made of bone, and a stamp with backward lettering used to mark bread baked by a certain Lucilius Sabinanus. These diggings also show that for a while some of the barracks were abandoned for long enough for a layer of debris to accumulate before reconstruction.

Further barracks in Chester remain to be excavated. There are believed to be extensive remains near Hunter Street, but there has been some debate as to whether these should be left buried (under a proposed department store) or exposed. The barracks of the first cohort were usually located on the right-hand side of the principia, ranged parallel to the side wall of the principia, with the houses of the senior centurion on the Via Principalis street frontage.

Commander's Residence (Praetorium)




The house of the commanding officer was based on the typical Mediterranean atrium house favored by the Roman ruling classes—no concessions were made to local conditions. Villas were designed to provide shade and escape from the heat, and consequently the living quarters were arranged around an open courtyard. As commanding officers—and their families—came and went, the building would have been modified and remodeled to suit the new occupants. Typical modifications might have included the building of hypocaust (sub-floor heating systems) and the addition of a private bath-house, both of which seem to have been included in Chester although the Praetorium has not been the subject of much excavation.

The hypocaust in the "Roman Gardens" at Chester has been reconstructed using the pillars (pilae) recovered in 1863 from one of the rooms in the main bath building (thermae) of the Roman fortress in Bridge Street (see below for more on the baths)

Officer's Quarters (Praetentura)
The praetentura, the houses of the six military tribunes, occupied the street frontage on the south side of Eastgate Street. Unfortunately, reckless development during the 1960's destroyed any surviving structure. Dennis Petch, Curator of the Grosvenor Museum during the 1960s, is reported to have recalled bitterly (concerning later development of this location) that:


 * "..the developer refused to give permission for any formal excavation once his work on the site had begun... with customary efficiency Laing's immediately commenced the earthworks for underground storage and delivery bays for shops to be built in the precinct above... it was soon clear that the great colonnaded hall under the arcade formed part of the same complex and was in all probability one of the earliest of the covered palaestrae of the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire. Even after the great size and high degree of preservation of the building had been clearly demonstrated, and protests against its impending destruction were made at local and national level, commercial considerations prevailed, effectively limiting our gathering of site data to piecemeal observation and recording at the pleasure of the contractor, supplemented by very little formal excavation. This was not a very satisfactory way of proceeding in the case of such an important building which had apparently begun its life in the early years of the fortress and was still in use in the third century. This debacle attracted a great deal of public attention and criticism, and the upshot was a general conviction that such vandalism should not be allowed to recur."

One relic of these buildings survives to the rear of Watergate Street. To find it, enter the covered passageway near Bishop Lloyd's House and at the far end look over the wall.

Headquarters Building (Principia)




This was the administrative and religious center of the fort and was the most important building in any Roman fort. It was situated at the center of the fort where the Via Praetoria and the Via Principalis crossed. The existence of this building is the reason that modern day Northgate Street and Bridge Street do not line-up.

The building probably followed the standard plan and comprised an open colonnaded courtyard enclosed on three sides by offices and/or stores. At the rear of the courtyard stood a roofed cross-hall or "basilica". At the rear of the cross-hall were a number of smaller rooms (usually five). The central one of these was the legionary shrine ("aedes/sacellum"), probably the most important room in the city.

The courtyard would probably have contained a platform were sacrifices were made and the omens read. The current location lies under St Peter's Church. In Roman times it would have been the place where guard details were assembled and changed. Small parades and ceremonies would also have been held here. Behind St Peter's, there is still an open space (St Peter's Churchyard) where a part of the courtyard stood. If you stand there today, you may well be standing on (or above) the very spot where the sacrificial platform was located.

The basilica housed a few shrines (and the image of the Emperor) and was used for more important ceremonies including the "Rosaliae Signorum" when the military standards (signa) were brought out and adorned with roses in a supplication as part of rights associated with the dead. When it was not being used for ceremonial purposes the basilica was the place where orders were issued, imperial decrees read out and the officers of the legion addressed by the Legate.



The central room at the rear of the Headquarters was the "sacellum", the regimental shrine, which served as a focal point of the headquarters. The standards of the units were kept here. In the centre of the room was a sunken pit which acted as a "strongroom" (Aerarium) for the regimental pay chest. The money was kept here to deter thieves who would be committing "sacrilege" if they stole from the shrine. The legionary standard bearers acted as treasurers of the funds keeping track of what money was paid in and out.

A Roman soldier earned a one-time "praemium" or discharge benefit upon completing his service (sixteen years for the Praetorian Guard, twenty for regular duty in the army). At the end of Augustus's reign, the pension for a Praetorian guard was 20,000 sesterces (HS), and that of a legionary 12,000. In the 1st century, a legionary's retirement benefit would have amounted to about 12 years of service pay. It is very difficult to make any comparisons with modern coinage or prices, but for most of the 1st century AD the ordinary legionary was paid the equivalent of 900 Sestertii per annum, rising to 1,200 under Domitian (81-96 AD), the equivalent of around 25 Sestertii per day. Half of this was deducted for living costs, leaving the soldier with about 12 Sestertii per week. In comparison, a private soldier in the Peninsular war (under Wellington) would earn about seven shillings (35p) a week (at the same time the average weekly laborer's wage was around 6-10 shillings - roughly equivalent to £30-50 a week in 2013 money). In 2013 the average pay for a British "squaddie" is about £20,000 per year, whereas the average income in the UK is about the same. Given that the Roman legion in Chester had something over 5000 members, the money held in the strongroom for pay and pensions at any given time may well have been worth several million in present day cash - quite a few chests of silver coins.

The Roman strongroom can still be seen. To find it, walk along Northgate street to the market square and head down the alleyway next to the "Dublin Packet". It is a sunken pit dug into the local stone.

The Baths (Thermae)


Like most Roman settlements, Deva Victrix had a large legionary bath complex for the soldiers to wash and to use for leisure time. The remains on the east side of Bridge Street were largely destroyed during the construction of the Grosvenor Mall. It has been estimated that the baths used between 500,000 and 750,000 litres of water a day, which was supplied from the springs in Boughton. Water was piped in large lead pipes underground from a branch off the main aqueduct near the Eastgate, downhill to the baths on Bridge Street. The water was then held in large tanks with concrete foundations, and then fed through the complex. Waste water would have been fed downhill using gravity to the river. The water was fed through 24 hours a day.



The bath complex consisted of an entrance room (vestibulum), an exercise hall (basilica thermarum), a sweating room (sudatorium), a cold room with a cold pool (frigidarium), a warm room (tepidarium), and a hot room with a hot plunge bath (caldarium). An unsheltered exercise yard (palaestra) also formed part of the complex. The baths had mosaic floors and were heated by a hypocaust under-floor system connected to three furnaces. The ceilings of the baths were domed with lines of terracotta tubes to support the structure. Part of the Roman hypocaust remains in situ under the Mall and can be viewed from the cellar of the restaurant on 39 Bridge Street. The remains consist of a number of local sandstone pillars on a concrete base supporting a buried Roman floor. Also remaining in situ is part of a fine Roman mosaic floor, located under St. Michael's Arcade by the Bridge Street entrance. It is known that the bath complex stood for a long time after being abandoned by the Romans. When part of the site was excavated during the demolition of the Feathers Hotel, the floor was found intact with a 0.4 meter covering with dark soil from the Saxon period, followed by remains of the collapsed roof. Five columns from the exercise hall with parts of another hypocaust can be viewed in the Roman Gardens off Pepper Street (which is not their original location).

Some of the baths remains can be viewed in situ at 39 Bridge Street. In the west cellar wall are sections of Roman bath house masonry, and the medieval rear walling contains a rebated doorway opening into an exposed Roman hypocaust, perhaps restored when found during development in 1864; these roman remains are thought to date from the second century AD. They consist of 27 square columns in a rectangular chamber which originally contained 32 columns in eight rows of four. Also in the east wall are compound corbels, comprising of four stones, positioned over the doorway and dating to circa 1300.

A new bath complex was later built outside the walls. When this bath complex was destroyed by development in 1964, parts of the walls were still standing in situ to a height of up to 13 feet (4 m), hypocaust and mosaic floors were still intact, and large sections of collapsed roofing vaults (barrel-vaulted concrete, estimated to have stood 53 feet above floor level) lay on the floors. The site is now occupied by the rather ugly 60's office block "Norroy House" (now vacant and due to be demolished). In this area, adjacent to the part of the west wall, is the foundation of an ancient Roman bath house, which is pierced by the furnace arch of a hypocaust. Also found on the site were the remains of a "sudatory" (sweating bath) and many tiles stamped with the wild boar motif of the XXth Legion, considerable amounts of coins of the reigns of Hadrian and Trajan and an altar dedicated to Aesulapius the Roman Goddess of healing who was always honoured at legionary bath houses.


 * More on the baths;

Large Building
The largest building in Roman Chester was located in the center of the city and covered what is now the upper end of the Town Hall Square. The building consisted of a courtyard surrounded by small rooms with wide doorways opening onto the courtyard. The courtyard is the origin of the Town Hall Square.

The purpose of the building is not clear and at various times it has been prposed to have been stables, a hospital or a vast store-house. One additional theory was that this was an administraion building for the use of the Roman Governor of Britain. Chester would be an ideal place from which to govern the province - it had the best habour on the west coast and was both equidistant from and well-linked by roads to the Roman centers at Caerleon, Carlisle and York. The fortress of Deva was the largest in Roman Britain and has many features which are not found elsewhere in the standard plant to which the fortresses were built. The large building and the adjacent eliptical building are among these.

However, pressure elsewhere on the borders of the Roman empire - possibly in Dacia (modern day Moldova/Romania) - compelled the Romans to withdraw troops from the far north of Britain in the late 80s AD. Inconclusive archaeological evidence suggests that the huge legionary fortress at Inchtuthill (in Tayside, Scotland) was systematically dismantled and abandoned in 87 AD, less than four years after it was built - Legio II Adiutrix had been called to Moesia from its base in Chester to deal with a Dacian invasion in 86 and XX Valeria Victrix was obliged to move back south to take its place. By 100AD emperor Trajan, required stable borders and more troops for a further campaign against Dacia. Trajan ordered a complete withdrawal of Roman forces from what is now Scotland. A new frontier, comprising road, forts and signal-stations, was established on an east-west line through modern Northumberland between Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Carlisle on the Solway. Vindolanda was one of the forts on this so-called 'Stanegate Line'. In 122AD construction of Hadrian's Wall started, and while there was a further move north to the Antonine Wall in 142, this was abandonned in 163. Apart from some possible small-scale landings, the Roman invasion of Ireland never got underway, and with the abandonment of Scotland there was little support for making Deva the "capital" of the province. Thus, while the large building seems to have been given priority early in the construction of Roman Chester (even over the commander's residence), it was then not completed for two decades and apparently along much more simple lines than was originally intended.



Workshops (Fabricae)


A Roman legion held within its ranks a formidable array of artisans, whose skills excused them from normal duties, they were thus termed immunes. Vegetius lists several skills which would qualify a soldier among the immunes; 'engineers, carpenters, masons, wagon-makers, blacksmiths, painters and other artificers' (epitoma rei militaris, II.11) - all of which would have been employed in the fabrica of a legionary camp under the command of a praefectus fabrum .Other trades included farriers, surveyors, shipwrights, glaziers, fletchers, armourers, hunters, butchers, grooms, plumbers, bronze-smiths, lime and charcoal burners, and keepers of sacrificial animals.

Massive amounts of material were used in the construction of the walls and the the buildings within the walls (with a footprint of about 25 hectares). Even the initial wooden construction would have required around 25,000 tons of wood and another 6000 tons for associated works such as the bridge, amphitheater and construction camp. This equates to about 40,000 wagon loads of timber. The area of woodland that would need to be cleared to supply this amount of timber depends on the yield and could have been anywhere between roughly 100-400 hectares (0.5-1.5 square miles, between 4-16 times the size of the roman city or about 100-400 international rugby pitches).

Roman Harbour


There as been much discussion about the so-called "Roman Quay", which extends for a considerable distance long the edge of the Roodee under the medieaval walls. Opposing theories have stated that Roman ships would tie-up along this "quay" for unloading, or that the "quay" is actually a defensive structure and the water depth over much of the Roodee would not have been sufficient, except perhaps at some high tides, for shipping to approach the "quay". Excavations for the construction of a gasworks (since demolished) revealed what could be interpreted as the far end of a pier, leading to the suggestion that this pier would be used for loading/unloading.

Many Roman relics have been found between what would have been the western wall of the fortress and the line of the "Roman Quay". It is clear that this was a populated area and it is known to have contained a large baths complex which was used both the the military and the civilian population. This has led to the theory that the "Roman Quay" was either the base of a defensive structure, or the retaining wall for an area where the land had be raised and leveled for building purposes (in which case it would also function as a "flood defence").

Granaries (Horreae)
These were located near the Roman harbour gate, suggesting that the bulk of the grain arrived by river. Nowadays this is a site found between Watergate Street and Common-Hall Street, bounded to the west by Weaver Street and to the east by Old Hall Place (this includes the site of the offices of the Chester Chronicle). Bulk shipments of food, especially grain, had to be shipped by water wherever possible, given that the cost of overland transport, (at least according to the transport tariffs cited in Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum Prices) would quickly become unsustainable for such large quantities of cargo. The payload capacity of most Roman freighter-ships of the period was in the range of 10,000–20,000 modii (70–140 tons).

Typically, a Roman garrison would store some six months worth of grain, and analysis of sewage from latrines indicates the legionary diet was mainly grain-based. Indeed grain, provided as part of a soldier’s government-issued rations, is the only component of the military diet for which an amount is specifically cited, and based on this it seems that a soldier’s grain ration (about 1.5kg) composed approximately 60-75% of his daily food supply (although a Roman soldier’s daily meat ration contained almost twice the calories-per-gram of his grain ration), and baking bread would have possibly been a daily task for the members of the garrison at Chester. In fact, part of a roman soldier’s equipment was a small skillet to bake bread.



Grain is susceptible to damp and the depredations of birds/rodents. Excavations in 1954-56 and 1988 show that the three granaries were built of stone, with 3ft thick walls, and each had a ground area of about 50m by 15m, comprising a typical pattern with a series of close-set longitudinal sleeper-walls possibly supporting a stone-slab floor away from damp. Grain would have been stored in large bins in these granaries with a central walkway down the middle of each. A cubic meter of grain (depending on the type) weighs about 0.8 tons. Three 50x15m granaries stacked to a two meter depth with a 5m passage down the middle of each would contain 2400 tons of grain.

Ventilation shafts crisscross both the sleeper walls and the outer walls of the building to facilitate airflow. The roof would have been of tile rather than thatched to reduce both vermin and the risk of fire.

Estimates for the military presence in Britain range from a minimum of 40,000 men, up to a maximum of 63,000, with a typically accepted average of 50,000 (the total British population at the time would have been around 2,000,000 at most – so the Romans are 2-3% of the population, which fits with the Roman Empire spending 2-3% of GDP on the legions - Britain today spends around 2.5% of GDP on the military (such comparisons are said to be misleading - taxes (and compulsory services) to support the Roman military would have taken a much greater share of surplus per capita production).

The garrison at Chester possibly consisted of about 5,500 legionaries per se, with a possibly an additional 1000-1250 slaves and servants, bringing the total up to around 6,500. Add to this the needs of horses and other animals and the annual grain demand would be around 5000 metric tons. Three “full” granaries would be about a 6-month supply, and around 100 tons per week (one shipload) would need to be supplied to maintain this reserve.

Iron-age farming methods possibly yield at best about 1 ton per hectare (an international Rugby field is about a hectare), so around 5000 hectares (50km2) under grain would be needed to supply the fortress with grain annually. 50km2 is about 2% of the area of modern Cheshire. Of course, only a small proportion of the land would be suitable for cultivation, and there would be limitations on the labour available to work the land.

When Tacitus relates the grievances of the mutinous legionaries of 14 A.D., the perennial military complaints of poor, insufficient, or otherwise unsatisfactory food are not among them .One of the primary points of contact between the Roman military and the civilian populations must have been regarding food, whether it was exacted as taxes or purchased by the soldiers themselves. Numerous forts in Britain have produced evidence of oysters (both natural and farmed), mussels and edible snails which may have been introduced to Britain by Roman garrisons. Shellfish were often imported far inland to military sites, for example, to Hadrian’s Wall from southern England.

The Elliptical Building


Since it first came to light in 1939, the 'Elliptical Building' has been one of the great mysteries of Roman Chester, and indeed has been described as the most mysterious building in Roman Britain. It has been suggested that the entire layout of the city was designed so that it could be accommodated. The ruins of this unique building were first uncovered during the demolition of "slums" in 1939, the remainder was exposed during "rescue excavations" in the late 1960's. The Elliptical Building appears to be a unique building to Chester, as no other example of such a building is known to exist in the whole Roman Empire, and is of international importance. Its function is still not fully understood any evidence from it is highly valued. During the refurbishment of the Forum Shopping Center (1995) its foundation was once again uncovered. However much of the northern part of this unique building was destroyed during the construction of the underground car park beneath the Market Hall in the 1960's.

While the overall footprint is oblong, the shape of the central part of the building is roughly that of a "vesica piscis". That is the shape formed by the overlap of two circles. The building can be dated by the inscription on a lead water-pipe leading to the central courtyard fountain which records its manufacture 'during the ninth consulship of the emperor Vespasian and the seventh consulship of the emperor Titus, in the governorship of Gnaeus Julius Agricola’ - (the pipe is one of those mentioned above, now in the Grosvenor Museum), that is during the first half of AD 79.



The building work seems to have been stopped after a very short period of time. While the degree to which the construction of the building had progressed varied throughout the complex, in many cases work had hardly progressed beyond the laying of foundations and the completion of masonry up to ground level. In other places not even the foundation material had been laid. In no area had the process of forming the internal floors or external surfacing been started. The original drain from the fountain was re-routed during the early work, but this modification was incomplete when the building work stopped. The Elliptical Building was not the only construction project to be interrupted at this time; work on a massive complex to its east was clearly delayed as was the completion of buildings to the north. It has been suggested that the deployment of much of the Chester garrison, Legio II Adiutrix, to Scotland for Agricola’s campaigns (80-83) is the most likely explanation for this interruption. This would put the cessation of work before or around AD 79, meaning that at most around five years of work had been done on the site.

The site of the Elliptical Building lay derelict for most of the next 150 years, and many of the monolithic blocks of stone employed in the foundations of the colonnades and piers were removed for re-use elsewhere. Part of the site was briefly occupied by a group of timber workshop buildings. After the demolition of these workshops at the beginning of the 2nd century, the site of the Elliptical Building remained derelict and was used as a general dumping-ground for various forms of rubbish. By the time the decision was taken to construct a new building on the area c AD 225 the rubbish was a metre deep. Gold-working crucibles were found at the north end of the building, together with a gold solidus of the Emperor Magnentius (350-353 AD).



Remarkably, the design of the new building (c. 225) followed that of it's unfinished predecessor in some ways and was an improvement of it in others. It has been suggested that this must have meant that the designers of the new building had access to the plans of the original from a century and a half earlier.

Some imaginative hypotheses have been put forward for the purpose of the building. These have have included a theater, a market-hall and a retirement palace for Cartimandua (ruled c. 43 – 69) following her ejection from Brigantia by the anti-Roman party. The theater theory is particularly ironic, as part of the redevelopment of the site in the 1960's placed the "Chester Gateway Theater" almost on top of the building. Others have speculated that the each of the twelve chambers around the central courtyard may have each had as its focus a statue of one of the principal deities of the Roman State - Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Minerva, Vesta, Diana, Apollo, Ceres, Neptune, Janus, Mercury, and either Dea Roma or Vulcan.



A religious or at least ceremonial use for the building seems probable due to the general layout. Twelve chambers are arranged around a central space equipped with a fountain, which is quite an extravagance. The building has its own bath house. The rest of the block is taken up with rooms which do not intercommunicate except in small groups, and in most cases to get from one room to another one needs to go outside. In the later design it would appear that several doorways have be passed to reach the central chamber.

It is even possible that the twelve chambers had something to do with astrology. The Romans were actually quite keen on this, and one largely unknown but very scholarly book on the subject was written in verse by the author known as Marcus Manilius. Manilius' poem is in five books, with about eight or nine hundred verses to a book. The English classical scholar and poet A E Housman (best known to the general public for his cycle of poems "A Shropshire Lad") worked on a translation for years and is still considered authoritative on Manilius. One surprising thing about Manilius is that he can express fairly complex mathematical ideas in poetry.




 * Book 1 gives an overview of all the visible constellations.
 * Book 2 describes the signs of the zodiac and the different "aspects," or geometric angles, of their relations to each other (and just as in modern astrology, 60 degree angles or "trines" are good, while 90 degree "squares" and 180 degree "oppositions" are generally bad).
 * Book 3 gives a system of what astrologers call "houses": areas of human life governed by the twelve sections of the heavens. In Manilius' system these areas are Home, War, Business, Law, Marriage, Wealth, Dangers, Social Class, Children, Character, Health and Success. The third book also discusses what modern astrologers call "ascendants" or rising signs, and at a certain point this book flirts with the possibility of revealing the great secret that true astrologers were thought in antiquity to possess: namely, the method of predicting a person's fated life span.
 * Book 4 describes the qualities of specific degrees of the 360 degree circle of the zodiac and also explains which regions of the inhabited world are governed by which astrological signs (Italy is governed by Libra, if you're curious, and Greece is under Virgo).
 * Book 5 is concerned with "paranatellonta." These are the constellations outside the zodiac whose rising and setting also exercise influence over human life. This fifth book probably includes some material drawn from systems of astrology much earlier than the one practiced in the Hellenistic Mediterranean. Manilius seems to know quite a bit about non-Greek constellations, and he probably had access to one or more Egyptian sources in Greek translation.



By 2005, plans were already being made to demolish the Forum Shopping Center and redevelop the site again. In these plans site of the Elliptical building is to be occupied by an Elliptical Shopping Center...

sources and links

 * THE ROMAN ELLIPTICAL BUILDING AT CHESTER: DEVA;

Cemeteries
By Roman law, the dead were buried outside the fortress in cemeteries along the incoming roads to the north and east. Some were cremated and buried in urns, others buried in stone-lined tombs. Elaborate monuments lined the roads. Sometime in the later Roman period, these monuments were broken up and used to repair the fortress walls. During the 19th century, these tombstones were recovered from the north wall and now form the best collection of Roman tombstones in the UK. They can now be seen in the Grosvenor Museum. Many graves were uncovered when the Infirmary was being built and enlarged. Chester historian Frank Simpson recorded that, in 1858 (while preparing railway sidings to accommodate exhibitors at the Royal Agricultural Show) workmen discovered several Roman tombs, which contained such articles as terra-cotta lamps, clay vessels and coins of the period of Domitian (Roman emperor from 81 to 96).



Burials also took place in other locations as in the case of Callimorphus a Greek  trader, who died together with his son Serapion while on a voyage to Chester about AD 90. It's possible that his brother Thesaeus accompanied them on the journey and so was able to pay for what would have been a rather expensive monument. How Callimorphus died is unknown, but father and son dying together suggests a common cause, such as disease, rather than accident.

The Quarry
The second fortress was constructed of local sandstone, which was quarried from across the river to the south of the fortress. Traces of the quarry can still be seen today in Handbridge. A large amount of sandstone was taken and used in the construction of the fortress wall and the many buildings inside. On the old quarry face, near an old ford, was carved an image of the Roman goddess Minerva (see "Minerva Shrine"). It may have been carved by the workmen of the quarry for protection.



Another possible Roman quarry site at Delamere Street lies just outside the Northgate of Roman and medieval Chester and in recent years has been subject to intensive investigation as part of the Gorse Stacks development, and the redevelopment of Delamere Street. Quarry pits had been dug for building material and subsequently infilled with rubbish from inside the fortress dating to the late first to early second century. Investigationns have led to a large small finds assemblage. Little sign of these quarries was visible until the recent excavations for the foundations for new development when the quarries were clearly exposed. However the quarries can be clearly seen on the Lavaux Map from 1746.

Nearby, the canal, sitting in a rather deep cutting, follows the line of a Roman ditch (fosse) before the wall but the depth of the cutting along the north wall seems excessive. However Simpson's "Walls of Chester" does seem to suggest that very little extra work was needed for the construction of the canal cutting:


 * "The contractor for the canal when making his excavations found that he was exactly on the line of the old Roman fosse, and that, instead of excavating solid rock, he had only to clear out the accumulated earth and rubbish: by this economy he was enabled to make a considerable fortune."

The above version suggests that hardly any actual rock needed to be cut. However, maybe it is just an "urban legend", or maybe the clever Romans decided to quarry the stone for the north wall from directly outside of the Northgate.



The Mansio
This was located outside of the Roman Walls and was an official stopping place, maintained by the central government for the use of officials and those on official business whilst travelling, using the imperial post service ("cursus publicus"). Establishments of this type also had to provide facilities for changing relays of horses used for the carriages and gigs of the couriers, and for the storage of government goods in transit. In the later Roman empire mansiones tended to be used as police posts and collecting points for corn tax. Use of these inns was strictly controlled by travel warrants, since the service tended to be heavily overloaded abd enormously expensive. In the early Roman period the capital costs and running expenses of the service had to be met by the local government authorities, who also had the duty of organising the system, However, in the reign of emperor Hadrian (AD 117-138) the state took over their responsibilities.

It is possible that the skeletal remains of a boy found in the base of a well at the Mancio near Chester Castle and the signs of a fire from the same time are the result of the "barbarica conspiratio" (367 AD). Certainly no-one seems to have made any attempt to fish the body out of the well at the time. The skeleton of the boy is now in the Grosvenor Museum, and it is easy to see that sometime earlier in life he had broken his leg badly and probably walked with a pronounced limp. However, associating a fire with civil strife is a weak connection, bakers shops, blacksmiths and even hotels have been known to burn down for many other reasons.

Roman Bridge and Roman Roads
Watling Street (west) is the name given to the Roman road on a north-south alignment linking the northern legionary fortress at Chester and with the southern fortress at Caerleon near Cardiff by way of Wroxeter where the road connects with the main Watling Street that runs from the south east coast through London then onto St Albans (Verulamium) and Wroxeter (Viroconium). The route of Watling Street (west) can be followed from Chester to its crossing point of the Dee at Aldford and then onto Malpas where it disappears from the landscape.



Presumably Flavian in date at latest, the road left the south gate of fortress and crossed the River Dee at approximately the same point as the Old Dee Bridge.

Roman roads can not only be traced by looking for straight sections of modern roads marked "ROMAN ROAD" on a map. Frequently, parish boundaries follow the line of Roman Roads. Also, field-edges, or even rows of trees, may align to form a straight line where the road is less visible. Place names such as "Street", "Stratford" (i.e. "Street Ford") and "Trafford" (a shorter version of "Strafford") indicate a Roman Road may be present. "Google Earth" is a great tool for trying to trace Roman Roads in the modern landscape.

The road south from Chester runs south along same line as the present Eaton Road. At Heronbridge the Roman road runs slightly east of present road. The road appears to have changed direction slightly c.1.6 km south of the centre of Eccleston. Alignment continued through Eaton Hall Park, where it crosses the Dee to the north of Aldford Church, by a ford. South of the river the course of the road is marked by a track between 2 rows of old thorn trees up to the south side of the Aldford castle motte ("Blob Hill") close to the church. The road appears as a terrace just south and independent of the motte's earthworks and then as a large "agger" (the raised mark of a road - which can be quite hard to spot) running up to the churchyard. At the church a change of alignment is made to SSE, marked by a line of hedgerows with old oaks and with traces of the agger and then by a green lane continued by more hedgerows with clear remains of an agger 24ft wide and 1 ft high. This can be seen where Edgerley Lane crosses it (SJ43055675). To the south the agger lies mainly to the east of the hedge. The hedgerow line continues nearly to the Farndon-Barton Road and a parish boundary follows it. The road then proceeds through Barton to Stretton (possibly giving its name to the village in the form of "street"), then after another turn to the SE, the course is taken up for 5 miles by the road through Tilston and Malpas. At Kidnall Hill the old road is sunken and rough. Just beyond Malpas the straight road ends.

The Roman Road, or at least the general course of it, would have been used well after the Romans departed (see: "Welsh Road") and in many places far south of Chester there are roads along its general path known today as the "Old Chester Road". Of course, as the Romans generally followed the most sensible route for a road, if there was an earlier track for trade then would have often followed that. One example is at Hockenhull Platts - three bridges southwest of the village of Tarvin - "Platt" is an Old English word for "bridge" and is associated with "plank". "Hock" may come from the Welsh "hocan" which means to peddle or to sell abroad. "Hen" is Welsh for "old" and "hoel" means a paved way or road. It is therefore likely that Hockenhull Platts means "the bridges on the old peddlars' way".

To the north, the Roman Road appears to have followed Newton Hollows, Mannings Lane and "The Street" to Mickle Trafford, where it crossed the once much larger River Gowy to Bridge Trafford. It has been traced as far as Alvaney by members of the Frodsham Historical Society and residents of Mickle Trafford. At Helsby, next to this suggested route, beneath the crags, a Roman altar stone was discovered. This is now in the Grosvenor Museum in Chester. From Frodsham, the road would have headed towards "Old Trafford" at Manchester, possibly through a junction at Stretton where the B5356 crosses the A49 (another known Roman Road).

sources and links

 * Roman Roads near Chester - from "CheshireTrove";
 * Watling Street (west) on Revealing Cheshire's Past;

=Chester and Roman Ireland=

The Roman historian Tacitus mentions that Gnaeus Julius Agricola, while governor of Roman Britain (AD 78 - 84), entertained an exiled (and unnamed) Irish prince, thinking to use him as a pretext for a possible conquest of Ireland. At about the same time, Juvenal specifically tells us, Roman "arms had been taken beyond the shores of Ireland". Neither Agricola nor his successors ever conquered Ireland, but in recent years archaeology has challenged the belief that the Romans never set foot on the island. Roman and Romano-British artefacts have been found primarily in Leinster, notably a fortified site on the promontory of Drumanagh, fifteen miles north of Dublin - perhaps the name of the fortified promontory itself holds clues as to its Roman origin: Drumanagh has as a possible root (D)ruman, a possible reference to Romans (however Gaelic "Droim Meánach" means "Ridge of Meanach", giving another explanation). In addition, a group of burials on Lambay Island, just off the coast near Drumanagh, contained Roman brooches and decorative metalware of a style also found in Roman Britain from the late first century (this could be invasion or trade).



There may be some connection between the un-named prince and a semi-mythical Irish king. Túathal Techtmar ("the legitimate"), was the son of Fíachu Finnolach, and himself a High King of Ireland according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition. He is said to be the ancestor of the Uí Néill (O'Neil) and Connachta (Connor) dynasties through his grandson "Conn of the Hundred Battles". Túathal is said to have been exiled from Ireland as a child, but to have returned, defeated the then king and waged extensive war. Both Roman sites at Drumanagh and Lambay are close to where the semi-mythical Túathal is supposed to have landed. Some other archaeological discoveries inside Ireland, including Roman jewellery and coins at Tara, the midland ritual complex, and at Clogher, further support the possibility of a Roman invasion of Ireland. It has been suggested that the distribution of Roman remains in Ireland fits well with the places associated with Túathal's campaign. The traditional date of his return is AD76-80.

Speculating somewhat, it is notable the the unique "Elliptical Building" in Chester bears some resemblance to the ritual structures at Tara, and comes from roughly the same period as the supposed invasion by Agricola and the presence of the "prince", who may (possibly) have been Túathal, in Britain. The lead pipe from the elliptic building is dated to AD 79 and Tacitus (Chapter 24) says that in AD 82 Gnaeus Julius Agricola "crossed the sea and defeated people hitherto unknown to the Romans". While he does not specify which sea they crossed (many scholars think that Tacitus refers to the Clyde or the Forth), it should be noted that after this statement, Tacitus writes only about Ireland for the remainder of the chapter, which suggests that the people he was referring to were, in fact, the Irish. There is no evidence that Túathal was actually in Chester, but it does seem to have a contender for Gnaeus Julius Agricola's "capital" and there is the remarkable co-incidence of dates:


 * AD79: Elliptical building lead pipe (stamped on it);


 * ~AD76-80: Túathal returns to Ireland (traditional);


 * AD82: Agricola "crosses the sea" (Tacitus);

In addition Tacitus mentions that Gnaeus Julius Agricola frequently said that Ireland could be conquered with "a single legion and a few auxiliary troops", which suggests the Romans expected some special advantage if they invaded Ireland. This could have been knowledge of local troop dispositions, geography and local rivalries, but could it also have been the presence on the Roman side of a credible claimant to the Kingship of Ireland? So could the Elliptical Building have been connected to this - a palace for a potential king, with a design similar to the ritual site at Tara and a fountain that must have seemed magical at the time? A bauble to show Túathal the advantage of being a client of Rome?

Even if there was no invasion there was almost certainly trade, as the geographer Ptolemy (c. AD 90 – c. 168) writing in the second century made a map of "Hibernia" with reasonably accurate data on rivers, mountains and people, thereby demonstrating some considerable knowledge of the island had been gained by that time.

sources and links

 * Roman Britain on Chester;


 * Another guide to Roman Chester;


 * Discover Chester on Roman Chester


 * a Russian website on Roman Chester;

further sources
<1>	Monograph: Mason, D. J. P.. 2005. Exacavations at Chester: The Roman fortress baths, excavations and recording 1732-1998. Survey Report No 13.

<2>	Book: Horsley J. 1732. Britannia Romana.

<3>	Book: Thompson Watkin W. T.. 1886. Roman Cheshire: A Description of Roman Remains in the County of Chester.

<4>	Book: Harris, B.E. (ed). 1987. A History of the County of Chester: Volume I: Physique, Prehistory, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Domesday (Victoria County History).

<5>	Article in Journal: Brushfield, T N. 1885. The Roman remains of Chester: With particular description of those discovered in Bridge Street. Old Series Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 3.

<6>	Article in Journal: Hubner, Prof.. 1890. The Roman Inscriptions of Deva (Chester). Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 3.

<7>	Article in Journal: Hewitt, John. 1895. The Rows of Chester, an Attempt to Discover their Origin. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 5.

<8>	Article in Journal: Haverfield, F. 1900. Catalogue of the Roman Sculptured stones in the Grosvenor Museum. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 7. No 189.

<9>	Article in Journal: Brushfield, T N. 1895. The Rows of Chester. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 5.

<10>	Article in Journal: Newstead, Robert (Prof.). 1926. Records of Archaeological Finds at Chester. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 27, Part 2.

<11>	Article in Journal: Lawson, P H. 1926. Schedule of the Roman Remains of Chester with Maps and Plans. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 27, Part 1. No 37.

<12>	Article in Journal: Anon. 1909. Miscellanea. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 16: 2.

<13>	Monograph: Wright, R. P. & Richmond, I. A.. 1955. Catalogue of Roman Inscribed & Sculptured Stones in the Grosvenor Museum.

<14>	Book: Shrubsole, George W. 1886. Catalogue of the Roman Altars.

<15>	Article in Journal: n/a. 1956. Miscellanea. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 43.

<16>	Article in Journal: Anon. 1910. Miscellanea. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 17.

<17>	Article in Journal: Petch A.J. 1978. Introduction. Chester Conference Nov 1977: New Evidence for Roman Chester.

<18>	Article in Journal: Anon. 1964. Abstract of Proceedings. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. 51.

<19>	Article in Journal: multiple authors. 1984/85. Excavation Reports and Sites Observed. Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin. No 10.

<20>	Newsletter: Chester Archaeology. 2001. Dig News. September 2001.

<21>	Newsletter: Chester Archaeology. 2002. Dig News. February 2002.

<22>	Newsletter: Chester Archaeology. 2002. Dig News. April 2002.

<23>	Newsletter: Chester Archaeology. 2003. Dig News. April 2003.

<24>	Newsletter: Chester City Council Archaeology Service. 2002. The Past Uncovered. June 2002.

<25>	Article in Journal: Peter Carrington. 1995. Among the Crumbling Ruins. British Archaeology.

<26>	Newsletter: Chester City Council Archaeology Service. 2009. The Past Uncovered. February 2009.

<27>	Newsletter: Chester City Council Archaeology Service. 2002. Annual Review. 2001-2002.

<28>	Client Report: Chester Archaeology. 1998. 29 Bridge Street, Chester: Watching Brief. R2258. S0194. N/A. R2258.

<29>	Client Report: Chester Archaeology. 1996. 25-29 Bridge Street, Chester; trial excavation.. R2689. N/A. N/A. R2689.

<30>	Client Report: Gifford and Partners. 2002. Debenhams, Chester: Post-excavation Assessment Report. R3162. N/A. N/A. R3162.

<31>	Book: Mason, D. J. P.. 2001. Roman Chester: City of the Eagles. p155.