Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society 78

The paper presents an overview of some attempts to provide a theoretical framework for both the location and interpretation of the number of late prehistoric and Romano-British rural sites within the Mersey Basin region, centred around the theme of marginality. It uses the body of archaeological evidence for the period to look at the issues of climatic and social marginality. The debate on the rural settlement of these periods is focused on the social hierarchy and material culture of the area and whether this was distinctive, both before and after the Roman conquest.

Report describing the results of fieldwork undertaken by the Chester Archaeological Society during 2002 and 2003 at the multi-period site of Heronbridge. The investigations focused on the part of the site lying between the modern road (ancient Watling Street) and the River Dee, which contained the eastern half of the Roman roadside settlement overlain by a large curvilinear enclosure defended by a rampart and ditch. it was shown that the defensive works did not continue along the river bank, but that the rampart was originally reinforced by a stone revetment. The earthwork is now thought to have been constructed at some time between c. AD 890 and c. AD 980. Investigation of the ancient river cliff at the north end of the site revealed a natural inlet which had been modified to function as a quay serving the Roman settlement, a ramped trackway from the north providing access. These works were provisionally dated to the early- to mid-second century. Around the middle of the third century, three graves were excavated in the rock close to the edge of the quay which was by this time disused. Two were for adults and the third for a child. Although the graves had been ransacked in antiquity, fragments of sculpture recovered from the fill on one and from silt nearby indicate that the two adult graves were covered by a substantial funerary monument.