Little Chester Roman Fort, Derby, Derbyshire - Evaluation

The Environment Agency, in partnership with Derby City Council, is planning to develop new flood defences in Derby, which will involve the construction of new embankments along the River Derwent as it flows through Little Chester in Derbyshire. Situated a short distance to the north of Derby city centre, Little Chester is well-known as the site of a Roman fort (Derventio), whilst significant Romano-British, Anglo-Saxon and medieval deposits have also been discovered in the area. The new flood defences are likely to take a route across Parker’s Piece, situated between the known sites of the Roman fort and an associated bath house, and Darley Playing Fields, which overlies a significant element of the Roman civilian settlement. The route of the flood defences will also need to pass the site of the Roman fort (centred on NGR 435325 337540), which is afforded statutory designation as a Scheduled Monument (SM No 1007043).
In order to understand and manage the archaeological risks associated with the proposed scheme, the Environment Agency (EA), acting on the advice of English Heritage, commissioned Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) to undertake an archaeological evaluation of defences encompassing the fort. The evaluation was intended to establish the precise location of the defensive circuit. This was achieved via the excavation of three trenches, which were targeted on the projected course of the defensive ditches around the north-eastern corner of the fort, and adjacent to the postulated position of the western gate of the fort.