CHESTER NORTHGATE REDEVELOPMENT Archaeological Desk-based Assessment

This report presents the results of an archaeological desk-based assessment undertaken by OA North in January/February 2016 for the Chester Northgate development site (centred on SJ 4039 6638) on behalf of Cheshire West and Chester
Council. It includes an outline of the topographical and historical background of the assessment area, covering all periods, which provides a context for the results of the
archaeological study. The assessment examined all available relevant primary and secondary sources; all sites identified during the course of the work were listed in a gazetteer and plotted onto maps of the study area. It is proposed that construction of the new development will comprise three phases (Phases 00, 01, 02), with Phases 00 and 01 encompassing the northern part of the site, between Hunter Street and Princess Street, the rest of the site being developed during Phase 02.
In total, 290 Monuments of archaeological or historical significance, and 97 archaeological interventions, or Events (as defined and recorded in the Chester Urban Archaeological Database), were identified within, or immediately adjacent to, the development area. Only two of the Monuments are prehistoric, the majority (138) are Roman in date, there are 26 assigned to the early medieval (‘Saxon’) period
(including two that may extend from the late Roman into the early medieval period), 53 are of later medieval date, and 70 are attributed to the post-medieval period, with
one Monument of uncertain date.