This archive presents several years’ research into the archaeology of one of Chester’s best known historical monuments. They summarise what is known about the site and pose questions that remain to be answered in the light of changes in our understanding of amphitheatres since the major excavations that took place here in the 1960s.
We hope to show that archaeologists are still trying to find out more about the site and to work out the best ways of answering those questions that we are now posing.
Following extensive excavations in the 1960s and full publication in 1976, the amphitheatre in Chester has become a well-known monument, both locally and in the literature of Roman Britain. However, cursory examination of the site and the records of former excavations suggests that many of the published ‘facts’ are factoids: hypotheses that do not stand up to detailed questioning. These thoughts on the potential of the site for further research try to address ways in which we might seek to questions these factoids.
Despite controversial proposals in the 1980s, the academic case for further large-scale excavation on the southern part of the amphitheatre is not overwhelming. Indeed, many of the research questions relating to the Roman period that can be considered of ‘national’ or ‘international’ significance are capable of being addressed without fieldwork, through archive reassessment or other desk-based research. At this level, much of the fieldwork that might help answer various questions would best be targeted, small-scale work.
Conversely, the major questions for the sub-Roman, Saxon and medieval periods are probably best addressed through large-scale excavation, although the possibility remains that some of them might be answered through archive reassessment. Nevertheless, deposits of sub-Roman and Middle Saxon date have proved extremely difficult to identify at Chester and where identified elsewhere, their interpretation remains controversial. There is therefore a strong case for leaving such deposits in situ to preserve them for the future, when techniques will have been developed for dealing with them. However, there is no doubt that further excavation would produce new research questions that have not been considered here and their impact on our understanding of the amphitheatre cannot be assessed with current knowledge.