Despite the extremely changeable weather conditions, Tuesday 6 April saw the official public launch of the Chester Amphitheatre Project.
Around 100 people were present for the opening ceremony, including staff from Chester City Council, English Heritage, as well as Councillors, press, TV, and the general public.
Sir Neil Cossons, Chairman of English Heritage, was there to make a speech about the importance, and interest, of the Amphitheatre site: "Our joint project, a combination of research and excavation, will reveal new evidence about the national and international significance of Chester’s Roman and early Christian remains. This knowledge will allow us to appreciate how 21st century Chester came about and how it might develop in the future. We expect the project to attract an additional 40,000 annual visitors to the city, creating and sustaining 150 new jobs and bringing £5 million a year in investment to the local economy."
[Above] Sir Neil Cossons, Chairman of English heritage, inside the Amphitheatre with some of the hi-tech laser scanning equipment used on the site.
"This is not just a big excavation. It will also be an exciting community event and we hope that schools, local residents and Chester’s many visitors will want to become involved."
Leader of Chester City Council, Councillor David Evans, was also present and further stressed the importance of the project: "Chester is extremely proud of its rich and fascinating history and this exciting project with English Heritage will help us understand more about the city’s past."
"The amphitheatre has major historical significance and we will use the research findings to help us decide how to conserve the site in the future. The research programme will also bring important economic and social benefits to the area by attracting more visitors and encouraging lifelong learning."
[Above] (left to right) Cllr. Ann Farrel (Portfolio Holder for Culture & Heritage), Cllr David Evans (Leader of Chester City Council), Sir Neil Cossons (Chairman of English Heritage), and David Miles (Chief Archaeologist English Heritage), posing with Laser Survey equipment recently used at the site.
Also at the launch was a demonstration of some of the equipment used during the survey of the site (see pictures above). The main focus was the laser scanner that is being used to produce a computer generated, 3D model of the site. Other techniques that were discussed on the day were: a helium balloon that will be used to carry out an aerial survey of the site, and penetrating radar to see what is below the surface.
Later in the day interviews were done for the North West regional news programme, Granada Reports. Fred "The Weatherman" Talbot talked to the some of the key players of the project. Also members of the national and regional press interviewed people and took photographs.