Heronbridge Roman Site

Heronbridge Roman Site lies beside the River Dee, about two kilometres south of Chester in Cheshire. Watling Street crosses the remains, showing where Roman traffic once passed. The settlement started in the late 1st century AD on the west bank of the river. Excavations in the 1930s uncovered skeletons with signs of violent death. Later digs in 2003–04 found more graves, including two dated to the early 7th century. The Romans built stone structures and a quayside cut into the rock. Evidence shows trade in coal around AD 200 at the inland port. After Roman rule ended about AD 350, the town fell into ruin. A later earthwork enclosure now covers part of the old town site between Watling Street and the river. The enclosure may be an Anglo-Saxon military camp built after the Battle of Chester in AD 611. Excavations found a post-Roman mass grave beneath the earthworks. Some stones used to reinforce the defences came from the Roman ruins. Other theories suggest Norse-Irish settlers or even Civil War positions built in 1644. The site remains a Scheduled Ancient Monument with much still to uncover.