Heronbridge Roman Site facts for kids

Heronbridge Roman Site is where you can find the remains of an old Roman town. It's located near Chester in Cheshire, England, right on both sides of a famous Roman road called Watling Street. This site was a busy place, especially in the late 1st and 2nd centuries AD, with evidence of workshops and furnaces where people made things. Today, it's a special protected place called a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Discovering Heronbridge

The Heronbridge site was found by accident in 1929 by someone from the Chester Archaeological Society. Since it was in an undeveloped area, it meant that the ancient remains were mostly untouched by modern buildings, which is great for archaeologists!

The first big digs happened in 1930 and 1931. During these excavations, archaeologists found human bones, and some of them showed signs that people had died violently. More investigations took place in 2003 and 2004. The site even appeared on the popular archaeological TV show Time Team in 2005, which helped more people learn about it.

Later, in the 2010s, about twelve skeletons from the 1930s digs were looked at again. Most of these skeletons had serious injuries. Scientists also used carbon-dating on two other skeletons found in 2004. This dating suggested that these people died around the early 7th century.

Life in Roman Heronbridge

The Roman town of Heronbridge was built on the west side of the River Dee in the late 1st century AD. It grew into an important settlement with many strong stone buildings. There was even a special quayside, or dock, carved right into the rock along the river. This suggests that boats could easily load and unload goods here.

Archaeologists have also found clues that there might have been a bridge over the river nearby. Evidence of trade has been discovered too, including coal that dates back to about AD 200. This shows that Heronbridge was a busy inland port, connecting with other places through trade.

The Roman period at Heronbridge ended around AD 350. After the Romans left, the town slowly fell apart and became ruins.

After the Romans Left

After the Roman town was abandoned, a new structure was built over part of the old Roman site, between Watling Street and the river. This was an enclosure, like a fortified camp. Many experts believe it was an Anglo-Saxon military camp. It might have been built after a big battle called the Battle of Chester, which happened around AD 611. The people who built this camp even reused stones from the old Roman ruins to make their defenses stronger.

Archaeological digs have found a large burial site under this defensive earthwork. This grave might hold the bodies of soldiers from Northumbria who died in the Battle of Chester. This battle was a victory for the Anglian King Aethelfrith of Northumbria over a Welsh army.

However, there are other ideas about who built this earthwork enclosure:

• Some think it was built by Norse-Irish settlers led by a person named Ingimundr. These settlers arrived near Chester around AD 905 and later tried to capture the city.
• Another idea is that the D-shaped defensive camps found next to rivers, like the one at Heronbridge, are common features from the Viking Age.
• A third possibility is that it was built much later, perhaps during the Siege of Chester in 1644. During this siege, forces loyal to the Parliamentary side set up positions around the city.