History
Chester has the largest Roman
amphitheatre in Britain, used for entertainment and military
training by the 20th Legion, based at the fortress of 'Deva'
(Chester). Excavations by English Heritage and the Council in
2004-5 revealed two successive stone-built amphitheatres with
wooden seating. The first included access to the upper tiers of
seats via stairs on the rear wall, as at Pompeii, and had a small
shrine next to its north entrance. The second provided seat access
via vaulted stairways. The two buildings differed both from each
other and from all other British amphitheatres, underlining the
importance of Roman Chester.
Today, Chester's Roman amphitheatre is a shadow of its former
glory. Trapped within the modern urban landscape, it is difficult
to picture the ancient ruin as the major city landmark it was more
than 1,600 years ago.
English Heritage, Chester Renaissance and Cheshire West and
Chester Council are now working together to improve access,
landscaping and surroundings for this rare and important
monument.
The amphitheatre is a Scheduled Ancient Monument owned by English
Heritage and managed by Cheshire West and Chester Council.
Current Work
In October 2009 work got under way to improve
the presentation of Chester's Roman amphitheatre and make the
remains more understandable. The scheme consists of a number of
elements:
- Reconstruction of the foundations of the
walls of the two successive amphitheatres found during
archaeological excavations in 2004-6, together with the base of the
timber seating bank (Areas A and B). (Appointed
specialist contractor Horticon)
- Resurfacing of the arena, entrances and areas
around the walls to match the original materials.
- Construction of a path around the outer wall
of the amphitheatre to link together all parts of the site and make
it more accessible. This will incorporate a bridge over the north
entrance with steps into the arena. (Appointed specialist
contractor Deva Forge)
- Reopening of the walkway across the middle of
the site and opening up Area B to the public.
- Installation of new signage and information
panels. These will present the results of the latest discoveries
about the amphitheatre and will include a mural on the retaining
wall at the back of the arena. (Appointed Consultant
Imagemakers)
Plan of improvements
The bridge, steps and walkway are due
to be completed in November 2009, the rest of the construction work
in January 2010 and the interpretation by June 2010.
Follow The Work
Chester photographer David Heke will be following the progress
of the work, a collection of his photographs are available on
the gallery
The site had previously been landscaped in
1972 after a series of excavations from 1957 to 1969. After over a
generation this was inevitably looking tired. In addition, public
interest led to large-scale re-excavation between 2004 and 2006 and
to a demand for the presentation of the results of the recent work.
The amphitheatre is Chester’s most prominent Roman monument and
attracts many thousands of visitors including schoolchildren every
year. There was thus a clear need to overhaul the landscaping of
the site, bringing the interpretation up to date and making it more
attractive and accessible.
The amphitheatre as it was laid out after
the excavations of the 1960s
History of discovery
Chester’s Roman amphitheatre was discovered in
1929, when a short stretch of the curved outer wall was discovered
during construction of an extension to the Ursuline convent (Dee
House). Excavations between 1930 and 1934 for the Chester
Archaeological Society established the northern limits of the
amphitheatre, the size of the arena and the positions of two of the
entrances.
The first section of amphitheatre wall to
be discovered behind Dee House in 1929
At this time Chester Corporation was planning
to build a new road that would remove the awkward bends of Little
St John Street. This would have run across the middle of the
amphitheatre. After much campaigning and negotiation, the Ministry
of Transport vetoed the planned new road. The Chester
Archaeological Society bought St John’s House, an
eighteenth-century town house occupying much of the northern half
of the site, while Chester Corporation agreed to purchase adjoining
properties. This ensured that the northern half of the amphitheatre
could be excavated once money was available and allowed the worst
of the bends in the road to be removed while still avoiding the
site.
The line of the proposed new road that
would have cut across the amphitheatre. St John’s House is on the
left, Dee House on the right. Taken in the 1930s
The conclusion drawn from the 1957-1969
excavations was that the amphitheatre had first been built entirely
of timber, probably at the same time as the foundation of the
legionary fortress in the 70s of the first century AD. About AD 100
this was replaced by a stone amphitheatre with two outer walls;
this survived until the fourth century.
Small-scale excavation by Chester City
Council’s Archaeological Service between 2000 and 2003 showed that
these conclusions might well be wrong. Much larger scale
re-excavation by the City Council and English Heritage between 2004
and 2006 showed that the inner wall and the timber seating both
belonged to the first amphitheatre, while the outer stone wall
belonged to a later version of the structure.
Area A of the amphitheatre during excavation in 2006,
showing the outer walls of successive versions of the amphitheatre.
The slots left by ground beams of the timber seating can be seen on
the left
After the end of Roman rule it is possible
that the amphitheatre was converted into a fortified base for a
local warlord. Later, the east entrance may have been turned into
the crypt of the original, seventh-century, St John’s church
How to find out more
Ainsworth, S & Wilmott, T 2005. Chester
amphitheatre: from gladiators to gardens. Chester City Council and
English Heritage
Matthews, K J 2003. Chester’s amphitheatre
after Rome: a centre of Christian worship. CheshireHistory
43, 12-27
Newstead, R & Droop, J P 1932. The Roman
amphitheatre at Chester, Journal of the Chester Archaeological
Society new series 29, 5-40
Thompson, F H 1975. The excavation of the
Roman amphitheatre at Chester. Archaeologia
105, 127-239
Wilmott, T 2008. The Roman amphitheatre in
Britain. Stroud: Tempus
Wilmott, T ed 2009. Roman amphitheatres
and spectacula; a 21st-century perspective. Papers from an
international conference held at Chester, 16th-18th
February 2007. Oxford: Archaeopress. (British Archaeological
Reports International Series 1946)
We apologise to visitors if parts of the amphitheatre site that
they wish to visit are closed. This is necessary in the interests
of health and safety.
Enquiries
The amphitheatre is a Scheduled Ancient Monument owned by
English Heritage and managed by Cheshire West and Chester
Council.
Chester Renaissance Magnus Theobald Project Manager 01244
402043.