Project
Several trial trenches were excavated to the rear of the former public house which fronts onto Welsh Row, a medieval suburb of the town.

Again, the survival of organic material, especially structural timbers associated with a wattle-work structure, was confirmed. Remarkably, another medieval salt ‘ship’ was partially exposed. Careful modifications to the proposed foundation work for an extension to the building will secure the long-term, below ground survival of the archaeological remains.

Nantwich ship has now been returned to Nantwich Museum. For more information go to the Museum’s Website
www.nantwichmuseum.org.uk/saltship.htm

Project
Early ordnance survey maps indicated the presence of a ‘mill’, associated with an adjacent pottery complex, within the boundaries of a single building plot, close to the town of Buckley.

Two test trenches were excavated. The well-preserved base of the mill structure was identified. The remains comprised a central cobbled floor with the in situ remains of a central timber post, and a concentric circular brick wall. The feature was almost certainly used in the processing, preparation and ‘kneading’ of clay for the adjoining pottery.

The archaeological remains will be avoided during the building work through minor modifications to the proposed foundations.

Project
The school lies on the former line of a Roman road that ran south from the important Roman settlement at Wilderspool. There are plans to either extend the school or rebuild on the same site and, accordingly, as part of the planning process, a programme of archaeological evaluation was deemed necessary.

Trial trenching confirmed that the Roman road survives virtually undisturbed either side of the existing school building. Roadside structures and outlying rubbish pits were also recorded. The management of the remains identified will be considered during any future development on the site.

Project
Modern archaeological investigations (particularly by Earthworks) have begun to characterise the remarkable archaeology that lies beneath much of Nantwich. The survival of timber structural remains of medieval street frontage properties, and features and artefacts associated with the production of salt, is remarkable.

Prior to housing development, an area excavation in Second Wood Street was completed. As anticipated, the survival of timber and other organic remains (leather, cloth) was extraordinary. Particularly noteworthy was the identification of a salt ‘ship’, and a channel containing medieval barrels.

Project
In collaboration with Cheshire County Council, and funded by a Heritage Lottery Grant, Earthworks managed the lifting and organised the transportation of the ‘ship’ exposed during the 2003 excavations. The ship is currently being conserved at York Archaeological Trust.

The ‘ship’ - one of three identified in the immediate vicinity - was essentially a hollowed-out oak tree trunk used to store brine; the barrels were a later method of brine storage. The brine was boiled during the salt extraction process.

Project
Before the start of construction for a large-scale residential development on the fringe of Chester’s historic centre, extensive excavations have assisted in the understanding of the development of the eastern suburbs from the medieval period.

The area clearly formed part of a large tanning and leather processing industry dating to the late post-medieval period. Detailed analysis of the extensive bone assemblage associated with the tanning activities is close to completion.

Other notable features included part of a seventeenth century ditch with an integral and enigmatic stone structure, thought to represent Civil War activity. Moulds probably associated with medieval bell manufacture were also recovered.

Project
A large area excavation was completed prior to the start of a new industrial development. The location was peripheral to the known areas of Roman settlement, but nineteenth century observations suggested that the Roman occupation extended into this outlying area.

Excavation confirmed the presence of Roman field boundaries enclosing regular plots in an organised agricultural landscape. Traces of timber structures were also recorded together with the exciting remains of a pottery kiln, dating to the late first or early second century AD, which contained the pots from its last firing.

Project
Excavations were completed before the start of a housing development on a post-medieval pottery complex. Map evidence suggested the presence of a kiln on the site from at least the mid-eighteenth century; however, the archaeological findings indicated that potting had been undertaken here from as early as the late seventeenth century.

The impressive base of a pottery kiln, together with the remains of the potter’s cottage, were recorded. A large and important assemblage of the wares produced on the site was retrieved.

Negotiations with the developer secured the preservation of the main kiln base beneath the development’s main access road.