Each year in May Cheshire West and Chester Council in partnership with the University of Chester run an archaeological training excavation for second year archaeology students. Covid-19 prevented the summer plans but following the introduction of new safety measures the excavations will once again return to Grosvenor Park for two weeks between 21 September and 2 October. Visitors are welcome to view the activities, with social distancing being maintained and can ask questions at an information point. There will also be information panels around the site.
Grosvenor Park was chosen because it sits next to two significant historical monuments, the Roman amphitheatre and the medieval Church of St John the Baptist. Both have had an influence on the development of the Park and more importantly what lies beneath. So far the students have discovered: a Roman road leading across the Park to the amphitheatre, a large building destroyed during the English Civil War and two very wide ditches. The building seems to have been associated with St John’s, probably part of the medieval hospital and chapel of St Anne which was acquired by Sir Hugh Cholmondeley in the late 16th century and developed as part of his grand home in the city.
Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council said: “The annual excavation was one more in the list of events and activities that looked like being lost this year. It’s great news that the work can continue, being able to offer this type of hands on experience at an archaeology rich site is part of what makes Chester so special. The Council has been working closely with the University to ensure students can return to Chester in a safe manner and the plans in place for this activity show how seriously the pandemic has been taken and the measures that are in place to keep students, lecturers and residents safe.”
Said Dr Amy Jones, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Chester: “We are really pleased that we can now offer our students a training excavation after our plans in May were necessarily cancelled. Last year the students uncovered rare evidence of late Saxon activity in Chester – a possible boundary ditch that may pre-date the foundation of Chester’s Saxon burh (fortification) in 907 AD – so they are naturally excited to contribute to our understanding of Chester’s history with their work this month”.
Updates will be provided throughout the excavation from the History & Archaeology Department’s social media channels (@HistArchChester on Instagram and Twitter and @Archaeology Chester on Facebook). There are also plans to produce regular video updates for social media and potentially some live video updates.
Further information will be available on the students’ Dig Blog during the excavation at:
http://univchester-parkdig.blogspot.co.uk
Acknowledgement: We would like to thank RINGWAY for their generous support in making both a JCB and dumper truck available to this project.
The archaeologists from CWAC’s Cultural Service (Grosvenor Museum) will be starting a new project on Monday 3 June 2019 to wash the finds from the archaeological excavations that have taken place in Grosvenor Park, Chester. These excavations have so far uncovered a Roman road that once led to the east entrance of the amphitheatre; a large stone building, perhaps part of the medieval hospital and chapel of St. Anne destroyed during the Civil War; a huge ditch which is c.2.5m deep!
Thursday 2 May 2019 will see archaeologists from Cheshire West and Chester Council and the University of Chester begin their annual training dig for the University’s 2nd year archaeology students. 
Are you interested in the archaeology of Chester? Would you like some hands-on archaeology experience but don’t have time to volunteer during the week?
In August 2018 the Grosvenor Museum started a new project which aims to bring the HQ archaeology project archive to a condition that meets the museum’s and Historic England’s ‘accessible archive’ standards.
