Watching Brief at 16 Eardulph Avenue, Chester le Street, County Durham (Rev2)

Planning permission was granted for the development of a new building extension to the rear of 16 Eardulph Avenue Roman Avenue, Chester le Street, County Durham (Planning Reference: DM/23/03759/FPA), on land centred at National Grid Reference NZ 27762 51083. The proposed development comprised the demolition of the existing detached garage and construction of a single storey extension to the rear of the property and a two storey extension to the side. Pre-Construct Archaeology was commissioned by Nikki Conlon to undertake archaeological monitoring and recording to mitigate the impact of the excavation of the foundation trench for the new extensions. Three phases of activity were encountered: Phase 1: Superficial geology; Phase 2: Roman; Phase 3: Modern. Phase 1 represents the superficial geological deposits which were observed across the extent of the foundation trench. Phase 2 represents Roman period remains of a cobbled surface which was exposed in the western arm of the foundation trench. A single sherd of Romano-British pottery and a copper-alloy object with glass setting comparable to Romano-British jewellery items were recovered from the matrix of the surface. The site lies to the southeast of the Roman fort at Chester-le Street lies, and it was considered likely to be within the associated Roman settlement which extended from the fort. Similar cobbled surfaces, recorded as Roman roads, have been recorded to the east of the site at 17a Roman Avenue (D5907) and 19 Roman Avenue (PCA 2024a). It is possible this surface at 16 Eardulph Avenue formed part of a minor road or trackway within the Roman settlement, but due to the truncation by the field drain and the limited extents of the foundation trench, it was not possible to determine any alignment to consider any relation to other known Roman roads in the area. Phase 3 represents modern made ground and levelling deposits associated with the construction of the housing on Roman Avenue, which were observed across the foundation trench. The made ground deposit (1000) contained a small and fragmentary assemblage of redeposited artefacts dating from the Roman to modern periods, and is likely associated with the preparation of the wider area for the construction of the residential housing in the 1930s.