Chester Roman Amphitheatre
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Chester Amphitheatre is a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
in
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
,
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
. The site is managed by
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
; it is designated as a Grade I
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, and a
scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
. The ruins currently exposed are those of a large stone amphitheatre, similar to those found in Continental Europe, and although it was long believed that a smaller wooden amphitheatre existed on the site beforehand, excavations since 1999 have shown that the wooden grillage is the base of the seating. Today, only the northern half of the structure is exposed; the southern half is covered by buildings, some of which are themselves listed. The amphitheatre is the largest so far uncovered in Britain, and dates from the 1st century, when the Roman fort of
Deva Victrix Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester. The fortress was built by the Legio II ''Adiutrix'' in the 70s AD as the Roman army advanced north ag ...
was founded. It is a peculiarly English myth that the amphitheatre would have been primarily for military training and drill; all the evidence recovered from excavation shows that it was used for
cock fighting A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...
,
bull baiting Bull-baiting is a blood sport involving pitting a bull against dogs. History England Crowds in London during the Royal Entry of James VI and I in March 1604 were entertained by bull-baiting. During the time of Queen Anne, bull-baiting was p ...
and
combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the oppo ...
, including classical boxing,
wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
and, probably most importantly,
gladiatorial combat A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
. The poet Oppian wrote that the Romans inherited the Greek passion for the cockfight, which was held "on anniversaries . . . as a solemn rite", a
consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
, in effect a sacred cockfight, to remind men that they should be "perpetual imitators of the cock". In use through much of the Roman occupation of Britain, the amphitheatre fell into disuse around the year 350. The amphitheatre was only rediscovered in 1929, when one of the pit walls was discovered during construction work. Between 2000 and 2006, excavation of the amphitheatre took place for Chester City Council and, after 2004, English Heritage.


Construction

The first amphitheatre is believed to have been a simple structure built by Legio II ''Adiutrix'' during their brief posting in Chester at some point in the late 70s, but was soon rebuilt by Legio XX ''Valeria Victrix'' when Legio II ''Adiutrix'' were reposted to the Danube region in 86. This amphitheatre fell into disuse when Legio XX were assigned to the construction of
Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...
, and upon their return around 275, the amphitheatre was once again rebuilt. The newer structure consisted of a high stone ellipse, along the
major axis In geometry, the major axis of an ellipse is its longest diameter: a line segment that runs through the center and both foci, with ends at the two most widely separated points of the perimeter. The semi-major axis (major semiaxis) is the lo ...
by along the minor. The major axis lines up approximately along the north-south line, and exits are placed at all four points of the compass; in keeping with most Roman forts of the era, the amphitheatre was placed at the south east corner of the fort. The amphitheatre could easily seat 8,000 people, and around it, a sprawling complex of dungeons, stables and
food stand A food kiosk or food booth (also food stand, temporary food service facility) is generally a temporary structure used to prepare and sell food to the general public, usually where large groups of people are situated outdoors in a park, at a parade ...
s were built to support the contests, while a shrine to Nemesis, goddess of retribution, was built at the north entrance to the arena. The unusually large and developed amphitheatre complex has led historians to speculate that Chester would have become capital of Roman Britain had the Romans successfully captured Ireland.


Dereliction

Following the
Roman departure from Britain The end of Roman rule in Britain was the transition from Roman Britain to post-Roman Britain. Roman rule ended in different parts of Britain at different times, and under different circumstances. In 383, the usurper Magnus Maximus withdrew tr ...
, the amphitheatre once again fell derelict, and the masonry was scavenged from the site leaving only a small depression at the centre of the site, which was used to stage bear fights and
public execution A public execution is a form of capital punishment which "members of the general public may voluntarily attend." This definition excludes the presence of only a small number of witnesses called upon to assure executive accountability. The purpose ...
s, and was eventually completely filled in by
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
and refuse dumping. A
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
house complex known as "
Dee House Dee House is in Little John Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The house is built on the southern part of the site of Chester Amphithea ...
" were built over the south end of the arena, while a
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
called "St. John's House" was built over the north end. Although all records of the amphitheatre were lost, the unfavourable contours of the filled-in amphitheatre prevented roads from passing through the site, preserving the underground remains and allowing the site to later be excavated without the need for extensive demolition.


Rediscovery

Although the existence of an amphitheatre in Chester had been speculated for years, the first evidence for it was discovered in 1929 when gardening works at Dee House revealed a long curved wall. Further works revealed that the structure was largely intact underneath the ground. However, the site of the amphitheatre was covered by buildings and lay in the way of a new planned road, designed to bypass the narrow curved lane that skirted the perimeter. Nevertheless, the Chester Archaeological Society agreed to raise enough money to divert the new road and excavate the arena. Progress was initially slow; the council refused to change the course of the road unless money was raised to fund the substantial demolition work that would be required, and it was not until 1933 that the route of the road was finally changed. In order to fund the excavations, Chester Archaeological Society purchased St. John's House and leased it to the council to fund the dig. The dig was initially scheduled for 1939, but was postponed indefinitely with the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Work resumed in 1957, when the council vacated St. John's House and the Ministry of Works offered a substantial subsidy for excavation. As Dee House was still in use, only the northern half could be excavated. A small area was dug up, and the rest redeveloped as a short-lived park, which was quickly removed to allow further excavation. The badly pillaged and damaged supporting walls were removed and marked with concrete trim and the arena wall was propped up with concrete panels. The amphitheatre remained in this state until 2000, when archaeological work was resumed on the site. Among the finds were the remains of the earlier amphitheatres and of an even older Roman building existing on the site. A number of cooked animal bones and cheaply made Roman pots showing images of gladiator combat were also found, leading a number of historians to suggest that the site was one of the first places to develop
souvenir A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...
s for spectators to buy. The amphitheatre's central, river-side location is very valuable.
Cheshire County Council Cheshire County Council was the county council of Cheshire. Founded on 1 April 1889, it was officially dissolved on 31 March 2009, when it and its districts were superseded by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East. ...
purchased an area to the south of the exposed area for Chester's new
County Court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...
, the northern wing and car park of which were built over the south western corner of the arena. Despite the council's insistence that the court cover as little of the arena as possible, the work was widely unpopular with residents and the press, especially following the Council's previous support of excavation projects. In 2007 the southern half of the amphitheatre remained covered by Dee House and the County Court.


Chester Amphitheatre Project

In January 2004 the Chester Amphitheatre Project was launched, jointly owned, funded and supported by Chester City Council and English Heritage. Its aims were to conduct new excavation and survey, to create a Chester amphitheatre and research centre and to hold an international amphitheatre conference (February 2007). During the summers of 2004 to 2006 excavation was co-directed by Dan Garner (Chester City Council) and Tony Wilmott (
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
). Three areas were tackled: *Area A: on the north-west quadrant of the amphitheatre's seating bank, partially excavated in the 1960s by Thompson; *Area B: south of the eastern entrance in an unexcavated area of the southeastern quadrant of the seating bank; *Area C: in the centre of the unexcavated area of the arena. The work was the subject of an episode of the
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
series ''
Timewatch ''Timewatch'' is a long-running British television series showing documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. It was first broadcast on 29 September 1982 and is produced by the BBC. The ''Timewatch'' brandname is used as a ...
'' and revealed that, contrary to the conclusion drawn by Thompson that a wooden amphitheatre had preceded the stone construction, two separate stone amphitheatres had been built. In the decades around 200AD the amphitheatre appeared to have been largely rebuilt, producing roughly a doubling of the seating capacity. The new massive outer wall sat in a deep foundation trench 2.7m wide penetrating the sandstone bedrock to a depth of over 1.3m. During the excavations, finds included a
coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
from the time of
Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
, the bone hilt of a
Gladius ''Gladius'' () is a Latin word meaning "sword" (of any type), but in its narrow sense it refers to the sword of ancient Roman foot soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those of the Greeks, called '' xiphe'' (plural; singular ''xi ...
and
Samian ware Terra sigillata is a term with at least three distinct meanings: as a description of medieval medicinal earth; in archaeology, as a general term for some of the fine red Ancient Roman pottery with glossy surface slips made in specific areas of t ...
bearing images of hunting and combat. Following further discoveries at the site in 2010, some writers suggested that the amphitheatre was the prototype for
King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
's Round Table, but English Heritage, acting as consultants to a
History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
documentary in which the claim was made, declared that there was no archaeological basis to the story.


Amphitheatre mural

A ''
trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
''
mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
was commissioned in August 2010 by Chester Renaissance to enable visitors to experience the illusion of a complete amphitheatre as well as showing how the original structure may have looked. Archaeologists advised artist
Gary Drostle Gary Drostle (born 1961) is a British artist specialising in public art, sculpture and mosaic as well as mural painting and drawing. He was also President of the British Association for Modern Mosaic, a lecturer at The Chicago Mosaic School. ...
on the original construction and found artefacts from the site. The artist designed an image that spanned the 50 metre walkway wall, starting with a continuation of the current amphitheatre edges that merged seamlessly into the recreation of the original walls and seating towards the centre. The painted ellipsis of the sand covered ground and depiction of the central tethering stone allow a viewer to experience a full immersion in the amphitheatre that was not possible with the previous, blank wall. Details such as the red, marble covered arena wall, position of the doorways and
vomitorium A ''vomitorium'' is a passage situated below or behind a tier of seats in an amphitheatre or a stadium, through which big crowds can exit rapidly at the end of an event. They can also be pathways for actors to enter and leave stage. The Latin wo ...
s and outside walls were all carefully recreated as the evidence suggested. Taking over 6 weeks to complete with two, six metre scaffolding towers and five painters, the public and tourist groups could watch the progression of the mural and interact with the artist and his assistants, the British weather dictating working hours. The mural will be a permanent feature of the amphitheatre. The artist used Keim Mineral Paints, invented in 1878. The system is a liquid silicate paint comprising a
potassium silicate Potassium silicate is the name for a family of inorganic compounds. The most common potassium silicate has the formula K2SiO3, samples of which contain varying amounts of water. These are white solids or colorless solutions.Gerard Lagaly, Werner ...
binder with inorganic fillers (
feldspar Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldsp ...
) and natural earth oxide colour pigments. When applied onto a mineral substrate the binder is absorbed and forms a micro-crystalline silicate structure. This crystalline structure allows the substrate to breathe but prevents the ingress of driven rain.


See also

* List of Scheduled Monuments in Cheshire dated to before 1066 *
List of Roman amphitheatres The remains of at least 230 Roman amphitheatres have been found widely scattered around the area of the Roman Empire. These are large, circular or oval open-air venues with raised 360 degree seating and not to be confused with the more common ...


References


External links


Official website




{{Roman visitor sites in the UK Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century English Heritage sites in Cheshire Roman sites in Cheshire Archaeological sites in Cheshire Grade I listed buildings in Chester Ruins in Cheshire Amphitheatres in Roman Britain History of Chester Scheduled monuments in Cheshire