Post-Roman
The environs of the former amphitheatre
The important pre-Conquest church of St John the Baptist lies immediately east of the amphitheatre (indeed, the ruined northwest tower partly overlies its outer wall). It has a legendary seventh-century foundation date (not reported until the High Middle Ages and perhaps an incorrect guess). Refounded as a short-lived Cathedral after the Conquest, it nevertheless remained the most important (if impoverished) parish church in the city.
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Worn steps up to tribunal over eastern entrance |
Its location outside the walled enclosure is, however, anomalous. There are three possible (and not necessarily mutually exclusive) explanations for this. Firstly, the amphitheatre may have formed the focus of a sub-Roman high-status fortified dwelling that became the focus for population in the Middle Saxon period. Secondly, if the supposed foundation date for St John’s is correct, it may have been an important topographical feature in a Middle Saxon wic site to the southeast of the old Roman fortress. This area may have suffered depopulation and contraction following the establishment of the burh based inside the walled enclosure in 907. This could parallel the sequence of development in London, where Middle Saxon Lundenwic lay to the west of the old Roman city, along The Strand, but the late ninth-century urban development of Lundenburh returned to the walled area. Thirdly, the church may have developed from a Late Roman martyrium, a point of some significance if the martyrs Aaron and Julius can be attributed to Chester.
Could there have been a direct or even causal relationship between the amphitheatre and St John’s church? While it is possible that the ruined structure was merely a conveniently located quarry for building stone, other possible associations could be explored. Was there, for instance, a continuing tradition of Christian martyrdom on the site? May there have been a nearby cemetery (perhaps even including a ruinous late Roman martyrium)? Given the possible evidence for sub-Roman use of the structure, could there have been common property ownership, with St John’s church originating as an élite chapel?
The church is thought to have lain in the area described by Domesday Book (Morgan 1978, C1) as in burgo episcopi (‘in the Bishop’s borough’). That the burgum episcopi lay hereabout can hardly be questioned, as St John Street and Little St John Street are referred to as Bishopstrete in 1499 (Dodgson 1981, 77). This is problematical as the same Domesday entry mentions the manor of Redeclive (Redcliff), a placename that survived into the thirteenth century and which is known to have described the area around St John’s (Dodgson 1981, 80). It is possible that the burgum episcopi was the part of Redcliff that lay in the Bishop’s ownership. If this were the case, then the name cannot predate 1075, when the See was transferred from Lichfield to Chester and has no bearing on the Middle Saxon status of this part of Chester, unless a recent suggestion that Chester was the base for a Saxon chorepiscopus (Matthews forthcoming) can be substantiated.
Question 23: was there any connection between the amphitheatre and the postulated Middle Saxon settlement east of the later city?
Building plans and construction
Owing to the method of excavation used to clear the arena of post-Roman deposits in the 1960s, nothing is known of structures in and around the site until the first detailed maps of the area were produced in the nineteenth century.
Question 24: what was the nature of activity in and around the amphitheatre in the post-Roman period?
Function
It is not known how long the masonry of the amphitheatre remained structurally viable and how much use was made of it while it remained in this condition. Nevertheless, it is a priori reasonable to assume that some use was made of the walling; what sorts of uses might have been made could be retrieved through careful examination of the stratigraphy surviving to the south.
Question 25: is there any indication that the amphitheatre ruins were used during the sub-Roman and Saxon periods?
Dating
The dates of the various changes in the fortunes of the amphitheatre after its abandonment ad c 350 are completely unknown. To the north, the outer and concentric walls were largely robbed during the post-Roman period, while to the south there is evidence for their collapse and the survival of tumble. The dates at which these events occurred cannot be determined on present evidence.