A History of the County of Chester: Volume I: Physique, Prehistory, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Domesday (Victoria County History)

This volume deals with aspects of the very early history of Cheshire. Successive chapters on Physique, Prehistory, the Roman Period, Anglo-Saxon Cheshire, and the Cheshire Domesday (an introduction and a translation of the text) provide an outline of events up to the late 11th century. The deposition and evolution of the rocks and soils of the county provided the physical framework for human activity and the raw materials for man's exploitation. A notable instance is the beds of salt which have been worked at least from the Roman period and have caused subsidence in modern times; another is the Mid-Cheshire Ridge which has been a feature as much of the history as of the landscape of the county, with the dramatic site of Beeston castle showing evidence of significant occupation in successive ages. From cairns, barrows, and hillforts to arrowheads and beads, the evi-dence of prehistoric activity is comprehensively surveyed. In the Roman period the legionary fortress at Chester dominates the scene, but systematic consideration is also given to the evidence of civil settlement at Chester and elsewhere, of com-munications, and of industry. For the Anglo-Saxon period, archaeological, documentary, and place-name evidence is brought together to show the origins, associations, and organization of early English society in the county. That chapter leads naturally into the discussion of what can be learned from the Cheshire Domesday, which is evaluated within a wider context to which it brings new insights. Gazetteers supplement the discussion of archaeological sites and finds, and an abundance of line drawings illustrates the text.