Roman Derby
The flood barrier protecting Little Chester.
here is much evidence to suggest
that as early as 80AD, a Roman fort
existed besides the River Derwent, at
Little Chester, which the Romans
called Derventio. Archaeological
excavations of the site revealed that
the defences of the fort were
rectangular in shape, enclosing an
estimated area of seven acres, being
surrounded by two deep ditches
placed l00 ft apart. A clay rampart
was later added, and later still the site
was reinforced with a thick stone wall
some I0ft to I5ft high.
he playing field and car-park at
the junction of City Road and old
Chester Road is probably where the
main headquarters building stood. it
is also thought that several other
buildings occupied the site, including
an infirmary, an armoury and other
smaller units making the whole site
of Little Chester self-sufficient.
lthough no inscriptions have yet
been found at Little Chester, there are
references from other ancient sources
where the later name Derbentione,
appears between Lutudarum and
Salinac in a seventh-century town
listings (the Ravenna Cosmography).
The only indication as to how many
soldiers were stationed on the site lies
in the size of the fort, which covered
seven acres and therefore had to have
housed one of the bigger auxiliary
forts. The largest cavalry units (Alla
Milliaria), meaning a thousand
horsemen, was believed to be
stationed in Britain, at Stanwix, on
Hadrian's Wall. The unit appearing to
be most suitably placed at Little
Chester would have been a Cohors
Equitata Milliaria, which consisted of
ten centuries of infantry, and in total
five of these units were stationed in
Britain.
The Coach and Horses Public House, Chester Green
uch of the site at Little Chester
has been excavated, although there is
almost certainly a great deal yet to be
uncovered. Some interesting finds,
however, have surfaced at the site,
amongst which is a grindstone block,
crudely carved in the shape of a
shrine containing within it the nude
figure of a horned man. This was
found in the last century by a
gardener digging near the River
Derwent. This grindstone block, known
as the Mercury Stone, has so far been
the only carving found at the site, and
although originally the figure was
thought to represent the Roman god,
Mercury, it is now believed to be the
horned god of the Brigantes whose
cult became combined with that of
the Roman deity. The Mercury Stone
is at present on display, at Derby
Museum and Art Gallery. The carved
stone figure is also believed by many
to represent a horned god of fertility,
worshipped by ancient pagans and
still held sacred by modern-day
witches.
n November 1978, a burial ground
was discovered when trees and
undergrowth were being removed by
bulldozers on the Racecourse Playing
Fields. This ancient graveyard is
believed to have existed on the east
side of the encampment as Roman
law stated that no burials, except
those of young children, were allowed
within town. Other burial grounds
were also uncovered on the
Racecourse. One particular grave site,
containing both inhumations and
cremations, had unusual features:
several of the interments had been
mutilated prior to or whilst being
buried; the left hand of one had been
severed; others had been decapitated
and in several cases the heads had
been placed between the knees; two
others had been buried face down.
he reason for these strange rites at
the time of burial perhaps dates back
to an old superstitious belief concerning
witches and dark sorcery.
When a dead person was believed to
have been a witch or black magician,
or in any way connected with magic
and witchcraft, it was the custom to
bury them face down or remove their
head in order that they should not
rise from the grave and haunt the
living.
nother grave site, not far
from where the mutilated remains
were found, consisted of three male
bodies, one of which was found to
have two coins placed upon him.
These coins were probably placed
there in the belief that they would be
accepted by the deity Charon, whose
job it was to ferry the souls of the
dead across the dark waters of the
River Styx on their journey to the
Underworld.
any buildings at Chester Green,
especially those buildings close to the
remains of the excavated Roman
encampment, are known to be
haunted. One interesting story comes
from a lady who lives in a house
whose history probably dates back to
a time when part of the building was
used for storage by the Romans,
Although the ghost has not made a
personal appearance he, or she, has
manifested themselves in other ways.
The ghost frequently clears away
household rubbish, closes opened
curtains in the living room, and has
been known on several occasions to
wash dirty crockery, much to the
appreciation of the owner.
nother instance, seemingly more
frightening, is the appearance of a
spectre which is said to resemble a
Roman centurion. One Derby man
claims to have seen this figure one
dark, foggy winter's evening whilst
walking home from work. "The
ghost," I was informed, 'Just glared at
me with very large eyes." This
gentleman went on to state that he
had not waited about to question the
apparition but had hurried home to
the waiting comfort of his front room
and a stiff drink.
any times over the last decade, I
have received requests from people
living in the Chester Green area, who
have asked me to investigate a
haunting that they feel they might
have. Several of these people had
indeed disturbed forces within their
homes, whilst others were perhaps
suffering from over-active imaginations.
One of Little Chester's Roman Wells
ther ghosts have been seen in the
area, including a whole regiment of
Roman soldiers, seen and heard
marching one night near the River
Derwent. The apparition of a ghostly
child with snow-white hair has been
observed near the site of a Roman
well. One lady who has lived in the
area for many years claims that the
area of Little Chester has always had
the reputation of being haunted by
sinister things. This lady also claims
that since excavations have been
carried out in the area in 1978, even
more ghosts have been seen. She
further stated that the excavations has
disturbed spirits which would of been
best left untroubled, in what should
of been their final resting places.
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The information on this page is supplied courtesy of Wayne Anthony (author) and Richard Felix (local historian).
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