Roman Gravestone 18

This gravestone is one of several in Chester which show the dead enjoying a banquet in the afterlife. Curatia holds a drinking cup, and has a small 3-legged table in front of her couch. The two birds perched on garlands of leaves were thought to bring good fortune and to represent the soul's freedom to escape. The tritons, blowing seashell horns, reflect the belief that the souls of the dead travelled across the ocean to the Isles of the Blessed. The translation of the inscription reads: 'To the memory of the departed, Curatia Dinysia aged 40 years; erected by her heir'.

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The Glover Stone

The Glover Stone once stood at the corner of Bunce Street and Castle Street, where it had two uses: the first was as a boundary marker and the second as a place for glovers to prepare skins for making gloves by scraping them on the stone. Criminals sentenced in the castle's county court were taken here by the constable to be handed over to the city's sheriffs. They were then carted to Boughton for execution, or, if the crime was sufficiently petty, to be whipped around the city. The stone disappeared in the late eighteenth century, but has been tentatively identified by local historian Gordon Emery as the one shown in the photo below, now located in the Water Tower Gardens. Certainly, the stone is of bluestone, and must have been brought some distance.

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Roman Lead Ingots II

Others of the lead ingots in the Grosvenor Museum bear decipherable inscriptions. The one shown below was found in 1838 2km east of the city centre near Tarvin Bridge. The inscription on the top reads:-

IMP.VESP.V.T.III.COS

'made when the Emperor Vespasian was consul for the fifth time and the Emperor Titus was consul for the third time', which dates it to AD 74
On the other side is:-

DECEANGL

'from the territory of the Deceangli'. The Deceangli were the tribe who lived in north-eastern Wales, and most of the lead mines were on their territory.

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Veterinary Therapy Centre

One of the most interesting places I have visited recently is the Veterinary Therapy Centre just outside Chester, in Capenhurst. Here dogs recovering from spinal problems can be rehabilitated by exercising in a tank of water. There is a treadmill in the base of the tank, and the water level can be raised or lowered to suit the size of the dog. Leahurst, the Veterinary college featured in the recent series presented by Rolf Harris for the BBC, refers some of its' patients to this facility. There website is here: http://www.vettherapycentre.co.uk

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Arbol

There is a new shop open on Northgate Street, an offshoot of Ovo. Called Arbol house, it offers an eclectic range of homeware and gifts. I thought it might be called Arbol because of chilli de arbol (tree chilli), but no, it is just the Spanish word for tree, therefore tree house, geddit? They do have a website, but it isn't quite fully up and running yet, at www.arbolhouse.com

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Roman Lead Ingots

There are a number of Roman lead ingots on display in the Grosvenor Museum. Lead-bearing ores were very important to the Romans, not just for the lead, but because silver often occurs in the same veins. Romans mined for lead and silver in the hills of Flintshire, a few km west of Chester, and exported it widely. The pig (ingot) below weighs 87kg, and was found buried beneath the surface of the Roodee. Close to it were oaken piles, Roman pottery, and coins, suggesting there may have been a jetty  and the pig was dropped overboard.

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Baking

Wednesday is Baking Day at the Wesleyan Methodist, and last week I went to take a look. I last went over a year ago, and the standard has definitely improved. Perhaps ambitions and enthusiasm have been fuelled by all those 'Great British Bake Off' TV programs.

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