It lies in undeveloped land, offering the prospect of a site undisturbed in modern times, with much scope for investigators.
[2] In the 2010s about a dozen skeletons from the 1930–31 excavation were re-identified in the collections of the Manchester Museum, the majority exhibiting severe trauma injuries.
[4] There are also indications of a river bridge in the area,[4] and evidence of trade in coal (dated to about AD 200) has been found at the inland port.
Archaeological excavations have uncovered a post-Roman mass grave beneath the defensive earthwork, which may hold Northumbrian casualties of the Battle of Chester.
Second, D-shaped defensive compounds sited beside rivers, such as the Heronsgate earthwork, are a recognised feature of the Viking Age.