Archaeology
Roof tile with stamp of 20th legion
In 1993 archaeologists from National Museums Liverpool examined the line of the new A5300 road between Tarbock and Speke Boulevard, on the eastern edge of Liverpool.
Several new sites were discovered. These included a previously unknown Roman site close to the M62 Tarbock interchange. At first this appeared to be a simple farmstead with a rectangular enclosure ditch containing a rectangular building within it. There were also a number of pits on the site which had been used to dispose of rubbish such as broken pottery and tile. These finds suggested it was occupied in the 2nd century AD.
However the discovery of quantities of Roman tile, some of it distorted and wasted, alongside burnt clay was unexpected at a rural site in the north west. Amongst the tile were a few bearing legionary stamps for the Roman army's 20th legion, based in Chester. There were two different stamps, both of which were found in Chester but not at Holt, the well known legionary tile factory on the river Dee.
A pit under excavation on the banks of the Ochre brook, with Romano-British pottery and a tile in it.
One of the Tarbock stamps is the only British tile stamp with a date, the 3rd consulship of Verus in Rome, equivalent to AD 167. This stamp also referred to one Aulus Viducus, who was probably a contractor making tiles for the legion, perhaps for a short period. He shipped his products to Chester where they were used to re-roof barracks buildings for the 20th legion after they returned to the fortress from the Antonine wall.
Although no kilns were found, the distorted tile and waste clay suggest they lay close by. Some of the pottery from the site was also locally made.
Other finds from the site included a stilus (a writing instrument), or writing instrument, and a ferrule (a metal ring or cap), probably for the end of a staff.