Archaeological monitoring and recording at 12 Roman Road, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1UR: August 2016

Archaeological monitoring and recording was carried out at 12 Roman Road, Colchester, Essex in advance of the construction of a single-storey rear extension. The development site is located within the Roman town of Colonia Claudia Victriensis and backs onto the Roman town wall (scheduled monument NHLE no 1003772).
Groundworks revealed modern/post-Roman layers (L1/L2) for a depth of approximately 800mm. Most groundworks did not penetrate below this depth. However, the soakaway in the south-eastern corner of the garden was excavated to a depth of 1.25m. Beneath L1/L2 was a layer of Roman accumulation (L3) sealing a silty-loam (L4) that may represent the upper part of the Roman earthen rampart which was piled up behind the town wall.