The monument includes the visible and buried remains of the northern part of a late Iron Age linear boundary earthwork (Lexden Dyke) located some 2km ENE of Colchester town centre, and lies within two areas of protection. The section of the dyke follows a NNE-SSW alignment for approximately 1.25km to the north of the River Colne. The southern end of Moat Farm Dyke is located at the junction of Baker’s Lane and The Chase Way, some 200m north of the river. From this point northwards to Moat Farm (after which the dyke is named) the bank stands up to 1.5m high and 11m wide and the ditch (to the west of the bank) is 10m wide and 1m deep. The bank has been slighted along the western margin of the farm, and the ditch partly recut as a drainage channel. However, the bank reappears to the south of the railway cutting which bisects the centre of the dyke. To the north of the railway cutting and within the second area of protection, both the bank and ditch continue within a wooded corridor for 250m. Beyond this point the ditch survives as a buried feature, accompanied by the bank which continues northward towards a bend in Baker’s Lane, immediately south of its junction with Braiswick Road. Moat Farm Dyke is similar in design to the Lexden Dyke which follows the same alignment to the south, beyond the Colchester bypass and across Lexden Park. The two dykes are believed to represent a single boundary, originally broken only by the River Colne and its flanking marshes. The Lexden/Moat Farm Dyke is thought to be the third boundary constructed during the development of the oppidum of Camulodunum, added to the north of Heath Farm Dyke in the period 25-10 BC to provide a single barrier between the Roman River and the Colne. The boundary would have secured the approaches to the high status burial ground at Lexden (to the west of modern Colchester) and the industrial zone at Sheepen (to the north west). The outbuildings alongside No 14 Baker’s Lane and all fences and fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included. <1>