A watching brief was held during renovation work at No's 33-34 St Botolph's Street. Observation of a contractors trench for a pier base revealed a series of largely sterile archaeological deposits. The trench was situated towards the rear of the property, and measured approx. 1.25m square, on a NNE/SSW alignment. The deposits in the sides of the trench consisted largely of dark greyish brown topsoil or 'dark earth' approximately 2m thick. The exact nature of this topsoil was uncertain. The 'dark earth' sealed a greyish layer, largely consisting of mortar and rubble. It was not possible to examine the thickness of this deposit due to the proximity of the water table at this level. No dating evidence for the rubble was obtained. <1>