Following investigations at the Gosbecks site by the Rev. Henry Jenkins in 1842, and M.R. Hull in the mid twentieth century, a more detailed investigation of the Roman theatre took place in 1967, directed by B.R.K. Dunnett. This excavation provided a plan of the site and a basic understanding of its construction. The 1967 excavations undertaken by the Colchester Excavation Committee were prompted by concerns over the long-tern survival of the site due to building works, gravel extraction and annual ploughing, which were gradually eroding the site. In 1950 the height of the cavea was recorded to be 6 ft.; by 1967, this was only 4.5 ft. Due to time constraints, excavation focused on the western half of the theatre, allowing the whole plan of the theatre to be recreated, presuming the building to be symmetrical. <1>