An archaeological watching brief and partial excavation were undertaken during a small (0.21ha) residential development (with piled foundations) at Topfield, Rawstorn Road, which is part of a known Roman cemetery area in Colchester; four inhumations were defined by trial-trenched evaluation in 2001.<1><4> At least two inhumations (at 1.0m and 1.1m below ground-level) and further possible grave cuts were found on the east side of the site nearest to the St Mary’s hospital site, where other Roman burials have been recorded. All features in the trenches were shallow and sealed by at least 800mm of topsoil. They are most probably outliers to the known Roman cemetery at the adjacent St Mary’s hospital site. Down slope, in the north-western area of the site, waterlogged wooden posts 110mm wide, probably dating to the Iron Age or Roman period, were removed by machine during the digging of a sewer trench 900mm wide x 2.0m deep. <1><2><3> It would seem (from the report) that no timbers were recovered for analysis. Only a small quantity of pottery (1,419 g) was recovered during the watching brief. Almost all of this pottery was unstratified. Apart from a single modern sherd (12 g), all of the pottery (1,407 g) was of Roman date. One patinated flint flake was recovered from a Roman inhumation burial.