A trial trench, 30m long x 1.5m wide, was excavated in the rear garden of 3, Oxford Road, in advance of a proposal to erect a house. The work revealed Roman road metalling and adjacent structural features with indications of several phases of activity. Archaeologically sensitive material was exposed throughout the length of this trench. The highest clearly defined point was a septaria boulder (F7) near the eastern end, the tip of which lay 0.3m below the present ground-level. Elsewhere in the trench, post-Roman and possibly late Roman dark topsoils extended to 0.6m depth before any soil change was clearly discernible. The investigation was too limited to establish the function of the structures but possible interpretations include roadside houses, workshops and monuments. In addition, an adjoining area of 108 square metres within the probable footprint for a new house was stripped of topsoil to a predetermined depth of 0.3m <1>