The excavation of Area C2 was undertaken by the Colchester Archaeological Trust in 2004, ahead of the development of the Garrison Alienated Land (GAL), Colchester Garrison. The assessment of the excavation is presented in CAT report 361 and the analysis in CAT report 412.<1><2> Area C2 comprised a 0.68ha, roughly triangular area in the angle of the crossroads between Napier Road and Circular Road East, to the south of Flagstaff House. The area included tarmac parking and grassed areas, single-storey military huts and other facilities. The buildings were demolished ahead of the archaeological investigation. The archaeological investigation consisted of an area excavation totalling 1950m², following three evaluation trenches. The area was dominated by a large, late Roman cemetery and also revealed a short section of the remains of the Roman circus. Other archaeological activity included the remains of a single Early Bronze Age pit, a Roman droveway/track, a number of post-medieval pits, and some modern/military features. The earliest cut feature on Area C2 dates from the Early to Middle Bronze Age period and consists of an isolated pit, containing a single Peterborough ware sherd, a quantity of Beaker pottery and burnt 'domestic' refuse. The remains of the southern east-west orientated cavea crossed the far northern edge of the Area C2 excavation. The foundation of the outer wall was relatively well preserved (the remains of one of the buttresses survived to just above former ground level where its face proved to have been constructed with neatly squared off greensand ashlar blocks), whereas the inner foundation (found in a narrow extension trench) had been completed robbed out. Various surfaces survived hard up against the south side of the circus. There were several other features and finds which appear to have been associated with the circus, including a post-hole (for scaffolding?) that contained cremated human bone. A small Roman ditch lay parallel to the foundations and a metre north of the outer cavea wall. 67 Roman burials and burial-related features were recorded to the south of the Roman circus within Area C2. These features consisted of 26 inhumation burials (including a burial within a lead coffin), 22 unurned cremation burials, 11 urned cremation burials, 5 burial pits containing pyre debris, 2 boxed cremation burials and one disturbed unurned/urned cremation burial. One of the probable unurned cremation burials was recovered from machine spoil. A disturbed inhumation also contained a quantity of cremated bone. The burials ranged in date from the early-mid 2nd to the 4th century, with the majority of the closely dated graves dating from the mid/late 3rd to the 4th century. The 67 burials and related features from the site were divided into two distinct burial plots, which were delineated by two boundary ditches and a droveway or track. Unusually, 8 of the cremation burials from Burial Plot 1 were associated with barrows. These generally consisted of a central burial enclosed by a ring ditch, the up-cast from which would presumably have formed form a visible mound of earth over the burial. One of the unurned cremation burials and the two inhumation burials from Burial Plot 2 were associated with a mausoleum. Other Roman activity on Area C2 consisted of seventeen pits, six ditches, three post-holes, one pot scatter, one pit/post-hole, one pit/ditch, one quarry-pit and one gully. The military features dated to the Second World War and consisted of two trenches, four air-raid bunkers (only two of which were numbered), a communication trench which linked three of the bunkers and an unnumbered pit containing a stash of carefully stacked Home Guard petrol bombs. Full recording of two extant World War II air-raid bunkers located in the northern area of the site, adjacent to Napier Road, was undertaken in May 2004 ahead of their removal (CAT Report 319).<3> The excavation was subsequently followed by a watching brief in 2007 (ECC3737).<4>