A pre-determination trial-trenched evaluation was undertaken by Colchester Archaeological Trust in 2011 at the Northern Growth Area Urban Extension (NGAUE, Chesterwells), Colchester. This work followed a fieldwalking survey (ECC2992) and geophysical survey (ECC2993). The trenching covered 64ha. in a combination of arable and rough pasture. The specified 2% sample of the evaluation site (7,470m @1.8m wide) was achieved by cutting 249 trenches, each 1.8m wide and (generally) 30m long (the NGAUE site is 110 ha. in total area). It had two aims: to test some of concentrations of fieldwalking finds and geophysical survey anomalies, and to provide a broad evaluation coverage of NGAUE. Archaeological features were thinly spread across the site. 94 of the 249 trenches contained archaeological features (ie. 38% of all trenches). <1> The trenching of the geophysical survey anomalies (A1/A2, A4) was generally inconclusive – no kiln sites were found, although a number of anomalies were located which were later trial-trenched. The trenching of the significant scatter of medieval pottery in A1 did not reveal a kiln site, but did identify areas of burning and gravel surface which are likely to be associated with the kilns (T242, T244: TL 9885 2850). The southern end of the same scatter produced only low quantities of medieval pottery: T248, T249. Trenching of the significant scatter in A2 did not produce any significant results. Trenching of the significant scatter of Roman brick/tile in A3 (FWS box D48, T159: NGR TL 9845 2775) revealed rows of post-medieval bricks set in clay, burnt debris and layers of broken tiles. Given that this field is named ‘Kiln Field’, and that (retrospectively) the trench position coincides with an area of burnt ground identifiable on Google Earth), the finds in T159 are best explained as part of a structure adjacent to a post-medieval kiln. The size of the patch of burnt ground on Google Earth is approximately 40m across. The presence of Roman tile on the field surface is unexplained, unless it had been deliberately incorporated into the structure of the post-medieval kiln. Trenching results on other parts of NGAUE Significant trenching results in other parts of NGAUE are as follows: In A2, T64 exposed a prehistoric ditch which may be part of an Iron Age ring-ditch. In A5, T196 revealed a pit containing fragments from sixteen smashed Roman pots mixed in with cremated human bone. This may have been a Roman cremation burial, but (the report suggests) the number of separate pots involved makes a more general ‘ritual’ interpretation attractive. It is unlikely that this was an isolated feature, and other Roman burial/ritual activity may be located nearby. In A6, T237 exposed a ditch which contained over 1kg of Late Iron Age or early Roman pottery. This must come from a local (but unknown) Roman site, which may be close to T237. The evaluation followed a desk-based assessment by Colchester Archaeological Trust (CAT Report 583, March 2011). <2>