A strip, map and record excavation was carried out by Colchester Archaeological Trust in Match 2015 on land adjacent to 20 St Clare Road, Colchester, in advance of the construction of a new dwelling. The footprint of the proposed dwelling and associated service trench were excavated using a mechanical excavator equipped with a toothless ditching bucket. <1> In the north of the site, a layer of topsoil that had been mixed with sand and gravel from the underlying geology (L1) overlaid the original topsoil (L2). It is probable that L1 was the upcast soil sand and gravel from the excavation of the foundation trenches for 20 St Clare Road and/or the swimming pool to the west of the site (Fig 2). The original topsoil (L2) was a medium grey/brown sandy-silt which contained very few inclusions other than rounded stones. L2 overlaid the natural geology, which was a compact orange/brown sand (L3). Two sherds of Roman pottery were recovered from L2, and a flint blade, which probably dates to the early Neolithic, was recovered from the interface between L2 and an area of natural sandy-silt. The excavation revealed a ditch and six pits, all thought to be of of post-medieval/modern date.