Archaeological monitoring and recording was undertaken in November 2017 during the groundworks for a rear extension (Colchester Borough Council planning application 162597). The garden sloped steeply towards the house and an area c.42.9m² to the rear of the property had to be reduced to a level surface before foundation trenches could be excavated. At the highest point, where ground reduction began, 1.5m of soil was removed; at the lowest point, 0.3m of soil was removed. Ground reduction occurred through three layers. Modern topsoil (L1, c.0.53-0.55m thick) sealed a layer of subsoil/hillwash (L2, c.0.76-0.8m thick) which in turn sealed a further layer of subsoil (L3). The foundation trench, excavated after the ground reduction/levelling, measured 21m in length x 0.4m in width and 1.4-2m in depth. The trenching encountered four layers: L1 (c.0.5-0.53m thick) sealed a layer of mixed L2 and L3 (c.0.78-1.01m thick). This layer sealed a layer of mixed hillwash and natural (L4, c.0.31-0.42m thick), which in turn lay upon a layer of naturally-deposited sands and gravels. No archaeological remains were defined.<1>