An area 45 x 35m in size (Phase 1b) was stripped and excavated by Archaeology South-East in 2017, following a trial-trenched evaluation in 2015 (ECC2848) and focussed on trial trenches 9 & 10 (Colchester Borough Council planning application 146486; note that only an access condition was attached to the planning consent, granted on appeal). Within the mitigation area, a ring-ditch c.26m in diameter (on average 1.25m wide x c.0.36m deep (ranging from 0.21-0.57m), with central cremation burial pit and secondary (off-centre) pit were identified as being Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age in date. The date of the central burial has been corroborated by a radiocarbon sample date of 2275-2035 Cal BC (Beta-472223; 3740±30 BP) obtained from the cremated remains within the central pit (1820g of cremated bone in total). An Early/Middle Bronze Age pit and a scatter of other undated, though probably prehistoric, pits were also present within and to the west of the ring ditch. A small assemblage of broadly Late Neolithic to Middle Bronze Age pottery was recovered from three individual contexts during the excavation. In addition to 16 hand-collected sherds (161g), two small fragments (15g) were recovered from the residue of environmental sample <1> from pit fill [1032]. A total of 25 pieces of struck flint (mainly debitage waste) weighing 222g were also recovered; there was a single modified piece, an end-and-side scraper from pit fill [1033]. Six bulk environmental samples were taken during mitigation work.<1><2> In addition, archaeological monitoring was carried out to the south, in the area fronting London Road. Monitoring during the excavation of foundation trenches for a proposed public house building revealed a stratigraphic sequence of topsoil over subsoil onto gravel and sand naturals, all sealed by modern made-ground deposits. One modern pit and one undated pit were observed in the exposed sections.<3>