Stage 2 archaeological excavation of 'Area H' (former Royal Artillery Barracks) of the Colchester Garrison Alienated Land was carried out by Colchester Archaeological Trust in 2012-13 in advance of redevelopment by Taylor Wimpey. Two areas were selected for excavation: Area H1 covered 810m² and Area H2 705m². The excavations revealed two distinct Roman cemetery areas. The first was centred on Area H1 on the northern edge of the site, and the second on Area H2 to the southwest. In total, 224 Roman burials were excavated along with 66 pits containing pyre debris, five disturbed burial features and 26 possible burial features.<1> Cemetery Area H1 – A total of 85 burials were excavated, divided into 67 inhumation burials, 16 urned cremation burials and two unurned cremation burials. Other burial features included two burial pits containing pyre debris and nine possible burial features. The full extent of the cemetery area to the north, west and east was not discovered during the excavation (an inhumation (HF179) and a possible burial feature (HF94) were identified further to the west of Area H1 during associated groundworks). Dating from the 2nd to the late 3rd/4th century, at least five distinct burial plots were visible, defined by an east-west boundary ditch, three irregular north-south boundaries and a square double-ditched enclosure. Virtually all of the inhumations were aligned on these boundaries. There were three phases of burial, 1) east-west inhumations, 2) north-south inhumations, 3) cremations. In the centre of the square double-ditched enclosure (burial plot 5), the cemetery contained the remains of a mausoleum (defined by a rubble platform HF668; there was no trace of the superstructure) with a single inhumation HF674 buried beneath (an adult male in a coffin); the grave appeared to have been robbed. Two ring ditches (HF635 and HF502) were associated with possible barrow burials; pottery from the later ditch dated from the mid 2nd to the 3rd/early 4th century. On the southern edge of the cemetery, there was a smaller outlying burial plot (to the south of boundary ditch HF184/HF399). It is also possible that the three irregular north-south boundaries contained later inhumations which would increase the total number of inhumations from the site, but these were difficult to distinguish. Human bone had only survived in 31% of the burials with adults and children. Inhumations: 46% were buried in coffins and 42% contained burial goods, including a child buried with jet medusa pendant and copper-alloy armlets, and another inhumation containing a wide variety of ironwork and other metal and non-metal items. Cremations: All of the 16 urned cremations were buried in jars, only five contained burial goods. In addition to the burial features in Area H1, there were 18 pits to the north of boundary ditch HF399. Six contained small quantities of Roman material, dated from the 2nd century onwards. Twelve were empty and may date to this period. To the south of boundary ditch HF399, nine substantial pits were cut in a line along the length of the ditch. All but two contained fragments of Roman ceramic building material and building stone, with three in particular (HF538, HF581, HF628) containing significant quantities of both. Four could be dated from the mid 2nd century onwards making them broadly contemporary with the outlying burial plot, but their relationship to the burials could not be determined. Pit HF522 was also identified to the far southeast of the site. Seventeen postholes were excavated in the southwest corner of the site. They could be related to the ring-ditch, the burials or the later post-Roman well. Some appear to be in straight fence lines that cut across both the ring ditch and burial plots 1-2 (meaning they could be post-Roman in date). A large feature (HF454) located in the southwest corner of the site was partially excavated to a safe depth and then augured to a total depth of 2.2m but the bottom of the feature was not reached. Thought to be a well, it was surrounded by eleven postholes forming a fence line. No dating evidence was recovered from this feature. In addition, six pits and several service trenches and patches of disturbance all date to the modern period and are probably associated with military activity on the garrison. Cemetery Area H2 – A total of 139 burials were excavated, divided into 97 inhumation burials, 29 urned cremation burials, 10 unurned cremation burials and three busta burials/pyre pits (HF156, HF188 and HF200). Other burial features included 64 pits containing pyre debris, five disturbed cremations/pits containing pyre debris, and 17 possible burial features. This is a continuation of the cemetery area identified during excavations on Area J1 North (CAT Report 412), which was bounded to the south by a Roman road (the full extent of the cemetery area to the east and west was not identified during either of the excavations on Area J1 North or Area H2).<2> The cemetery appears to have been in fairly constant use from the mid 1st to the 3rd century, with only two burials (in J1 North) dating to the 4th century. Possible burial plots were identified on J1 North (i.e. to the south of the current site), but a single small square-ditched enclosure was the only sub-division apparent on H2; it was difficult to ascertain if any of the three burials found within it (an urned cremation, a small inhumation and a burial pit containing pyre debris) were actually contemporary with the enclosure or later additions (at least five Roman inhumations and ten cremations had been dug into the ditches of the enclosure after they had been backfilled). Two ring ditches (HF218 and HF351) associated with two possible barrow burials were also identified, but it was not possible to determine if there were any internal features associated with either ring ditch. Human bone had only survived in 40% of the burials. Inhumations: 27% were buried in coffins and 27% contained burial goods. Cremations: Twenty-three of the 29 urned cremations were buried in jars with those remaining buried in bowls. Only 13 contained burial goods. Busta/Pyre sites: A single bustum burial and two pyre sites from H2, in addition to those excavated on J1 North, brings the total for the cemetery area to eleven busta and seven pyre sites. They date from the mid 1st to the 2nd century. There were several non-burial features on Area H2 that probably date to the Roman period: 21 pits, ten postholes and one gully (some of the postholes may have been burial-markers). In addition to the Roman burials, there were three pits from Area H1 (HF384, HF411, HF615) and a tree-throw from Area H2 (HF280) containing Late Bronze Age pottery (108 sherds weighing 2270g). The remaining prehistoric pottery from the site (comprising 87 sherds at 739g) was recorded residually in later features and layers scattered across the site. The excavation followed stage 1a evaluation in 2002 (ECC2554) and stage 1b evaluation in 2007 (ECC2718).<3><4>