Excavations took place on the site of the former St Mary's Rectory following its acquisition by Colchester Borough Council for the development of a new civic theatre (Mercury Theatre). The trenches were located in the proposed approach area to the theatre. The excavations lasted seven weeks from October to December 1967, during which time much of the lawn was excavated down to the natural subsoil and a section cut across the rampart behind the town wall. The excavations revealed four phases of activity discoveries included pits, buildings destroyed during the Boudican revolt and two later Roman houses.<1><2>