During excavations at the Lion Walk United Reformed Church in 1984 (ECC378) a Roman timber drain of unusual construction was discovered situated between a north-south street (MCC738) and an adjacent footway (MCC1336). The west side of the drain was formed by an earlier foundation made of septaria set in mortar whilst the east side was simply the accumulation of layers through which the trench for the drain was cut. The sides, base and top would have been formed of planks laid lengthways. All that survived of these was four stains probably left by the battens to which the base of the drain had been fixed. The eastern end of the northern foundation of an adjacent building (MCC689) incorporated a narrow vaulted passage built to allow the drain to pass underneath. The latest pottery in its fill indicated that the drain was still in use in the 4th century AD.<1>