A group of pre-Boudican Roman features were discovered during excavations at 5 Balkerne Gardens in 1965 (ECC659). The earliest features on the site included a number of rubbish pits cut into a gravel surface, probably a yard. The rubbish pits were small and contained a high proportion of burnt material in their filling together with quantities of oyster shells, animal bones and pottery leading to the interpretation that they were kitchen waste pits. The pottery was entirely pre-Flavian so that a mid-first century date was proposed for the earliest phase of site activity.
The pits were ultimately levelled with sterile tips of sand and clay and during the sites second phase a number of stake holes were found to be associated with dark occupation layers, in addition to the three ovens (MCC2393-MCC2394).<1>