At least two Roman urned cremation burials were uncovered during an archaeological watching brief at 12 St Clare Road, Colchester, in advance of the construction of an extension and an outdoor swimming-pool (10 x 5m in size). One of the burials had an accompanying flagon within the urn. Among the other finds recovered from the site was a quantity of prehistoric and Roman pottery.

Urned cremation burial F1
A small oval pit, 0.75 m long and 0.25 m deep, contained the cremation urn. A few sherds displaced from the urn were recovered from the surrounding area. There was no charcoal or bone in the pit fill.
A total of 1,076g cremated bone was recovered from a small adult or a sub-adult of indeterminate sex.
The cremated human bone was contained in a large jar (F1.1, finds no 7). A small flagon (F1.2) had been placed above the cremated bone inside F1.1. It was found lying on its side close to one side of the urn. Two iron nails were found near to each other, halfway down in the fill of F1.1. A small lump of melted glass was found fused to a fragment of cremated bone in F1.1. A few other pottery sherds were recovered from the pit fill. Mid 1st-early/mid 2nd century.

Urned cremation burial F1
A small pit with poorly-defined edges, approximately 0.60 m in diameter and 0.12 m deep, contained the cremation vessel. There was no charcoal or bone in the pit fill.
A total of 252.3g cremated bone was recovered from an adult of indeterminate sex.
The cremated human bone was contained in a jar (F2.1), which was much fragmented. The fill of the vessel F2.1 was excavated in spits. A small quantity of sherds from at least two flagons was recovered as a result. A few other pottery sherds were found in the pit fill.
Residual find of a prehistoric pottery sherd. Early/mid 2nd century to late 3rd/early 4th century

During the machine-stripping of L2, a scatter of potsherds (F3, finds no 4) was uncovered 0.70 m north-east of F1. A total of 38 sherds were found, mostly clustered in a fairly confined area, approximately 0.35 m across. However, excavation did not reveal a recognisable feature in this area. Most of the sherds came from two pots of Late Iron Age-early Roman date and probably derive from burials or associated funerary activity nearby. A small quantity of other sherds were also found, including two prehistoric sherds, a single Late Iron Age sherd, and a later Roman sherd. A worked flint flake and several pieces of burnt flint were also recovered. The association of these finds of widely-differing dates within a fairly small area was probably fortuitous.
A further quantity of pottery sherds was recovered from L2 (finds nos 1, 2, 3) during machine-stripping. These were found by CAT staff among machine spoil immediately north of F1 and between F1 and F3. They included four sherds from jar F1.1, and 20 other sherds. Most of the latter were early Roman in date, with one sherd dating to the Late Iron Age-early Roman period. They probably derive from disturbed burials and/or associated funerary activity.
A small quantity of unstratified Roman potsherds (finds nos 10, 11) was found by workmen during machining. These sherds probably came from the northern edge of the trench for the swimming-pool, close to the modern garage. They included a large base sherd of a jar (finds no 11) which, when found, had some fill adhering to it. This contained a small quantity (14g) of cremated human bone fragments. The sherd and bone clearly derive from a cremation burial. The other sherds (finds no 10) came from a large storage jar and probably also derive from a burial or from other funerary activity.