Evaluation of four trial trenches revealed part of a previously unknown mosaic pavement adjacent to an unusual Roman sunken feature, the walls of which were lined with opus signinum. The walls of the feature had been robbed out. The feature contained a large amout of painted wall plaster, and a 4th century coin. The sunken room and mosaic were part of a 2nd- or 3rd century house within the Roman suburb on present day North Station Road. <1>
More evidence of a high-status residence was uncovered during a later watching brief. The evidence consisted of a foundation, and parts of two mosaic floors and a herringbone floor. The structure was demolished to make way for at least one large building with tessellated pavements which probably had a public rather than a domestic function. The sparsity of stratified pottery made dating difficult, however the site is thought to have been in use from the ealy 2nd to the late 3rd century AD.<2>