During the excavations at Balkerne Lane in 1973-6 (ECC332) a Roman building (CAT Building 57) was superficially examined prior to machine stripping. Very little is known about the earliest levels of the building so that more than one structure may have been present. Similarly knowledge of the building in its latest form is also poor, although it is believed to have taken the form of a strip-house laid out along the south side of the main Colchester to London road (see MCC475).

The house was one of a range (see also MCC573, MCC574, MCC587) situated in this position which had a corridor contained within them on their north side. The only place where the building incorporated foundations was along the street frontage suggesting the north walls of the building may have been more substantial. Set back from the street frontage was an oven which could have been inside the buildings or in a yard behind it.

Very little else is known about the building except that the party-wall between it and the building on its north side (MCC589) may have been built on a mortared foundation as it had been robbed out. A hearth was also discovered in a trial trench.<1>