During excavations at Balkerne Lane between 1973-6 (ECC332), a Roman building of two-phases was discovered which replaced an earlier building (MCC613) on the same site. The party wall between this building and an adjacent one to the south-west (MCC614) was built on a mortar foundation and several other wall foundations were also recorded. Along the south side of the two buildings was a footway which had two slots cut into it, possibly for joists to support a timber floor. The floors of the building were mainly gravelled and the position of walls was indicated by slots. To the rear of the building was a 2.4m deep cellar built of septaria and tile, which had a window or chute at the top of the east wall. It is possible that the cellar was in fact part of a more substantial building to the north-west.

During its second phase the wall along the buildings frontage was knocked down and sealed by fresh gravel deposited as a floor along the passage. In the passage, further slots suggested the presence of another timber floor. Two slots found crossing the floor were of unknown purpose but one may have been a timber drain which seemed to lead from a clay-lined pit out to a roadside drain (see MCC617). To the south of the building and on the same alignment were three poorly preserved ovens (MCC618, MCC619, MCC621) which may have been contained within it.<1>