Excavations in 1950-1 when an extension was built on the W side of the Telephone Exchange behind St Martin's House and a large basement excavated 15ft deep, 44.5ft x 40ft. Most of the site was occupied by the strong remains of the N-S street (see 12462). The cross roads which were expected remain somewhat uncertain. If there at all they are very much staggered. In the SW corner of the ttrench was a rectangular pit or cellar with a deeper rectangular pit within it, the pit filled with darkish sandy earth containing early pottery, especially many fragments of amphora. The lowest occupation level (Claudius-Nero) correspponds to the lower of two of 3 road surfaces. Layre associated with the sack of AD60 could be identified across the site. Subsequent layers were more disturbed - they include heavy burnt layers which contained slag, evidence of some industry on the site. Latest levels that remained were apparently not later than the C2 - any later level had been removed. E of the road was a stout wall of septaria and mortar of which a 37ft length was exposed - entirely foundation, 2'9" deep, the top of the masonry 6ft below the surface. The wall was nearly parallel with the street and belonged to the westernmost building of insula 11. It had been completely robbed to the foundation presumably in Roman times. The wall to the W of the street (not quite parallel to it) - the corners were not found and it ran over the site of the E-W street. It was of late date, had massive foundations of rough septaria blocks; the foundaion may have been earlier than the street which stood on it. The latter was a building of some size and importance but the only evidence is one brick pier. There is evidence for a sequence of these piers which may represent the columns of a colonnade. No trace of a floor was found associated with this wall. A number of very large pits were found. Some of the pottery and other finds illustrated in source 1. <1> <2> <3>