During excavations at Culver Street between 1981-2 and 1984-5 (ECC337), a Roman building (CAT Building 118) was discovered. The building was situated at the east end of the southern yard of another building (MCC905). An earlier building on the site (MCC860) may have been a preliminary phase of this structure as 'the positions of the north and west walls of both buildings were more or less the same'
The buildings west wall was represented by a line of three large rectangular post-holes, two of which were joined by a shallow slot, possibly for a ground-plate. The north and south walls each had a foundation of septaria and tile fragments set in mortar.
The building initially had a floor of sandy clay which was later replaced by a sequence of four mortar floors.
The main internal features included an oven and two later pits. Associated with the second mortar floor was a wooden tank set in a pit containing traces of decayed timber. A square cut drain led into the west side of the tank suggesting it was for holding water. A second tank was associated with the latest floors of the building. This was constructed out of mortared tile fragments and was probably for holding liquids too. Along the outside of the buildings south wall was a drain and along its west side was a narrow gully which may also have been for drainage.
The destruction debris which resulted from the demolition of this building included a lot of tile from the roof and was sealed by the gravel yard belonging to the later building on the site (MCC918).<1>