Colchester Queen Street bus depot archaeological dig huge success

The event saw people gather at the former bus depot in Queen Street, which will become home to the ambitious £4 million metaverse research centre.

They listened to a fascinating talk on the site's history while browsing ancient treasures found on the site.

A selection of artefacts found on the site (Image: Newsquest)

Before the development of the new site, which will explore ground-breaking technological advances for the future, residents were given a chance to view artefacts from years gone by, spanning all major historical periods.

Due to its proximity to the Roman wall, which runs across Priory Street, the site is believed to have been a Roman road originally, formed by layering sand and gravel.

Roman artefacts found on the site (Image: Newsquest)

Residents and history buffs gather round to the site to view the archaeological work (Image: Newsquest)

Fascinated visitors queue up to view the artefacts found on site (Image: Newsquest)

Centuries later, the site is believed to have held several Medieval buildings, with the Queen Street Brewhouse being an example of a surviving property.

The site was laden with large holes indicating that several Medieval buildings sat there at one point in time.

The abundance of holes suggested that those living in the properties were going into their back gardens, digging pits to collect the Roman sand and gravel, and filling the holes with household rubbish.

The craters and holes on the site were due to medieval households digging holes for their rubbish (Image: Newsquest)

Leather shoes recovered from the Medieval waste pit, believed to have been made by a man a man named William Warren, who owned a shoe business on Short Wyre Street. (Image: Newsquest)

From the same period, a stone-lined well was found on the site. The water table is roughly seven to eight metres below the street level, so the well was lined with stone to ensure that the edges didn’t collapse.

A Morant map of Colchester in 1748, with the bus depot site lined in red. (Image: Newsquest)

Fragment of animal bones were found on the site (Image: Newsquest)

Moving forward to the late 17th century, a large mansion was built on the site of the bus depot, staying there till the 19th century, when in 1812, developer Benjamin Strut was given £200 by Colchester Council to build the first major purpose-built theatre on site.

At its height, the Theatre Royal held around 1,200 people, double the Mercury Theatre’s capacity. It thrived during the Crimean War, as soldiers passed through the town.

Fragments of chandelier glass found on the site of the Theater Royal (Image: Newsquest)

Copper alloy glasses found under a bundle of burnt sheet music, found on the site. (Image: Newsquest)

A porcelain rosin holder, used to hold a gum-like substance made from pine sap, used on stringed instruments to generate friction between strings and the bow. (Image: Newsquest)

In November of 1861, Charles Dickens gave his only public reading in Colchester at the Theatre Royal, during which he read portions of Nicolas Nickleby and The Pickwick Papers.Burnt chess pieces and sheet music found on the site (Image: Newsquest)

In the early hours of September 5, 1918, a fire broke out, engulfing the Theatre Royal in flames, as it sadly burned down. Fortunately, several treasures were preserved despite the flames, leaving us with evidence of the theatre’s use.

The site will now be home to the AIXR metaverse centre, due to open in 2024.