A preserved section of Roman wall will take pride of place in a department store when it reopens after a refurbishment.

The Colchester Archaelogical Trust found the rare remains during excavation work at Williams and Griffin, in Colchester High Street.

The wall, which is about half a metre long and one metre tall, will be put on permanent display in the new store, which is currently undergoing a £30million revamp.

After the fragment was discovered, building contractors lifted it from its foundations over the course of two days, keeping it in one piece.

A trust spokesman said: “Although we don’t yet know the function of the building it derives from, the width of the wall suggests that it was part of an important public building.

“The wall is early Roman and dates to the first century.”