A unique piece of Colchester's Roman history weighing almost a tonne will be lifted from the ground before builders move in.

Two specialists from the Colchester Castle Museum have been working to reveal a section of house wall since it was unearthed at the archaeological dig at the site of the town's former post office in Head Street.

They aim to expose the 1.5m section of Roman house so it can be carefully removed before the dig finishes.

For 12 weeks, Colchester Archaeological Trust has been excavating the site before a multi-screen cinema is built by Odeon.

Experts believe the wall could be from one of the town's first houses, dating back to before Boadicea ravaged the town in AD 61.

Head of Colchester Museums Peter Berridge said: "It is quite an exciting find and something we hope will go on display to the public."

"The wall will have to be exposed, undermined and boxed up so there is no possibility of it being damaged in the move."

Director of Colchester Archaeological Trust Philip Crummy said: "The dig has been tremendous and a whole range of new evidence has been found, from AD 40 right through."

"It was part of our job to completely empty the site." he said.

A decision on whether it would be viable to preserve a Roman bath also discovered at the site should be reached on Friday.

"We have a couple of stretches of early Roman wall already, but this is of different construction and has painted plaster on it, indicating it was probably a high status building in the town."

Mr Berridge said only the lower section of the wall had survived and white plaster with a few flecks of red and black design had been revealed.

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