The excavation in 2004 had involved the re-excavation of an unrecorded trench of the
early 1990s adjacent to the South side of the Rotunda (c. 5.75 m diameter) at the
centre of the paved circular Forum enclosed by a colonnade (40 m diameter). In 2004 the object was to obtain a record of the archaeological levels below the Forum pavement and where possible to obtain pottery and other dating evidence stratified through a limited enlargement of the original trench on each of the three sides. In 2004 a deeper excavation within the area of the earlier trench revealed remains of Roman buildings in brick and stone along with at least two levels of demolition (broken tiles, large pieces of mortar and fragments of painted plaster with geometric decoration) associated with stone robbing. All these were prior to construction of the square podium, with sides of 5.75 m, which formed the foundation for the Rotunda.