In 1945 The Canterbury Excavation Committee excavated in three cellars on the south side of Burgate Street, now taken up mostly by 48 Burgate. The site was coded CII-III, cellars 1, 2 and 3.
Two exploratory trenches, AA and DD, were intially dug in January of 1945. Trench AA was in cellar one whilst trench DD was in cellar 3. Trench AA revealed Roman concrete foundations which led to further excavations, including new sites in cellar 2 and also a cellar on the north side of the street.

The inner face of the concrete indicating the north, west and south walls of a building was traced in cellar 1. The north west outer face was found in cellar 2 and the north east external angle in cellar 3. The total width of the foundation was accessible in an entrance through the exceptionally wide party-wall between cellars 1 and 3 and the outer face of the concrete could be followed from this point almost to its return to the south.
In the south west corner of cellar 1 all later Roman levels had been destroyed and the whole make-up was of Medieval date, however some of the Roman wall, built on the concrete foundation was found to have survived. An area further south of cellar 1 was also searched for Roman levels. Two trenches were dug but each showed intensive use of the area in recent times. In each case the area was disturbed by vaults, cess pits and rubbish pits. To the north of the street a trial trench revealed no features but did revealed Roman deposits.
The site reveales continuous activity from the middle of the 1st century to the end of the 2nd; with sporadic use of the area as a rubbish dump in the 3rd-4th centuries. A gully cut into the natural, discovered in cellar 1, hints at pre-Roman occupation. There were signs of more than one timber structure originating in the 1st century. The first stone building, of which only a trace survived, was put up in the early-middle 2nd century and was apparently fairly quickly demolished. The late 2nd century saw the erection of what may have been a public building, the northern limit of which must lay beneath the south edge of Burgate Street. One room had an internal partition and a doorway to the south, whilst one other room lay to the south. It is thought the building was detached from other stuctures and had an open space to the west.

A re-excavation of the site by Simon Pratt of CAT in 2000, found that this once thought to be important Roman Public Building, was in fact medieval. Re-excavation showed the construction trench for the building actually cut late Roman deposits and that the walls apart for having re-used Roman building material within their fabric, they also had significant square cut Caen stone blocks and the walls stood upon crushed and broken Caen stone and mortar deep foundations. It appears to have been built as a cellars to a medieval building on the site, built c. AD 1200, and once held by the monks of St. Radegunds Abbey at Dover, and may have been used by them and their guests when visiting Canterbury. Alternatively the building may have been rented out by them as shops at street level with tenements above

Williams, A., 1948, Canterbury Excavations in 1945 (Article in serial). SKE30282.

Willson, J., 2003, Unknown (Monograph). SKE30283.