After three years of painstaking work just outside Colchester's Roman walls, archaeologists knew they had found something unusual. Around the parallel walls that had enclosed a huge structure they discovered hundreds of burials, some containing charioteer coins and others piles of horse jawbones.
Gradually the archaeologists pieced together the evidence to discover that they had uncovered the only Roman circus ever found in Britain and one of only a handful in northern Europe.
Colchester is the oldest garrison in Britain and the site of the most famous event in the Roman invasion: when Claudius rode in on the back of an elephant.
Today the circus, which was built for legionnaires to enjoy their favourite sport of chariot racing, sits beside the barracks of a modern cavalry regiment. It is an extraordinary tale of 2000 years of life in this Essex town.
Not all programmes are available on 4oD. Please see our FAQs.
