Trenches were located and measured in by hand. The location of Trench 1000 was repositioned 2m to the south to avoid a cable avoidance tool (CAT) signal. The ground slab was broken out using a small electric excavator fitted with a breaker in the locations of Trenches 1000 and 1200, and Test Pits 2 and 3. Following the breaking of the ground slab the trenches were excavated using a ditching bucket under close archaeological supervision. Trench 1000 was excavated to the first archaeological horizon after which the hand excavation and recording of features was conducted. Once recorded a sondage was machine excavated to establish the geological horizon. Trench 2 was excavated to a maximum safe depth of 1m, following which a sondage was excavated to establish the geological horizon. Following the discovery of potential asbestos insulation board (AIB) and asbestos lagged pipe in Test Pits 2 and 3 all work ceased and entering the building was not allowed. The trenches were not backfilled. The breaking of the slab was not carried out in the locations of Test Pits 1 and 4. Wa tc hi n g br i e f The proposed watching brief was not conducted due to the presence of asbestos insulation material (AIB) within a conduit in the locations of Test Pits 2 and 3. It is anticipated that the test pits will be undertaken following the removal of the asbestos, and the results will from an addendum to this report. The evaluation recorded a soil horizon in both trenches that probably equates to a soil horizon, which was cut by a burial, recorded in an archaeological watching brief conducted in 1995 during the excavation of foundation trenches for an extension to the library. Directly over the soil horizon a stone surface was recorded, possibly representing a road or courtyard. Tile recovered from the surface dated to the 15th -16th centuries probably represented the access track to Bicester Priory. Horseshoe drains, dated to the 19th C, were recorded in both trenches. It was not possible to conduct a watching brief during the excavation of the test pits as asbestos insulation material and an asbestos lagged pipe was discovered within a conduit during the breaking out of the concrete surface at two test pit locations, following which all work was stopped. Samples of the asbestos was taken by BRD Environmental, which confirmed it was amosite (brown asbestos).