Bibliography - Mike Seager Thomas
Bibliography Home

A Neolithic axe from Windover Hill, by Mike Seager Thomas, published 1997 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 135, shorter article, pp.300-301) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13642] & The Keep [LIB/500290] & S.A.S. library

New evidence for a Late Bronze Age Occupation of Selsey bill, West Sussex, by Mike Seager Thomas, published 1998 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 136, article, pp.7-22) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13921] & The Keep [LIB/500297] & S.A.S. library

Stone finds in context: a contribution to the study of later prehistoric artefact assemblages, by Mike Seager Thomas, published 1999 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 137, article, pp.39-48) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14439] & The Keep [LIB/500291] & S.A.S. library   View Online

One of the more common finds made on later prehistoric sites in Sussex is humanly-transported stone. By reviewing traditional approaches to such finds and considering the implications of their study - in context - for a range of differing social models previously applied to the interpretation of the important Middle Bronze Age settlement site of Black Patch, Alciston, the present paper demonstrates how such study can inform our understanding of the later prehistoric period generally. Clasts (pieces of stone comprising the whole or part of a stone object) are considered in relation to each other, to non-stone finds from the site, and to the various features from which they were recovered.

Rock shelter stratigraphy: Excavations at Eridge, by Christopher Greatorex and Mike Seager Thomas, published 2000 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 138, article, pp.49-56) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14509] & The Keep [LIB/500298] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Excavation of two rock shelters at Eridge during 1999 yielded close to 500 struck flints of Mesolithic date and evidence of possible Late Iron Age/Early Romano-British iron-smelting. Although disturbed by animal activity, the relationship of the finds to each other and to the sediments in which they were found indicated the existence of former land surfaces and activity areas. Buried positive features, including two hearths and a pour of tap-slag, were also identified.

A rare stone find of the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age from Swanborough Hill, Iford, by Mike Seager Thomas, published 2001 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 139, shorter article, pp.223-224) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14916] & The Keep [LIB/500292] & S.A.S. library

Two Early First Millennium BC Wells at Selsey, West Sussex and their Wider Significance, by Mike Seager Thomas, published September 2001 in The Antiquaries Journal (vol. 81, article, pp.15-50)   View Online

Two early first millennium BC assemblages from Selsey Bill are considered, one of Late Bronze Age date and one of Early Iron Age date. Detailed examination of two large features suggests both a common function for the features and a functional similarity between the sites to which they belong. Data from them are tested against a contemporary, regional database. In terms of site activity and settlement form, both belonged to the same cultural tradition. But differences in inter-regional relationships, outlook and resource strategies are identified. The change, paralleled on contemporary Sussex sites, is attributed to population growth and a filling-out of the landscape.

Evidence for the prehistoric occupation of the Upper Cuckmere Valley, by Mike Seager Thomas, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, shorter article, pp.127-131) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Understanding Iron Age Norton, by Mike Seager Thomas, published 2005 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 143, article, pp.83-115) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15610] & The Keep [LIB/500361] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Excavations by the Society at Norton in Bishopstone, East Sussex, revealed a pit complex, a working hollow, a grave, a stove filled with burnt stones, a midden and a horizontal terrace of Middle Iron Age (MIA) date. The evidence suggests, in addition, that a non post-built house may have been located within the area of the excavation. Traces of Late Iron Age (LIA) activity were also found. Among the finds made were two chronologically sequential groups of saucepan pottery, a potin coin (from a MIA context), a sherd of Campanian amphora, and an assemblage of non-local stone. By adding to our knowledge of the form and chronology of the Sussex Iron Age, the understanding of Iron Age Norton that these discoveries make possible clarifies the county's relationship to the period outside Sussex - and to other periods within it - and in so doing develops our knowledge of the period as a whole.

The excavation of a Later Saxon privy at Norton in East Sussex, by Mike Seager Thomas, published 2005 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 143, article, pp.267-269) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15610] & The Keep [LIB/500361] & S.A.S. library   View Online

From potsherds, to people: Sussex prehistoric pottery., by Mike Seager Thomas, published 2008 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 146, article, pp.19-52) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15997] & The Keep [LIB/500364] & S.A.S. library   View Online

This article summarizes our knowledge of Sussex Bronze and Early Iron Age pottery traditions from c. 2000-500 cal. BC, along with the research issues, by which this knowledge of pottery is transformed into a knowledge of people. Written by an expert in the field, who has worked in both contract and research archaeology, its aim is to provide an easily accessible, up-to-date synthesis of practical use to both the would-be and the active pottery specialist. In so doing it introduces for the first time data on pottery from 20-odd unpublished Sussex assemblages, including that from the nationally known site of Shinewater Park.

Peterborough ware from Westbourne: a rare Middle Neolithic 'ritual' deposit from the West Sussex Coastal Plain, by Mike Seager Thomas, published 2010 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 148, article, pp.7-16) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18613] & The Keep [LIB/500366] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Excavation by Development Archaeology Services at Westbourne, West Sussex, has uncovered a small pit containing an unusually fine assemblage of Neolithic Peterborough ware pottery, including one of only two complete Peterborough ware profiles found in the county to date. This paper discusses their internal and external relationships. Features and pottery of these sorts are widely seen as ritual or symbolic rather than functional (e.g. Drewett 2003; Thomas 1999). The evidence from Westbourne points, however, not to ritual or symbolic practices as an explanation of Peterborough ware pits locally, but to everyday domestic routine.