⇐ S.A.C. 2003 (vol. 141)S.A.C. 2005 (vol. 143) ⇒
Sussex Archaeological Collections: Relating to the history and antiquities of East and West Sussex, published 2004 (vol. 142, Sussex Archæological Society) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
Tree trunks, Bronze Age remains and an ancient channel exposed on the foreshore at Bognor Regis, West Sussex, by Michael J. Allen, David A. Bone, Charlotte Matthews & Roger G. Scaife, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, article, pp.7-23) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:Exceptionally violent storms in January 1998 exposed numerous scattered tree trunks and the snaking course of an ancient channel on the foreshore at Bognor Regis. Records of previous antiquarian and archaeological studies, particularly the discovery of a 'submerged forest', had already highlighted the foreshore as an area of importance. The remains of waterlogged trees and prehistoric finds have been found since the mid-19th century along the edge of the former course of the Aldingbourne Rife, now a small river which divides Bognor Regis from Felpham. These remains and the fills of the ancient channel have only occasionally been exposed on the beach at low tides, following the removal of beach sand and gravels by storms. The tree trunks and branches were radiocarbon dated to the Early Bronze Age. Bronze Age activity in the form of pottery, worked flints and a fence line were found along the western side of the ancient channel. Pollen evidence and dendrochronological analysis suggest that there had been a wood in the area, its demise being due to rising relative sea levels.
Archaeological investigations at The Bostle, Bronze Age and Anglo-Saxon barrow cemeteries, Balsdean, East Sussex, 1997, by Jacqueline I. McKinley, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, article, pp.25-44) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:In the summer of 1997, an archaeological monitoring programme by Wessex Archaeology during trenching along the route of a water pipeline from Falmer to Balsdean, culminated in an excavation at The Bostle (TQ 537100 105400) adjacent to the scheduled Bronze Age and Anglo-Saxon barrow cemetery.
A small, mixed rite Bronze Age cemetery was excavated including four adult cremation burials, two of which were securely dated to the Early Bronze Age period, and five infant inhumation burials, one of which was radiocarbon dated to the Late Bronze Age. Four Saxon ring-ditches were excavated, three of which surrounded central graves containing the remains of inhumation burials. Evidence suggests that at least one of the latter was coffined and one shrouded. A radiocarbon date range of ad 640 - 879 was obtained from the coffined burial.
The temporal and spatial extent of The Bostle cemeteries has been shown to be greater than was previously appreciated. The dating of the Bronze Age burials and implied temporal variation in rite carries interesting implications for our understanding of Bronze Age mortuary rites and how they may have reflected the society burying its dead at The Bostle.
A small, mixed rite Bronze Age cemetery was excavated including four adult cremation burials, two of which were securely dated to the Early Bronze Age period, and five infant inhumation burials, one of which was radiocarbon dated to the Late Bronze Age. Four Saxon ring-ditches were excavated, three of which surrounded central graves containing the remains of inhumation burials. Evidence suggests that at least one of the latter was coffined and one shrouded. A radiocarbon date range of ad 640 - 879 was obtained from the coffined burial.
The temporal and spatial extent of The Bostle cemeteries has been shown to be greater than was previously appreciated. The dating of the Bronze Age burials and implied temporal variation in rite carries interesting implications for our understanding of Bronze Age mortuary rites and how they may have reflected the society burying its dead at The Bostle.
River Lavant Culvert: excavations in Market Road car park, St John's Street, Chichester, 1996, by Frances Raymond, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, article, pp.45-61) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:Excavation revealed two large ditches on the same alignment as the city wall. One of these may have been the Roman inner town ditch, re-cut at a later date. The other is likely to have been the medieval ditch constructed in 1378. Substantial post-medieval foundations had been laid immediately above the tertiary silts within this feature. These may have been associated with an episode of landscaping, involving an attempt to control the floodwaters of the River Lavant. Additional features included an early Roman hearth, a cellar of medieval or later date, a post-medieval property boundary, and a 19th- or early 20th-century well and outbuilding. A possible relict river channel was also located on the line of the 19th-century culvert.
Lavant stone: a Roman and medieval building stone in West Sussex, by Anne E. Bone and David A. Bone, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, article, pp.63-78) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:Recent recognition of a building stone, now named Lavant stone, has led to investigations of the quarry site, its history and the use of the stone. Lavant stone is a distinctive phosphatic chalk with fossils, particularly sharks' teeth. It was used in the later Roman period and extensive medieval use ranged from Chichester Cathedral and Boxgrove Priory to parish churches. The historical use of Lavant stone is considered, and the social and economic influences upon its distribution pattern and opportunities for further research are discussed.
Excavations at 1-3 High Street, Seaford, East Sussex, by Simon Stevens, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, article, pp.79-92) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:An area of c. 7 m by c. 7 m was mechanically stripped following the discovery of buried features during an archaeological evaluation of the site. The remains of a substantial structure were uncovered in the western half of the excavation area. The surviving masonry consisted mainly of flint and chalk/clunch, bonded with a sandy mortar. A single sherd of pottery dating from 1300 - 1400 was recovered from the foundation trench. A chalk-lined well was located below the corner of the building from which pottery dating from 1200 - 1275 was recovered, and the masonry also truncated a pit from which a pottery assemblage dating from 1225 - 1325 was recovered.
More limited structural remains built on a similar orientation were encountered in the eastern half of the site. Part of one of the structures truncated a pit containing pottery dating from 1125 - 1225. Hence all the structural remains encountered during the excavations appear to be of late medieval date.
The other features consisted of a small group of pits and post-holes. Medieval pottery was recovered from 19 separate contexts. The earliest group dates from 1125 - 1225, with the latest group dating from 1325 - 1425. Other finds include glazed roof tiles, floor tiles, slate, metalwork and animal bone (including fish) and charred seed remains.
More limited structural remains built on a similar orientation were encountered in the eastern half of the site. Part of one of the structures truncated a pit containing pottery dating from 1125 - 1225. Hence all the structural remains encountered during the excavations appear to be of late medieval date.
The other features consisted of a small group of pits and post-holes. Medieval pottery was recovered from 19 separate contexts. The earliest group dates from 1125 - 1225, with the latest group dating from 1325 - 1425. Other finds include glazed roof tiles, floor tiles, slate, metalwork and animal bone (including fish) and charred seed remains.
The early-modern carpenter and timber-framing in the rural Sussex Weald, by J. C. Kirk, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, article, pp.93-105) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:The 16th and 17th centuries witnessed the peak of post-medieval iron and glass production in the Sussex Weald together with an upsurge in the building and re-modelling of local houses on such a scale that it has been called by some historians 'The Great Rebuilding'. The link between iron, glass, and construction was the wood and timber industry, which utilized an ancient form of woodland management to provide charcoal for the furnaces and oak for the timber-framed buildings characteristic of the region. There is evidence to suggest, however, that timber from woodland sources was not as freely available as might be thought, and that the use of hedgerow trees, especially for the smaller vernacular house, was a viable alternative. It is possible to tell from tool marks on timbers in a surviving building not only what type of tree was used and how it was worked, but also how many were needed to complete the frame. These facts reflect on the local availability of building timber and thus the contemporary management of timber supplies. The life and work of the carpenter, the figure at the centre of the wood, timber, and construction industries at this time, are not so easily understood. In the absence of written accounts probate inventories have been taken as the most revealing source of information on standards of living and work practices and in the process have added considerably to what is already known of the rural Wealden artisan in early-modern Sussex.
Laughton Church chancel and other major church alterations in and around Lewes, East Sussex, c.1740-1810: the roles of architects and local craftsmen, by Sue Berry, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, article, pp.107-113) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:Architectural history is preoccupied with the work of architects who are thought to be eminent and influential. This case study is of the influence of local craftsmen upon Georgian churches. It asks whether we over-estimate the influence of architects in the Georgian period and under-estimate the skills and impact of craftsmen. Similar work in other counties suggests that craftsmen certainly played a major role in the design of the churches. This small study suggests that they exerted a similar influence in Sussex. Due to the influence of Victorian and other later restoration work, much Georgian work has been lost. In this study, archival evidence is often the best source of evidence.
Lime-burning in West Sussex, and the Newbridge Wharf Limekilns, Billingshurst, by Jim Williams, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, article, pp.115-125) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:Documentary research and excavations have indicated that a block of four limekilns which operated alongside the Arun Navigation at Newbridge Wharf, Billingshurst, from before 1823 until about 1890, were of the intermittent or flare type. During the spring and summer 1998, excavations took place at Newbridge Wharf, Billingshurst, at the site of a set of limekilns, by the side of the Arun Navigation, to ascertain the extent to which evidence of the kilns and their construction still remained, buried beneath the surface. The remains of three kilns were found. They are typical of the type of kilns that were designed to produce lime for dressing agricultural land in that part of the Weald at that time, and were served by the canal which had opened as far as Newbridge Wharf in 1787 and went out of use in 1888.
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
Excavations east of London Road, Ashington, West Sussex 1999, by P. B. Higgins, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, shorter article, pp.131-135) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
A Roman field boundary at 'Greenfields', Middleton-on-Sea, West Sussex, by M. John Saunders, Malcolm Lyne and Sheila Hamilton-Dyer, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, shorter article, pp.135-139) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
The London-Portslade Roman road and prehistoric activity at Haywards Heath, by Neil Griffin, Richard James and Chris Butler, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, shorter article, pp.139-144) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
Bronze Age to Roman field systems at the site of the Arunside Industrial Estate, Littlehampton, by Sophia Adams, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, shorter article, pp.144-148) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
Church origins at East Grinstead, by M. J. Leppard, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, shorter article, pp.148-150) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online
The birth date of Thomas Turner, by Roger Davey, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, shorter article, p.150) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library View Online