⇐ S.A.C. 2012 (vol. 150)S.A.C. 2014 (vol. 152) ⇒
Sussex Archaeological Collections: Relating to the history and antiquities of East and West Sussex, published 2013 (vol. 151, Sussex Archæological Society) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
A statue at the Church of St Mary and St Peter, Wilmington, by Ann Ballantyne, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151, short article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
Moulescomb and Ovingdean - two small Georgian country houses and estates, by Sue Berry, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151, short article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library
Heron-Allen and the 'Saxon feet' from Selsey, by David Bone, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:A piece of stone dredged off Selsey in 1909 was described by local historian Edward Heron-Allen as a foot of a Caen Stone statue of Saxon date from the ruins of the submerged Selsey Cathedral. A second foot, also slightly larger than life-size but cruder in style, was found on the Selsey foreshore in 1939, and cast some doubt on Heron-Allen's identification. A new assessment has shown that both finds are Bognor Rock and almost certainly flukes of nature. If future discoveries prove that they are indeed weathered pieces of statue, then a late medieval date would be more appropriate.
The construction of the tower at Bolney Church, by Gabriel Byng, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:The fabric accounts for the building of Bolney tower provide important insights into the patronage of church construction and the organisation of building work in the early 16th century. Although they have long been identified as churchwardens' accounts, this paper argues that they are in fact private building accounts kept by the main patron of the new building work, John Bolney. As a result of this identification, his role in its planning and organisation may be studied. Far from being a disconnected member of the gentry, John Bolney led both the fundraising and the management of the project, providing patronage for local labourers, and received support from the wider parish, including free labour and donations. By studying the accounts in detail, it is also possible to extend our knowledge of how parochial building campaigns could be organised, with master mason and a few leading craftsmen from an urban workshop contracted for the design, cutting and laying. The bulk of the workforce was made up of local labourers, with some wealthy locals motivated by piety to give their time for free. New light is also shed on the timing of the tower's construction, its organisation and materials.
Turris de Pevenesel - another view, by Tony Chapman, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:The 2011 publication of the report on the excavations in the 1990s at Pevensey Castle marks over a century of archaeological, architectural and documentary research. For the first time, the investigation around the keep and elsewhere on the site was carried out to modern standards of excavation, which produced evidence for a revised construction date of both the Roman fort and the medieval walls. In particular, the date of the keep is now placed around 1200. This article reappraises the archaeological interpretation of the trenches within the keep, and correlates it with the earlier investigation of the site by Harold Sands in 1910. The historical sources are also re-examined, to question the date and context of the keep reached in the recent report. As a result, an alternative, earlier, date for the great tower in the reign of Henry I is proposed, set against recent research on Romanesque great towers in England.
Prelude To Piltdown. Charles Dawson's origins, career and antiquarian pursuits, 1864-1911, and their repercussions, by John H. Farrant, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:Towards the end of his life Charles Dawson (1864-1916), amateur palaeontologist and antiquary, discovered the remains of Piltdown Man and since 1953 has been heavily implicated in their fabrication. On him in that connection much has been written, but little has been published on his earlier life with adequate documentation. Drawing on sources not previously used, this article describes his family background, upbringing and fossil collecting, and his career as a solicitor, and explores his antiquarian pursuits in Sussex, particularly his association with Hastings Museum and with the Sussex Archaeological Society (including the society's ejection from Castle Lodge), his excavations at Hastings Castle and the Lavant caves, the Beauport Park statuette, the Pevensey Roman bricks, his History of Hastings Castle and his attempt to thwart L. F. Salzman's election to the Society of Antiquaries. The antiquarian phase of Dawson's research career was neatly bracketed by A. S. Woodward's publication in 1891 and 1911 of his successive finds of Plagiaulax dawsoni.
These antiquarian pursuits show his enormous energy and charm, occasional disingenuous conduct, and the facility with which he moved between West End society and Sussex labourers, an important source of his finds. As a well-known collector he may have accepted, and attempted to exploit, items of doubtful authenticity, but his recording of provenance was reasonable by contemporary amateur standards. He actively used the press, local and London, to boost his reputation. But his failure to conceal the limits of his scholarship in his History of Hastings Castle of 1910 contributed to his reverting to palaeontology.
A face-saving account of the 'Castle Lodge episode' of 1903, doubts emerging in 1914 about the finds from the Lavant caves, and Salzman's antipathy for Dawson on account of the Pevensey bricks (1907) and his canvassing the Antiquaries (1911), may all have contributed to Piltdown Man being disregarded by the Sussex Archaeological Society. But they cannot of themselves have outweighed the advocacy by Woodward, Dawson's collaborator at Piltdown, who was active in the society between 1924 and 1943. The implication is that there were doubts expressed locally, but only informally, about the authenticity of Piltdown Man.
These antiquarian pursuits show his enormous energy and charm, occasional disingenuous conduct, and the facility with which he moved between West End society and Sussex labourers, an important source of his finds. As a well-known collector he may have accepted, and attempted to exploit, items of doubtful authenticity, but his recording of provenance was reasonable by contemporary amateur standards. He actively used the press, local and London, to boost his reputation. But his failure to conceal the limits of his scholarship in his History of Hastings Castle of 1910 contributed to his reverting to palaeontology.
A face-saving account of the 'Castle Lodge episode' of 1903, doubts emerging in 1914 about the finds from the Lavant caves, and Salzman's antipathy for Dawson on account of the Pevensey bricks (1907) and his canvassing the Antiquaries (1911), may all have contributed to Piltdown Man being disregarded by the Sussex Archaeological Society. But they cannot of themselves have outweighed the advocacy by Woodward, Dawson's collaborator at Piltdown, who was active in the society between 1924 and 1943. The implication is that there were doubts expressed locally, but only informally, about the authenticity of Piltdown Man.
Archaeological investigations at the former East Grinstead Pottery works, Garland Road, East Grinstead, West Sussex , by Dylan Hopkkinson, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:Archaeological investigations at the former site of Rentokil House, Garland Road, East Grinstead revealed surviving structural elements of the East Grinstead Pottery works which was established in 1855 and demolished in 1971. The structures identified represent the foundations of the Pottery workshop, including the foundations of the bottle kiln and an extensive yard area with discrete brick-laid flooring around a circular brick-built clay-processing feature. An associated assemblage, including red earthenware products of the Pottery, consisted of flowerpots, large jars, bowls and dishes, which evidence the utilitarian vessels produced during the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The excavated assemblage was compared to the collection of vessels previously collected from the Pottery works and housed at East Grinstead Museum, which has helped to refine the product range, especially towards the end of production.
Falmer Hill in the prehistoric and Romano-British periods: A Reappraisal., by Jaime Kaminski, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:During the 1980s, ploughing on former downland on the upper north face of Falmer Hill began to expose a substantial new enclosure site. This ditched enclosure survives only as a ploughed-down earthwork. When considered in conjunction with the known archaeology of the area, it becomes apparent that Falmer Hill is a much more significant area than at first appears. Topographically the hill is sited in a strategic location at the junction of north-south and east-west communication routes. Much of the archaeology revealed by aerial photography overlooks the main east-west dry valley.
Henry Hallywell (1641-1703). A Sussex Platonist, by Marilyn A. Leis, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:Henry Hallywell, a Sussex clergyman during the Restoration period, published a series of short books which popularised the philosophical theology of the Cambridge Platonists. This article establishes the facts of Hallywell's life and parochial ministry at Ifield, Crawley, Slaugham, Plumpton and Cowfold, while briefly introducing his writings. The author will continue her study of Hallywell with an article discussing his Cambridge Platonist ideas more fully, to be published elsewhere.
New evidence of a Romano-British settlement at Upper Wellingham, East Sussex, by David Millum, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:The results of a magnetometer survey in 2011 at a farm in the Upper Ouse Valley near Barcombe Mills, by David Staveley on behalf of the Culver Archaeological Project, has revealed evidence of an unknown Romano-British settlement and ditched enclosure. The geophysical images have been supplemented by finds from metal detecting, including a long sequence of Roman coins. This paper includes the geophysical survey images and a summary of the artefact data accumulated to date. It also seeks to interpret what this initial evidence might suggest, given the site's location and comparisons with the excavated roadside settlement at Westhawk Farm in Kent.
A re-investigation of Late Iron Age and Roman iron production, and Saxon activity, at Rathlin Road, Crawley, by Jo Pine, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:A small excavation was carried out in advance of redevelopment, to relocate precisely a previous excavation and to record any additional deposits. The original fieldwork carried out in the 1970s, known as Broadfield Site 2, revealed Iron Age and primarily Roman shaft smelting furnaces and ditches. The current project was able to relocate the remains of the previously excavated features. Although most of these had already been excavated in whole or in part, it was possible to obtain additional dating information, and to revise some of the earlier findings. A series of published radiocarbon dates is also reassessed and two new dates added. One unexpected result was the presence of a late Saxon ditch on the site.
with contributions from J. R. L. Allen, Lucy Cramp and Malcolm Lyne
with contributions from J. R. L. Allen, Lucy Cramp and Malcolm Lyne
Southwick Roman villa. Its discovery, excavation, public display and eventual loss - A Cautionary Tale., by David Rudling and G. Jeff Leigh, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:This paper provides a history of the discovery, excavation, attempts at interpretation, public display, ownership, and eventual loss/general destruction of one of the most important archaeological sites to have been found in Sussex: a large early Roman villa (or 'mini-palace') at Southwick. It is ultimately a very sad story, beginning with various very poorly recorded excavations in the 19th century before eventual large-scale but still poorly documented excavations and then public display in the 1930s. Ultimately, in the 1950s, the lack of adequate financial resources resulted in the then owners and guardians of the villa, the Sussex Archaeological Trust, deciding to sell the site for building development. Also sad is the fact that most of the finds recovered from the various 19th- and 20th-century excavations are not kept in museums; instead, many finds were given away or not retained. We recount this sorry and cautionary tale, but also provide the results of recent research including the 'discovery' and now publication of two important 19th-century excavation plans.
Medieval occupation and clay extraction at Lewes Road, Ringmer, East Sussex, by Sean Wallis, published 2013 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 151, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18616] & The Keep [LIB/507730] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:Excavation at Lewes Road, Ringmer, revealed evidence from several phases. One group of post-holes may very tentatively be interpreted as prehistoric; the few prehistoric and Roman finds were mainly residual in later features. Occupation on the site dated from the late 11th to early 15th centuries. In its first phase this consisted of field boundaries, a ditched trackway and rubbish pits. Activity on the site shifted north during the mid 13th to 14th centuries. A rectangular, post-built structure was identified, along with a chalk-lined well and a hearth, which could all be contemporary. A series of large irregular pits of this date were probably clay quarries. In the late 14th or early 15th century, a large pit was floored in chalk and chalk block walls were inserted. The function of this large feature is not clear; it may have been used as a settling tank for clay for ceramic production.
A medieval pottery production centre at Norlington Lane, Ringmer, East Sussex, by David Gregory, published 2014 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 152, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18617] & The Keep [LIB/508097] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:The Lewes Archaeological Group (LAG) undertook a two-year excavation programme on a medieval pottery production centre which was under threat from deep ploughing. The first year showed that a substantial deposit originating from a waster heap had been spread over the workshop remains. The second year uncovered a kiln, for which it was a priority to obtain an archaeomagnetic date. Following the excavations, the LAG instigated a programme to evaluate the pottery by using a database, and to obtain a petrological analysis of the fabrics, along with a drawing record of the pottery types. The results would help with understanding of the medieval Ringmer pottery industry, accomplish a more accurate dating for Sussex pottery, and develop our understanding of medieval kiln technology.