SUSSEX ARCHAEOLOGICAL ROUND-UP
(26th January to 1st June 2015)
* volunteer opportunities
East Sussex
Bexhill-on-Sea: Land North-east of Bexhill-on-Sea. (NGR 573340 109090). (Site Code: BLN 14, Director Simon Stevens). An assortment of artefacts was retrieved from three fields during the archaeological fieldwalking, in part of an area earmarked for future development. Prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval material was recovered in varying quantities, evenly but thinly spread across the examined area. There was no obvious correlation between the distribution of the prehistoric and medieval finds and the location of potential buried archaeological features identified during a recent geophysical survey (ASE).
*Bishopstone Tidemills. (Centred NGR TQ 460 003). (Site Code: TM15. Site Director Luke Barber). The 2015 season started in May. Work will be concentrating on sorting out the complex heating system within the large greenhouse complex prior to moving onto the millhouse. Volunteers always welcome (SAS).
Bodiam: Benton Bungalow. (NGR: 578340 126473). (Site Code: BUN 15, Director Gary Webster). A watching brief located areas of undisturbed stratigraphy on the site, despite the truncation due to previous buildings and associated services. No archaeological finds, features or deposits were encountered. The Roman Road was not identified (ASE).
Brightling: Glebe Barn, Glebe Farm. (TQ 68628 21047: Rother District). (Site code BFB 14, Director Lisa Fisher). On February 3rd 2015 an archaeological watching brief was undertaken during ground works for the excavation of a service trench and cess pit for a barn conversion. The archaeological watching brief inspected and recorded a narrow trench 300mm x 40m in length being excavated to the natural sandstone geology. No features of any great age were uncovered but two small brick laid features were recorded, as well as a pit, which are all likely to date to the 19th century. In addition to the ground works a Level 3 Historic Building Record was conducted which found that the barn was constructed from re-used timbers (possibly from two previous barns which once stood on this spot). The date for this construction can be confidently dated to the mid 19th century from a map regression exercise which shows that no structure was standing on this site in 1838. The service trenches were excavated to a depth of approximately 800mm and only retrieved artefacts dating from the late 19th century to modern times (ASL).
Brighton: New Sussex Macmillan Cancer Support Centre, Bristol Gate. (NGR 532861 103848). (Site Code MCI 12, Director Pip Stephenson & Simon Stevens ). An archaeological watching brief was undertaken at the site of the new Sussex Macmillan Cancer Support Centre, Rosaz House, 2-4 Bristol Gate. The only buried archaeological features encountered were masonry foundations of former Victorian structures at the site, mostly in brick. No archaeological artefacts were recovered from the overburden, which typically consisted of made ground and brick rubble (ASE).
Brighton: 1 Manor Road. (NGR: 533195 103848). (Site Code: MRO 14, Director John Hirst). An archaeological watching brief during redevelopment work comprised monitoring groundworks across site down to natural geology, prior to the erection of new buildings. A brick wall footing and two small pits of 20th- century date were recorded (ASE).
Crowlink: The Granary, Crowlink, East Dean. (TV 54446 97555: Eastbourne District). (Site code: TGC 14, Director Lisa Fisher). On March 10th an archaeological watching brief was undertaken during ground works on this listed building for the construction of a new kitchen and bathroom area. The work inspected and recorded the removal of the brick and concrete floor down to the level of impact but no features were found. Some re-deposited soil was excavated which contained a handful of animal bones and some glass fragments, notably the top of an early 18th- century globe and shaft bottle. In addition, some brick partition walls were removed and a small area of plaster from the ceiling in the original part of the building were monitored. The results of these have been added to an English Heritage Level 2 Historic Building Record which was conducted prior to ground works in November 2014. The trenches were excavated to a depth of approximately 350mm down through the natural geology but were devoid of any features of any great significance, with a layer of re-deposited flint nodules and soil laid onto a rammed earth surface which was probably levelled prior to laying a modern concrete and brick floor (ASL).
Ewhurst: Scott’s Hollow, Lordship Wood site 1. (NGR 57720 12310: Ewhurst parish). A widespread scatter of bloomery tap slag with charcoal-stained soil and some furnace lining was located. Exploratory excavation has revealed a semi-circular stone structure with evidence of multiple relining and in situ furnace bottom. Residues include ore fines, tapped slag, possible smithing slag, hammerscale and roasted ore (WIRG).
Ewhurst: Scott’s Hollow, Lordship Wood site 2. (NGR 57711 12308: Ewhurst parish). A concentration of bloomery furnace wall fragments was exposed in the (rotting) roots of a tree throw. An adjacent test pit contained ore fines, tap slag and very numerous pea-sized pieces of roasted ore (WIRG).
Fairlight: Hastings Country Park. (NGR 585997 111610). (Site Code: HCP 15, Directors Kevin and Lynn Cornwell). A magnetometer survey, field-walking and metal detecting survey have been conducted at the site of the new HCP Visitor Centre. Seven archaeological evaluation trenches were excavated and these revealed three ditches crossing the development site. One ditch contained five sherds of pottery (inc. 1 piece of East Sussex Ware and four pieces of coarse pottery provisionally dated as prehistoric). The other two ditches contained intrusive Mesolithic flints. The field-walking exercise recovered a large quantity of flint with a majority of the identified pieces being Mesolithic. Future magnetometer surveys are to be conducted as part of an on-going project with Hastings Borough Council (HAARG).
Fletching: Church Cottage, High Street. (TQ 42912 23504: Wealden District.). (Site code CCF 15, Director Lisa Fisher). On February 9th 2015 a small watching brief was undertaken at the site. Three small footings were excavated for an extension measuring 2.50m x 4.0m. No artefacts older than the late 19th century were recovered and it became apparent that the site had been levelled when the current house was built in the late 20th century. A Victorian refuse pit had been cut into the natural which was partially excavated, but no other features were revealed (ASL).
Friston: Friston Court, 2 Windmill Lane. (NGR: 55201 98222). (Site Code: FCO 15, Director Odile Rouard). A watching brief was undertaken between the 3rd and 9th of March 2015 but no archaeological features were identified. No finds were recovered and no archaeological horizons encountered (ASE).
Horam: Former Merrydown Cider Factory. (NGR 557650 117300). (Site Code: MCF 15, Director Simon Stevens). An archaeological evaluation and photographic recording at the site was undertaken. Despite extensive truncation and evidence of comprehensive demolition in the past, post-medieval features consisting of the remains of a brick-built structure and a stone- and brick-built drain were encountered in one of the evaluation trenches. Artefactural evidence included 15th to 17th century bricks, worked Wealden sandstone and a fragment of an iron fireback. A photographic survey of WW2 era loopholes located in the boundary wall of the site was also completed (ASE).
Iden: Walnut Cottage, land adjacent to the Bell Inn, High Street. (TQ 9178 2381: Rother District). (Site code: WCI 15, Director Lisa Fisher). On April 24th 2015 ASL excavated two small evaluation trenches on land at the site in advance of a single new-build house development. The evaluation was successful in addressing some of the aims and objectives, with the negative results proving that limited occupation occurred on this site. It is entirely possible that the results prove that the early post-medieval infilling of vacant plots had not occurred on this site, as is the case elsewhere. The presence of some abraded medieval and early post-medieval pottery is indicative of manuring. The trenches were excavated to a maximum of 1.2m into the natural but were devoid of any features or artefacts of any great age or significance (ASL).
Lewes: Lewes Magistrates’ Court, Friar’s Walk. (NGR: 541864 110164). (Site Code: LMC 15. Director Gary Webster). Details to follow in next summaries (ASE).
Lewes: Lewes CFC, The Dripping Pan, Mountfield Road. (NGR: TQ 41700 09600).
(Site Code: DPL 14, Director Dylan Hopkinson). The works conducted during the watching brief phase once the exploratory test pits had been excavated to discern deposit depth is as follows. Initially the three agreed open areas of high potential impact were exposed where the ‘natural’ deposits were close to the current ground level and where a ‘pit’ had been identified during the investigation of evaluation trenches. All three open areas exposed deposits at depth that contained ceramic material and it became clear that the level that was thought to be natural was in fact historical made ground. This is thought to have been deposited on the site to raise the ground level out of the floodplain and was composed of reworked natural gravelly clays from the river deposits intermixed with material containing late medieval or early post medieval ceramics thought to have been transported from the priory post dissolution. Often these ceramics were identified in very small amounts and small fragments at depth although at least one zone containing very common and large pieces of green glazed tile was identified. Auger soundings from the deepest areas of investigation of these deposits indicated that these deposits of reclaimed land indicated an overall depth of at least 0.80m. The ‘pit’ identified during the evaluation is now reinterpreted as a lens of this material containing ceramics deposited against other dumped lens deposits that had the appearance of natural.
In total 12 east west orientated and one north south drainage trenches were monitored and recorded in greater detail. The deposits of made ground and identified chalk filled ditches that were also observed during the evaluation and test pit phases of work these have been interpreted as water channels transporting water from the Priory to the river Ouse.
The electricity conduit service trenches were then monitored which were positioned in sensitive locations that had not previously been monitored, most notably on the east side of the precinct wall and in an area along the west side of the site where surface topography indicated the likelihood of further remains of the water channel features. This phase of work also involved the hand excavation of deposits either side of the precinct wall and the controlled demolition of a small portion of the wall. The results indicated that the wall was likely to have been deconstructed in a controlled manner with demolition material deposited on the east side of the wall.
The excavation of floodlight location footings indicated that these demolition deposits continued to a great depth on the east side of the wall somewhere in the order of 0.80m to 1.00m.
Further deposits of made ground were identified in the electricity trench underneath the footpath from the football club round the tennis court and into the site and it was shown that these deposits were laid over colluvial sandy silts at a point nearly halfway along the tennis courts. A further section of the precinct wall was deconstructed in a controlled excavation beneath the gate onto Ham Lane and this indicated that the precinct wall follows a slightly different alignment beneath the current flint faced wall (ASE).
Lewes: 29 Highdown Road. (TQ 40055 10955: Lewes District). (Site code: HRL 14, Director Lisa Fisher). On January 6th 2015 ASL were commissioned to undertake a small archaeological watching brief at the site during ground works on a south east spur of the Downs for the construction of a garden room. The archaeological watching brief located only modern features and finds except one possible fragmented prehistoric hammer-stone from the sub-soil. In general, there was a lack of any features of any great age. The trenches were excavated to a depth of approximately 800mm down through to the natural geology. The excavation of half of the footprint for the garden room platform 4.5m x 5.0m in the north east corner of the rear garden was monitored. The remaining half will not be watched, as the spoil created from the excavation will be used to make the area level and no further impact will occur (ASL).
Lewes: Lewes Little Theatre, Lancaster Street. (TQ 5414 1104: Lewes District). (Site code: LLT 14, Director Lisa Fisher). In the early part of 2015 monitoring was undertaken during the excavation of footings trenches, 300mm in width, being excavated for a low boundary wall around the front of the property, including the car park frontage on Lancaster Street. Evidence for former Victorian terraced cottages were encountered which tie in with the map regression and a small section of cobbled road was excavated. In addition, a former medieval feature may have been compromised by the Victorian building as evidenced by a background scatter of 13th- to 14th- century pottery recovered from the site. The trenches were excavated to a maximum of 600mm in depth but the natural in-situ geology was not encountered and no further features or artefacts of significant age or importance were discovered (ASL).