2004 News Archive

December 2004:-

•  Talbot Field, Hassocks
  During early December 2004, Hassocks Parish Council started planting trees at Talbot Field in Hassocks. Many of you will be aware that this is the site of the important Roman roadside settlement, on which we worked in the late 1990’s. After negotiations, some of the trees were located away from the settlement area, but a significant number have been planted where they may in the longer term through root action seriously damage the site.
  Dave Cudmore and Keith Butler carried out a watching brief during the tree planting, but the initial root holes that were dug did not go deep enough to reach the archaeological deposits (Watching Brief Report). We have got permission from the Parish Council to do some more work on Talbot Field, and this will take the form of excavation trenches around and between the recently planted trees to see what archaeology might be in danger from future root growth. We will then excavate and record any features that we discover. This will ensure that the archaeology is investigated and recorded before it is destroyed.
  - DECEMBER 2004.

July 2004

•  A Roman site at North Chailey - By Chris Butler
  During the construction of a new bungalow at North Chailey, Jack Ellis noticed that a number of possible archaeological features could be seen. Digging into one of the features Jack recovered a complete Roman pot. He then contacted me through Anthony Dicks, and after an initial visit to the site, with the help of some MSFAT members, a small-scale excavation was carried out.
  - JULY 2005 [Click the title above for more...]

April 2004:-

• Medieval Pottery - North End Barn, Hamsey
  On Good Friday a small group carried out an excavation at North End Barn, Hamsey. The owner had found a large quantity of Medieval pottery, and we wanted to try and establish the context that it had originated from.
  - APRIL 2004. [Click the title above for more...]

March 2004:-

• Barcombe Roman Villa - 2003 Report
  In 2003 the excavation at Barcombe concentrated on the area immediately to the east of the main villa building (Building 2), and the area stretching to the south-east where last year we found the tessellated floor in a new building (Building 3). A number of exciting new features were located during the excavation.
  - MARCH 2004. [Click the title above for more...]
   

• Danny Tile Kiln.
  We have been trying to find the remains of the Roman tile kiln at Danny for a number of years. The kiln was last recorded in Couchman's 1925 article in Sussex Archaeological Collections as being in a ditch. The wood in which it was supposedly located has been searched, most recently by Peter Bidmead and Michael Fairbrother.
  - MARCH 2004. [Click the title above for more...]
   

• Arlington Roman Villa.
  Following on from our work at the end of last year (see Newsletter 51), Greg Chuter has carried out further resistivity work to the east of the site, and found that our possible road continues on the same alignment. A small team re-excavated and extended our trench to see if the whole width of the road could be determined. This was achieved, and as a bonus, a Roman posthole was also found and excavated. Two further trenches were excavated on the road alignment, but the road had been completely ploughed out at these points.
  - MARCH 2004. [Click the title above for more...]