Site Code.

Site

OAKLANDS14

identification

Pestalozzi, Sedlescombe

and address
County, district
and / or
borough
O.S. grid ref.
Geology.
Project number.
Fieldwork type.
Site type.
Date of

East Sussex
TQ785176
Many
SNUFFLER1502
Excavation

2014
fieldwork.
Sponsor/client.
Project

IHRG
David Staveley

manager.
Project
supervisor.
Period
Roman
summary
Project
summary.
(100 word max)

Excavation on the site of the industrial scale Roman iron working site
at Oaklands Park, Sedlescombe.

Excavation on the site of the industrial scale

Roman iron working site at Oaklands Park,
Sedlescombe.
By David Staveley
Contents
Introduction
Acknowledgements
Trench Locations
Positioning
Trench A
Trench B
Trench C
Trench E
Trench F
Trench G
Non Pottery Finds
Summary
References
Pottery Report by Malcolm Lyne

Introduction
In 2013, a very successful geophysics survey (Staveley 2013) of the Roman period iron-working
site at Oaklands Park, Sedlescombe, took place. This excavation report should be read in
conjunction with that report. The owners of the site, Pestalozzi, were approached to allow an
excavation to take place. The main research question to be answered by this excavation was
whether or not the site was run by the Classis Britannica, by finding CL:BR stamped tiles. There are
three factors which would suggest it was. First, the site is industrial scale. Second, the site is on a
navigable river. Third, the site is connected by a slag metalled road to known Classis sites at
Beauport Park, Bodiam and Little Farningham. Secondary research questions are the function of the
rectangular building found on the geophysics and the date of the site. Three trenches, A, B and C
were planned at the start of the excavation and a further three, E, F and G were opened after the
excavation began.

Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Pestalozzi for allowing this excavation to go ahead, Robin
Hodgkinson of IHRG for organising everything, Brian Powell for his expert advice, Cameron Ross
for his digger and his drawing, Malcolm Lyne for looking at the pottery, Luke Barber for looking at
the other finds and all the diggers for taking part.

Trench Locations

Positioning
The geophysics and excavation are recorded on an arbitrary grid with two resection points using a
total station.
Position

North

East

Resection 1: C of SE face of NE gatepost of gate NW corner of field

551.37

379.15

Resection 2: C of south face of E gatepost of gate N centre of field

610.89

649.97

Trench A, West branch, SW corner

561.08

559.53

Trench A, West branch, NW corner

562.48

559.38

Trench A, NW inside join of two branches

562.83

561.93

Trench A, North branch, NW corner

568.05

561.81

Trench A, North branch, NE corner

568.01

563.98

Trench A, SE outside join of two branches

561.09

563.89

Trench B West, SW corner

554.15

540.31

Trench B West, NW corner

555.22

540.47

Trench B West, NE corner

555.07

541.67

Trench B West, SE corner

553.89

541.47

Trench B East, SW corner

553.86

541.70

Trench B East, NW corner

555.04

541.87

Trench B East, NE corner

554.41

544.58

Trench B East, SE corner

553.40

544.36

Trench C, SW corner

578.10

553.36

Trench C, NW corner

579.29

553.56

Trench C, NE corner

579.14

554.71

Trench C, SE corner

577.98

554.56

Trench E, SW corner

594.13

589.44

Trench E, NW corner

595.25

589.47

Trench E, NE corner

595.25

590.73

Trench E, SE corner

594.08

590.73

Trench G, SW corner

567.29

473.11

Trench G, NW corner

568.45

472.90

Trench G, NE corner

568.63

474.05

Trench G, SE corner

567.50

474.31

Trench A
This trench targets the main building identified by the geophysics survey. The feature showed
strongly on both magnetometry and radar, suggesting a foundation of iron slag. The building is
roughly 14m x 6.5m with a further outer northern wall. Before excavation, the central feature was
originally thought to be the foundation for a central support. This was the main target for the
excavation, with the expectation that the building would have a tile roof, potentially with the
CL:BR tiles that the project sought. The function of the building was originally expected to be
administration of the iron workings. A slot towards the eastern side of the north wall was chosen as
the radar indicated better survival towards that end of the building.
While the walls were indeed a foundation of iron slag, presumably supporting a wooden superstructure, the rest of the assumptions proved wrong. The roof was not tiled. The central support
(1004) was in fact a trample layer containing a substantial amount of hammer scale. This suggests a
smith stood here next to an anvil and the function of the building is a smithy. The outer north 'wall'
(1007) is less substantial than the inner wall (1003), and is either a lean-to on the front of the
building or a smithy entrance designed to keep out light so the smith can gauge the temperature of
what he is working with. This feature does not extend all of the way across the front of the building,
with a terminal present in the trench, making the smithy entrance the more likely explanation. The
floor layer has been ploughed away, with the building closer to the surface than much of the other
archaeology on the site. Now the building is known to be a smithy, strongly magnetic features on
the geophysics against the south and east walls may possibly be identified as the site of forges.
The date of the building from the pottery in the two walls excavated seems to be much later than the
rest of the iron workings, perhaps even from the sub-Roman period. The dating is problematic
because the floor layer has been ploughed away and most of the topsoil was removed with a digger.
While there was still a some material removed by trowel, little pot was found. If the building really
is sub-Roman, that would be expected. Though a single piece of later Roman pottery may indicate a
late Roman building occupied in the sub-Roman period, a sub-Roman date is more likely.
Context Description
1000

Topsoil. Mostly removed by a digger. The remaining overburden contained little pottery,
with a few sherds of early Roman and post medieval, plus a single sherd of late Roman.

1002

Cut of inner north wall

1003

Fill of 1002. A single piece of post Roman pottery was found in the fill. Only a small
part was sectioned (section 2) and the iron slag visible here on the plan are what was left
after the rest in the centre had been removed. The remains of the part of the feature cut
by the plough could be seen slightly to the north of its original location. The more
shallow cut on the south side was not as obvious on the surface, so the feature may be
larger to the east of the section than what is shown on the plan. A broken piece of tuyere
was found in this context, probably introduced with the slag foundation.

1004

Cut of trample layer

1005

Fill of 1004. A sample of this feature was taken, which contained a substantial amount of
hammer scale.

1006

Cut of outer north wall

1007

Fill of 1006. A further two pieces of post Roman pottery were found in this fill. There
was much less slag (about 10%) in the foundation layer of this feature compared to 1003.

Trench A Plan

Trench A photo collage

Inner Wall

Outer Wall

Trench A Section 1

Trench A Section 2

Trench A Section 3

Trench B
This trench targeted an area to the west of the main building, with undefined strong readings on
both the magnetometry and radar. Initially, a 1.2m square test pit was opened, followed by a larger
area to the east when the test pit turned out to be finds rich. The original reason for targeting this
area is that on the radar, the area seemed to contain a mound of rubbish. It was suspected that this
was a pile of material stripped from the main building to the east once it had been robbed. In fact,
the area turned out to contain its own building, or perhaps multiple buildings on the same spot in
different periods, though these were less substantial than the building to the east, having no solid
foundation.
In reverse chronological order, Trench B is described as follows. The natural clay is very disturbed
and undulating in this area, with possible stakeholes, especially towards the western end. The
remains of four posts (2006,2007), or at least where they sat are visible in the corners of the western
test pit. Three of them (2007) are just gleyed natural, where the post have sat and have been
removed, allowing standing water to gley the underlying clay. The forth (2006) has the natural clay
burned orange, as the post here was burned. Some time after this, the top soil was stripped, leaving
no post pipes for 2006 or 2007. On top of the remaining natural is the remains of a plank of wood
burnt in-situ (2018) with burnt clay around it. There is no cut for this plank, it was simply discarded
and was not part of a structure. On top of all this, a mottled mix of redeposited topsoil and clay,
probably including some of what was stripped, was built up to provide a level surface (2004,2014).
A beam slot (2016) for a timber building was then cut into this layer and a charcoal and pottery rich
occupation layer (2003,2005) formed, into which further pit features (2009, 2011, 2013) were cut.
After the site went out of use, the area was covered in clay rich colluvium (2002) from upslope
agriculture and the modern topsoil formed (2000). The pottery suggests the building was in use
from the late first to the early second century. A single unstratified Roman minim was found in the
spoil heap with no identifying surface features.
Context

Description

2000

Topsoil. Some medieval and post medieval pottery and tile.

2002

Subsoil/colluvium. A small amount of Roman and post medieval pottery.

2003/2005 Occupation layer containing a substantial amount of charcoal and Roman pottery
dated from the late first to early second century.
2004/2014 Mottled mix of redeposited clay and topsoil
2006

Natural clay burnt orange, most likely from a burning post

2007

Natural clay gleyed grey, most likely from the removal of a post and pooling of water

2008

Post hole cut, filled by 2009

2009

Fill of posthole 2008 with slag packing. First century pottery.

2010

Pit cut, filled by 2011 containing 50% slag.

2011

Fill of 2010. First century pottery

2012

Pit cut, filled by 2013

2013

Fill of 2012 containing charcoal and slag. First century pottery.

2015

Cut of beam slot

2016

Fill of beam slot, with decayed wooden beam still present. First century pottery.

2018

Burnt plant resting on natural, no cut.

Trench B East Section Partially Excavated

Trench B Plan Fully Excavated

Trench B West Sections

Trench B East Sections

Trench B West, Almost Complete Pot From 2003

Trench B East, Beam Slot In 2016

Trench B East Section Fully Excavated

Trench C
This trench targeted a pit on the other side of the east-west track to the building in Trench A. The pit
is very large, approximately 30m x10m on the magnetometry and 1.6m deep according to the radar.
It was thought that some of the tiles from the building to the south may have made their way
downslope into this pit, so Trench C was dug to sample it. The placement of the trench is slightly to
the south of the centre of the pit, hence the slight downward slope in the layers.
The bottom of the pit was found to be an undulating but feature free cut into a clean clay that had
been gleyed white. Some silting then occurred during the Roman period (3009) followed by a
number of thin Roman dump layers containing slag and charcoal (3006), burnt clay (3007) and
charcoal (3008) forming a lens of anthropogenic material within the pit. Above this was a finds free
layer of alluvium (3005), where the pit had become filled with water possibly shortly after the site
had gone out of use. Above this was a layer of clay colluvium (3002), probably from the
commencement of arable agriculture further up the slope. The purpose of the pit seems to be to
provide clay for the building of the Roman bloomeries and seems to have been dug in the first
century.
Context Description
3000

Ploughsoil containing post-medieval tile and a piece of clay pipe.

3002

Light clay colluvium from later agricultural activity upslope. A few sherds of abraded
residual Roman pottery

3003

Cut for a land drain, filled by 3004

3004

No land drain present in cut made for it. Upper part indistinct as it merges into 3002.
Residual Roman pottery

3005

Darker alluvial layer with flecks of charcoal and burnt clay from when the pit had filled
to become a pond. A single curved body piece of a glass vessel, 1mm thick and pottery
dating from the 1st & 2nd centuries were present. This alluvial silting probably started
during the Roman period and continued after the site went out of use. While there are
two layers shown here on the plan, they look quite similar and the context change was
not noticed until the drawing was done, hence the finds from the two layers are lumped
together.

3006

Dump layer of iron slag and some charcoal.

3007

Layer containing mostly orange burnt clay with a small amount of roasted ore
suggesting the remains of a spent bloomery furnace had been dumped in the pit.

3008

A layer of almost pure charcoal dumped into the pit.

3009

A dark silt layer with some charcoal probably represents the first colluvial activity after
the pit was dug and while the site was still in use. The few sherds of pottery suggest a
first century date for this layer.

Trench C Plan, partially excavated

Trench C Sections

Trench C, East Facing, West Section

Trench C, North Facing, South Section

Trench E
Trench E was targeted at the northern end of another very large pit, similar to trench C, only this
time it was approximately 20m x 8m, 1.3m deep and peanut shaped. As with trench C, it was hoped
that some tile had been dumped into the pit and made up part of the relatively solid lens of material
at the bottom. Unfortunately, no tile was recovered.
In reverse chronological order, Trench C is described as follows. 5003 is a layer of gleyed clay
colluvium containing flecks of charcoal. It was not bottomed out. Though this layer contains
anthropogenic material it was otherwise finds free and it is likely that it pre-dates the pit, which was
cut into it. On the boundary of 5003 and the first layer of the pit itself, 5002, there was a layer of
pottery dated late 1st to early 2nd century. Above this, the bulk of 5002 consisted of some slag and a
lot of burnt clay fragments, no doubt the discarded remains of a bloomery. Above this layer was a
thick layer of clay colluvium (5000). Unlike the pit at trench C, this pit was not filled by water after
it went out of use.

Context Description
5000

Ploughsoil and orange clay colluvium containing a few residual sherds of Roman and
post-medieval pottery washed down into the pit by later agricultural activity.

5002

Layer of burnt clay, iron slag and late 1st early 2nd century pottery. This thin layer of
rubbish was dumped at what is probably the bottom of the pit before it went out of use.
The plan shows the burnt clay in black.

5003

Though almost pure clay, this layer contains a few specks of charcoal, suggesting this is
actually colluvium. This layer most likely pre-dates the Roman period. The depth of the
layer is not known as it was not bottomed out.

Trench E Section 1

Trench E Plan 1

Trench E, Top of 5002

Trench F
The purpose of trench was to target the slag bank. It has been mentioned that tile was found during
extraction of the slag bank (Straker 1931 p.329), so a sampling of this bank might produce the
CL:BR tiles we were looking for. Pottery, coins, brick and tile had previously been found when the
bulk of the slag was removed for road making. A single 1x1m test pit was opened. After
approximately 80cm of colluvium, a layer of almost solid slag was found. This layer was not
bottomed out due to the depth of the test pit and the lack of finds.

Trench F Section 1

Context Description
6000

Ploughsoil and colluvium containing Post-medieval tile. As the slag below has probably
been partly removed, it is likely that this layer formed after the slag was removed for
road building.

6002

Solid slag layer. Only a single sherd of RB pottery was found. Other parts of the slag
heap would probably be more productive.

Trench G
Finding a lack of Roman tile elsewhere on the site, the final test pit, Trench G, sampled a different
feature type on a different part of the site. The geophysics appeared to show a pit feature of some
kind, and it was hoped that this would contain tile thrown in as rubbish. A 2x1m test pit was
opened, half-sectioning the feature. The excavations were rather hurried and at the end of the week,
so the record of this feature is not ideal. The plan below is not at a level, but of the fully excavated
feature and reflects the level reached in the section. Context 7004 was revealed but not excavated.
The full extent of the pit was not revealed, but would have been 2-3m wide.
In reverse chronological order, the cut of the pit occurred in the Roman period (7002). The function
of the pit is not clear. It was originally thought to be an ore roasting pit, but there was no sign of
burning of the natural. The lowest layer of fill (7005) was very charcoal rich and contained a lot of
Roman pottery, dated from the 1st to 2nd centuries. A further dump of burnt clay (7004), presumably
old bloomery lining, was dumped on the south side of the pit. Above those contexts, a further layer
of silting and dumping (7003) contained pottery from the same period. Near the top of this context,
several blocks of unroasted iron ore were placed in the centre of the pit The topsoil (7000)
contained a lot of post-medieval tile, reflecting its proximity to the modern occupation adjacent to
the road to the west.

Context Description
7000

Ploughsoil and colluvium containing Post-medieval tile and other finds of that period.

7002

The cut of the pit

7003

Silting and dumping during the Roman period. The fill contains flecks of charcoal, burnt
clay, small pieces of slag, significant amounts of Romano-British pottery and large,
seemingly placed, slabs of unroasted iron ore.

7004

A dump of burnt clay dumped on the south side of the pit

7005

A charcoal and pottery rich dump layer at the bottom of the pit.

Trench G Plan 1

Trench G Section 1

Trench G, Partially excavated

Trench G, Mostly excavated

Non-Pottery Finds
Trench Context Finds
A

1000

17 tile (18th-19th C), 3 glass (16th-19th C), 3 nails, 1 clay pipe (19th C)

1003

Tuyere piece

Unstrat

Roman minim coin, no features

2000

15 tile, 2 brick, 1 glass. All 18th-19th C

2002

2 nails, 1 whetstone?

2005

3 nails, 1 flint flake, 2 daub

3005

1 glass, 1mm thick, from fine curved Roman vessel

5000

5 tile (18th-19th C), 1 nail

5002

1 nail

6000

7 tile (18th-19th C)

7000

8 tile (18th-19th C), 1 iron bar (carrying handle)

7003

1 nail, 2 glass (strap handle of Roman glass flagon), 7 tile (18th-19th C)

7005

1 nail, 1 piece of lead (pottery repair, repaired pot found), 2 bone

References
Staveley, D. 2013. Geophysics at Oaklands Park & the Roman Road South. Unpublished report

Summary
The answers to the research questions are as follows. There were no CL:BR stamped tiles found, so
the site was not proven to be run by the Classis Britannica. In fact, there was not a single piece of
Roman tile from any of the trenches, which may be significant in itself. The function of the building
was found to be for smithing. The date of the site from the 6 trenches was 1 st 2nd C Roman, with
additional 5th C sub-Roman material from the smithy in trench A. While the building cannot be
definitely dated to the sub-Roman period, it can be said there was sub-Roman activity at the
building's location.
Trench B was found to contain part of a timber building. Trenches C and E were massive pits for
clay extraction, presumably used for bloomery construction. Trench F showed a significant depth of
the slag bank still exists. Trench G is a rubbish pit associated with the iron industry.
The secondary research questions have been answered. The primary research question is
unanswered, and given the lack of any Roman tile found on site, is unlikely to be answered in the
positive with further excavation, so no further excavations are planned.

THE POTTERY FROM OAKLANDS PARK IRON-WORKING SITE, EAST

SUSSEX (OP14)
By
Malcolm Lyne
1. Introduction
The seven trenches on this site yielded 474 sherds (7083 g.) of pottery from 27 contexts. The
bulk of this material is 1st-to-2nd c. in date, with just a few medieval and post-medieval sherds
coming from the topsoil. Trench A, however, yielded a few late Roman and Early Saxon sherds as
well.
2. Methodology
All of the pottery assemblages were quantified by numbers of sherds and their weights per
fabric. These fabrics were classified using a x8 magnification lens with built-in metric graticule in
order to identify the natures, sizes, forms and frequencies of added filler inclusions, as well as those
naturally present in the clay. Six numbered fabric series were drawn up, with the prefixes P, C, F, S,
M and PM for Prehistoric, Coarse Roman, Fine Roman, Sub-Roman-to-Middle Saxon, Medieval
and Post-Medieval respectively (Appendix 1).
None of the pottery assemblages are large enough for further quantification by Estimated
Vessel Equivalents (EVEs) based on rim sherds (Orton 1975).
3. The Assemblages
3.1. Early Roman
Assemblage 1. From the occupation on the floor of the building in Trench B (Contexts 2003 and
2005).
The 187 sherds (3253 g.) of pottery recovered from this occupation were quantified by
numbers of sherds and their weights per fabric:
Table
Fabric
C1A/B
C1E
C2
F1A
F4A
F6A
MISC

No.of sherds
159
7
1
7
6
1
6
187

%
85.0
3.8
0.5
3.8
3.2
0.5
3.2

Weight in gm.
3101
83
4
18
16
25
6
3253

%
95.3
2.6
0.1
0.6
0.5
0.7
0.2

As might be expected on an Early Roman Wealden iron-working site, there is an

overwhelming predominance of handmade East Sussex Ware sherds. These make up 89% of the
assemblage by sherd count, 98% by weight and are mostly from small slack-profiled jars similar to
c.AD.50-100 dated examples from Meeching School, Newhaven and elsewhere (Green

1976,Figs.21 and 22, 9,12,13 and 24). Fragments from a butt-beaker copy can be similarly dated but
others from a large neck-cordoned jar with girth groove could push occupation within in the
building into the early 2nd century.
Minority wares comprise fragments from a South Gaulish Samian Dr.27 cup (c.AD.43-110),
small jars of Monaghans class 3A1 and type 3B1.1 in North Kent Fineware (1987, c.AD.43-70 and
c.50/70-100 respectively) and a Gauloise 5 wine amphora (c.AD.50-100). The last-mentioned is
somewhat abraded and the attribution not entirely certain. Nevertheless, the building seems to have
been in use during the period c.AD.43/50-100/150.
Assemblage 2. From the fills of rubbish-pit 7002 in Trench G (Contexts 7003 and 7005).
The 114 sherds (2167g.) of pottery from this feature also have a predominance of East
Sussex Ware sherds (89%), including some from slack-profiled jars similar to those in Assemblage
1. Two of these are particularly poorly made in the vesicular East Sussex Ware variant C1B with
external linear burnished latticing and of similar form to plain examples from the Mayfield and
Oaky Wood bloomeries and other iron-working sites in the Weald (Green 1981,Fig.2,5 and 7).
Other East Sussex Ware forms include a well-made cavetto-rim jar in fabric variant C1C with traces
of black resin on its neck, similar to an early-second-century example from Meeching School,
Newhaven (Green 1976,Fig.29,127): this jar is different in appearance to other East Sussex Ware
vessels in the assemblage, with the resin on the neck suggesting that it may have been used as
packaging for some commodity originating in the Newhaven area.
Minority wares include two rim fragments from a c.AD.70-200 dated jar in distinctive white
fabric C4 fired blue-grey to black, thought to originate in a pottery industry based in the Barcombe
area and a predecessor of the late Roman Wickham Barn kilns (Butler and Lyne 2001). All this
indicates an early-2nd-century date for the pit.
Assemblage 3. From the fills of the clay pit in Trench E (Contexts 5002 and 5003).
This feature was not bottomed but the lower dumped-clay fill (5003) yielded 30 fresh
sherds. Twenty-five of the fragments were from East Sussex Ware jars, one from a beaker in
Hardham London Ware (c.AD.43-150) and four from a Verulamium Region Whiteware flagon
(c.AD.50-150). A late 1st-to-early 2nd c. date is suggested for the back-filling of this clay-pit but a
lack of rims and other diagnostic sherds makes more precise dating difficult.
The 17 potsherds from burnt clay layer in the top of the pit do, however, include three more
fresh sherds from the same Verulamium Region Whiteware flagon as was in the clay below,
indicating that the two fills went into the pit as part of one operation. The 13 East Sussex Ware
fragments include a fragment from a lid-seated bowl unlikely to be earlier than c.AD.150 (Lyne
1994, Form 5B.10) and paralleled at Beauport Park. The presence of this fragment pushes the
backfilling of the clay pit on into the late 2nd century.
3.2. Late Roman-to-5th century
Assemblage 4. From the rectangular building sectioned in Trench A (Contexts 1000, 1003 and
1007).
This trench was the largest in the excavation but only produced 13 sherds (66 g.) of pottery.
Ten of these sherds came from the topsoil (1000) and include two Late Roman fragments from an
open form in Oxfordshire Red Colour-coat fabric F8 (c.AD.240-400+) and an everted-rim jar in
coarse-sanded greyware from an indeterminate source: these are the only Late Roman sherds from
the entire site.

More significantly, the cut through the inner north wall of the building (1003) yielded a
single handmade jar sherd in grass-tempered greyware of post-Roman date and a similar fabric to
that encountered on 5th-to-6th c. sites in western Britain and in 5th c. contexts at Pevensey (Lyne
2009, Fabric M1,p.123).
The cut through the outer north wall of the lean-to addition to the building yielded a further
three sherds: one of these was a slightly abraded, residual East Sussex Ware sherd but the other two
came from the same tiny handmade vessel with simple near vertical rim measuring a mere 10
centimetres in diameter, fired to a low-temperature carbon-soaked black with grog, sand and black
ironstone filler and some external chaff impressions. This fabric is also paralleled at Pevensey in 5th
c. contexts (Ibid. Fabric A8,p.97) and the form approaches that of an example from there
(Ibid.Fig.32,7)
A 5th c. date would go some way to explaining the small quantity of pottery associated with
a building constructed at a time when very little was in use.
Bibliography
Butler.C, Lyne.M. 2001 The Roman Pottery Production Site at Wickham Barn, Chiltington, East
Sussex, BAR Brit Ser 323
Green,C.M. 1976 The coarse pottery, in Bell,M.,The Excavation of an early Romano-British
site and Pleistocene landforms at Newhaven, Sussex, Sussex Archaeol Collect 114, 256-287.
Green,C.M. 1981 Pottery Report, in Tebbutt,C.F.,Wealden Bloomery Iron Smelting Furnaces,
Sussex Archaeol Collect 119, 61
Lyne,M. 1994 Late Roman Handmade Wares in South-East Britain, Unpublished PhD thesis
University of Reading.
Lyne,M. 2009 Excavations at Pevensey Castle 1936 to 1964, BAR Brit Ser 503.
Monaghan,J. 1987 Upchurch and Thameside Roman Pottery, BAR Brit Ser 173.
Orton,C.J. 1975 Quantitative Pottery Studies, Some Progress,Problems and Prospects, Science
and Archaeology 16, 30-35.

APPENDIX 1
Fabrics
Prehistoric
P1. Handmade rough black-cored pink fabric with profuse ill-sorted 0.50<3.00 mm. crushed-flint
and <0.10 mm. quartz-sand filler
Late Iron Age-Roman
Coarse
C1A. Soapy East Sussex Ware
C1B. Vesicular East Sussex Ware
C1C. East Sussex Ware with multi-coloured grog filler
C1D. East Sussex Ware with black and white grog filler
C1E. East Sussex Ware with additional fine crushed ironstone grit
C1F. East Sussex Ware with profuse hard <0.50 mm. pre-fired angular white grog
C1G. East Sussex Ware with white and orange grog
C2. White fabric with profuse <0.10 mm. multi-coloured quartz-sand filler, fired smooth grey-black
C3. Pink wheel-turned fabric with profuse <0.20 mm. multi-coloured and iron-stained quartz-sand
filler. Canterbury source
C4. Miscellaneous Roman Greyware
Fine
F1A. South Gaulish Samian
F2. Gallo-Belgic Whiteware
F3. Hardham London ware
F4A. North Kent Fineware
F4B. Hoo St.Werbergh Fineware
F6A. Silty cream fabric with <0.20mm. soft brown ferrous inclusions
F6B. ?Wiggonholt crean ware with <0.30 mm. multi-coloured quartz-sand filler
F7. Verulamium Region Whiteware
F8. Oxfordshire Red Colour-coat
Sub-Roman
S1. Grass-tempered ware
S2. Handmade black fabric with similarly coloured grog, sparse crushed black ironstone, occasional
<5.00 mm. oyster shell and a few chaff impressions
Medieval
M1. Buff-brown fabric with profuse <0.10 mm. iron-stained quartz-sand filler and internal applegreen glaze
Post-Medieval
PM1. Silty grey hard fabric fired smooth pink-brown with dark ferrous inclusions
PM2. Miscellaneous earthenwares
PM3. ?Metropolitan Slipware

APPENDIX 2
Catalogue
Context
A1000

Fabric
C1A
C1B
C4
F6B
F8
PM1
PM2
PM3

Form

A1003

S1

Closed

A1007

C1A
S2

Jar
Crude jar

B U/S

C1C

Necked jar
Lid

B2000

C1
F1A
M1
PM2

B2002

C1
F1A
PM1

B2003

C1A
C1B
C2
F1A
F4A
F6A
MISC

Jar
Ev rim jar
Open form
Open form

Jug
Pipkin
Jars
Dr29
Dr36
Closed
Necked jarsx2
Butt beaker
Neck-cordon jar
Jar
Dr27
3A1 jar
Beaker
Gaul 5 amphora

Date-range
c.170-250
c.50-150
c.240-400
c.1500-1700
c.1650-1750
Residual
c.450-650

3
12
15g

2
5
2
1
3
11
9

33g
87
8
30
25
150g
92

4
1
14

22
4
118g

c.50-100/150

54
1
1
1
2
1
2
62

1941
4
4
4
2
23
3
1981g

15g

105
7
6
3
2
4
127
2
1
3

1160
83
14
10
5
3
1275g
10
41
51g

11

107g

5
1
1

29
6
1

2
1
10

3
1
40g

1
3
1
5

6
34
1
41g

c.1350-1500
c.1500-1600
Residual
c.43-85
c.70-110
?16th c.
Residual
c.50BC-AD100
c.30-100
c.25BC-AD150
c.50-250
c.43-110
c.43-70
c.45-150
c.50-100

C1D

Jar

Early Roman

B2005

C1A
C1E
F1A
F4A
MISC

Jarsx7
Asham pot
Dr27
Beaker
Pipeclay figurine
Misc

c.50BC-AD.100
c.43-200
c.43-70
c.43-250

C1A
C1F

Necked jar
Jar

C1C
C1D

Jar with bl paint

Asham pot
Jar

B2011

Wt in gm
8
22
2
5
6
1
1
3
48g
3g

1
2
3

c.450-650
c.450-650

B2004

B2009

No of sherds
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
9
1

c.43-100
c.50BC-AD.70

C1A
C3
F2
F4A
F4B

Jars
Flagon
Beaker
2G1 biconical
Beaker
Closed

c.50-150
c.43-70
c.70-100
c.70-100

B2014

P1
C1C
F4B

Jar
Jars
?Flagon

B2016

C1A

Open form

Topsoil
Abraded. Inner north
wall
Sl abraded
Fresh
Outer north wall

Topsoil
Abraded
Abraded
Abraded
Sl abraded
Subsoil
Fresh
Fresh
Fresh
Abraded
Sl abraded
Sl abraded
Fresh
Abraded
Abraded
Occ layer below 2002
=2005
Redeposited clay and
soil below 2003.
=2014
Fresh
Fresh
Sl abraded
Abraded
Abraded
Occupation =2003
Sl abraded
PH 2008 fill sealed
by 2005

c.50BC-AD.70
c.43-200
c.43-70

B2013

Comments

c.500BC-AD.0
c.50BC-AD.250
c.43-250
c.500BC-AD.43+

Fill of Pit 2010cut

through 2014 and
sealed by 2005
Fresh
Abraded
Abraded
Fresh
Fresh
Fresh
Fill of Pit 2012 cut
through 2014 and
sealed by 2005
Fresh
Abraded
Sl abraded
Redeposited clay =
2004
Abraded

Jar

C3002

C1C
C1G
C3

Jar

C3004

C1A

Jar

C3005

C1A
C1E
C3

Jars
Jars
Closed

C3009

C1A
C1B
F1A

Early Roman

1
2

13
19g

Residual
Residual

6
2
1
9
1

42
13
4
59g
22g

13
7
2
22

100
53
4
157g

1
1
1
3

10
5
5
20g

9
1
2
12

141
3
29
173g

c.43-120
c.50-150
c.70-200

12
1
1
3
17

187
33
8
21
249g

c.50BC-AD70
c.43-150
c.50-150
c.50BC-AD150

25
1
4
30

253
2
93
348g

c.50BC-AD250
c.50-150

c.43-110
1st c

Abraded
Beam slot 2015 fill
cut into 2014. below
2005
V abraded
V abraded
Abraded
Subsoil
Abraded. Fill of land
drain 3003
Abraded
Abraded
Abraded
Alluvial fill below
3002, 3003
Fresh
Fresh
Sl abraded
Lowest fill below
3007

E5000

C1
PM2
MISC

Jars

E5002

C1C
C1E
F4A
F7

Ev rim store-jar
Jar
Incip b+fl bowl
Jar base
4J1 bowl
Flagon

E5003

C1A
F3
F7

Inc furrowed jar

Beaker
Flagon

F6000
F6002

C1
C4

Jar base

Residual
c.50-200

2
1

12g
7g

G U/S
G7000

F1A
C4
Tile
Fir clay
Iron
fitting

Dr 27
Jar base
Peg tile

c.43-110
Late Roman
c.1500-1900

1
1
7
1

5g
20
195
10
225g

Topsoil

C1C

Necked jarsx4
Butt-beaker
Neck cordoned jar
Beaker
Jar
Jug

Residual
c.43-150
c.43-100
c.70-200
c.70-250

G7003

54
8
2
1
1
66

854
114
6
5
3
982g

Clay fill of cut 7002

C1E
C2
C4
M1
G7005

C1A
C1B
C1C
C1E
F4A
F6B
Lead item

Necked jar
GB platter copy
Slack jarsx2
Cavetto-rim jar
Lid-seated jar
Jar
Beaker

Residual
c.100-250
c.70-200
c.150-300

c.1350-1550
c.1350+
c.50BC-AD70
c.43-70
c.50BC-AD50
c.70-200
c.43-250
c.50-150
c.43-150

35
4
1
8
1
49

Topsoil
Fresh
Fresh
Fresh
Fresh
Fresh
Fresh
Burnt clay layer
below topsoil
Fresh
Fresh
Fresh
Redeposited clay etc
below 5002
Topsoil
Iron slag below
topsoil

1106
66
3
10
1185g

Charcoal fill of cut

7002 below 7003 and
7004