Pook Lane, Lavant, West Sussex - Archaeological Excavation Report

Wessex Archaeology

The excavation identified multiple phases of archaeological activity dating from the Bronze Age through to the Romano-British period with some minor post-medieval activity. Two inverted Bronze Age cremation vessels, one of which was collared, were buried adjacent to each other, beside a lone post hole, all evenly spaced on an east to west alignment approximately 0.3 m apart. The post hole is believed to represent a marker for these two burials. No other activity dating to this period was identified.

The northern half of the site was largely dominated by a Mid Iron Age circular enclosure; approximately 35 m in diameter with a small entrance to the south-east. Within this was the shallow remains of a ring gully, approximately 14 m in diameter, believed to be the remains of a roundhouse. Numerous pits and post holes were also excavated within this enclosure. The ring ditch and a number of the interior pits demonstrated dumps of burnt material, the origin of which remains unknown but may relate to contemporary burnt “mounds” believed to lie adjacent to the River Lavant. Dating recovered from this enclosure suggests that it pre-dates the Iron Age phase of the Chichester Entrenchments.

Much of the site was divided by a series of Romano-British field boundaries, forming a clear grid shaped field system. A notable entrance to these fields was identified along the western edge of the site. Additionally, numerous rubbish pits containing burnt flint and pottery were investigated within this field system, predominantly in the western half of the site. Many of these ditches, in particular those nearest the western edge of site, contained reasonably large quantities of pottery, far more than is typical from simple field boundaries. This suggests that a Romano-British settlement may have existed in the vicinity, possibly on top of the hill to the immediate west of the site.

Post-medieval activity was recorded in the form of a single north – south aligned ditch bisecting the length of the site. There was evidence that this later ditch may have followed the course of an earlier, possibly Romano-British, ditch, owing to the finds assemblage recovered. However, investigations proved inconclusive in proving this with any certainty. There was also evidence for drainage of the site in the form of a series of shallow channels running down the lower half of the hillside and presumably out onto the flood plain. No dating was recovered from these features.