THE CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE AREA AROUND ALFOLDEAN
What we know
Sussex has no major Roman town, except Noviomagus Regnarum (Chichester, SU5604), which was a tribal Civitates, and the reason for such absence is probably because of the foundation of London in about AD50. This will have affected the way in which the county functioned from then on and it is still difficult to remove the effects from one’s mind when considering the prehistoric periods. Thus far, not even any small towns have been discovered in the area, certainly not within the borders of Sussex. Surrey boasts only one, Staines (Pontibus: ‘at the bridges’); a large amount of archaeological work there awaits publication and should provide us with a much greater understanding of the settlement’s history. Major settlements are also few and far between. Ewell, in Surrey (TQ226), was one such larger settlement, which may have also been an important ritual centre like Springhead in Kent, and again there is a need for more publication. There are no such major Romano-British settlements within the Sussex border. However, of minor settlements, there are four, Alfoldean being one, and also Hardham (TQ0317), The Roman settlement here lay to the south of the crossing of Stane Street over the River Arun, just to the east of the confluence of the River Rother. At Hassocks (TQ2915) a substantial Roman settlement has been suspected for some time, but this is based solely on the discovery of a large Roman cemetery to the north-west of the town, coupled with the fact that two Roman roads meet here. There is a Roman villa at Bignor (SU9814) about three miles (5km) along Stane Street to the south-west of Hardham, and another in the opposite direction along Stane Street at Pulborough (TQ0620), with a Romano-Celtic mausoleum nearby (TQ0618). There are substantial Roman buildings a few miles to the west along the Rother Valley at Duncton (SU9616) and to the immediate east of the settlement at Wiggonholt (TQ0617). Wiggonholt is an extensive settlement, covering over 100-acres, located between the River Arun and its tributary, the Stor, originating c. mid 1st century AD. In the early 2nd century a pottery kiln was built, specializing in flagons. A masonry bath-house, excavated 1937-9, was extended in the late 4th century (c.30 m length), indicating an extensive period of occupation. There are some indications that a villa may lie to the east of the baths, and the large villa at Borough Farm lies just 1.5 miles distant. A 3rd - 4th century metalworking zone was located on the northern part of the site. and Holtye (TQ4438); The Wiggonholt "industrial" settlement lies on, or adjoining, the alignment of the Roman Sussex Greensand Way - the Hardham-Barcombe road. There have been several small bits of fieldwork in this area in the 1990s- mostly watching briefs, usually finding a few Roman features.
In Hampshire, lies Iping (SU8426), a rectangular earthwork with rounded corners lying astride the Roman road between two major British tribal centres at Noviomagus Regnorum (Chichester) and Venta Belgarum (Winchester). Measuring a mere 282 feet by 367 (86 x 112 metres), the area enclosed by the turf defences was only about 2¼ acres (c.0.9ha), which is very small indeed, and would have difficulty accommodating more than the official posting station and perhaps an iron-smithy. The station is situated just over two miles to the north of Iping village, just south-east of the point where the Roman road crossed the Hammer Stream. Although unexcavated, surface finds of Roman material have been found within the confines of the earthwork by the Ordnance Survey; The Roman settlement at Neatham (SU7441) lies about the crossing of the Silchester to Chichester (north-south) road with the main London to Winchester (east-west) road, just north of the fording over the River Wey. Excavations in the 1980's to the west of the Silchester to Chichester highway revealed a number of rectangular, timber-built dwellings abutting onto the road, one measuring 3.5x20 metres. Behind these buildings, some of which revealed evidence of bronze-working, lay a 40m wide area delineated by a suspected boundary ditch, which was dotted by various (storage?) pits and wells. A previous dig undertaken in the 1970's had revealed a flint-built bath-house, in use between the late-third to late-fourth centuries, whose back wall was later found to conform to this suspected 40m western boundary. Occupation of this civilian settlement lasted from Flavian times until the late-fourth or early-fifth centuries; and in Surrey at Guildford (TQ0248) where there is a fair chance of there having been a Roman settlement of some nature, where the ancient ridge-track "The Pilgrim's Way" crosses the River Wey, a tributary of the Thames. The most likely site for the settlement being between the river crossing and the junction with the Roman road to Alfoldean to the east . There are two villas on the western side of the River Wey at Compton (SU9547) and Broadstreet (SU9651).
The best excavated villa remains the one at Bignor (SU9814), One of the largest villas in Britain (c.115 x 140 m not including outer courtyard). It is situated just to the north of the chalk downs, on fertile arable ground, near to Stane Street. A simple timber-framed corridor villa, built in the late 2nd/early 3rd century, was replaced by a masonry winged-corridor villa in the mid 3rd century. At the start of the 4th century, it was transformed into an extensive courtyard villa, set within a large masonry outer enclosure. It seems to have gradually declined in the late 4th - 5th centuries. It was originally excavated 1811-19, then again in the mid to latter part of the 20th century. Excavations continue today. There are a plethora of such villas following the Greensand Way, the coastline, and many of the south-facing ridges above the floodplains. - villas such as Pulborough (TQ0620), Hurstpierpoint (TQ2815), Angmering (TQ0504), Here the masonry foundations of an extensive villa, including a bathhouse, tessellated pavements, tiles and other domestic material were excavated in the 18th and 19th centuries and poorly recorded. There were also five cinerary urns (1st century AD?) and three late 3rd century coin hoards in the area. A little further west is the villa at Littlehampton, [Gosden Road] (TQ0302) a small, masonry corridor villa, built mid - late 2nd century AD (c.30 x 16 m). It consisted of a range of four rooms running north-south, although there were a series of alterations and additions. It was possibly preceded by a simple farmstead in the 1st century AD, and was probably abandoned in the later 3rd century. Earlier pits and Ditches contained Iron Age saucepan pottery, probably deposited in the 1st century BC. At least one cremation burial was found nearby, dating to mid-late 2nd century AD., and also the palace at Fishbourne (SU8304) which lay near to a coastal inlet, just over 2 km west of the Roman town of Noviomagus (Chichester). The earliest buildings were dated to the Roman conquest period and seem to have had military associations, possibly linked with the initial invasion of AD 43. In the early AD 60s, a substantial masonry 'proto-palace' was built. This was then incorporated into the great palace - probably built by the client king Togidubnus in c.AD 75-80. It is the largest domestic dwelling yet found in Roman Britain (c.160 x 140 m). It was of classical Mediterranean inspiration, with four wings surrounding large formal gardens. During the 2nd century AD it was drastically reduced in size, with only the north wing being occupied. Nevertheless, it is clear that a high standard of living was kept, with a succession of new mosaic floors being laid. At the end of the 3rd century AD, whilst preparations were being made for substantial new building works, the villa suffered a disastrous fire, which left it as a gutted ruin. It was never reoccupied. Work is still continuing at this important site adding important knowledge of the villa’s surroundings. Only two seasons ago (2006), an entirely hitherto unknown villa has been discovered at Blacksmith’s Corner, Walberton (SU9806). To the west, there are, Chilgrove 1 Villa at Brick Kiln Farm, Wellmeadow (SU8312), a Corridor villa in the South Downs, c.1400 m from Chilgrove 2 villa and 1500 m from Bow Hill temple. It was built in the late 1st century AD, possibly replacing a late Iron Age farmstead, as indicated by pottery, hearths and postholes. In the late 3rd century AD, it was rebuilt in a grander style (c.40 m in length), and further improvements were made in the 4th century. At the end of the 4th century, it was partly burnt down, the building materials were robbed, and an ironworking forge was set up.; Chilgrove 2 villa lies in Crossroads Field (SU8413) a villa and outbuildings, near to Chilgrove 1 villa and facing the main road to Silchester, c.200 m to the east. The earliest timber structure dated to the 2nd century AD. It was rebuilt in masonry in the late 3rd century, and enlarged in the 4th century (see plan: c.75 m length). There was a decline in standards during the late 4th century, but occupation continued into the 5th century, when there may have been an amalgamation with Chilgrove 1; Pitlands Farm, Compton, Up Marden (SU7912), an aisled villa building and bath house, located 2.5 miles west of Chilgrove 1 villa & 1.6 miles east of West Marden villa. Only a small part of the villa site has been investigated. It was probably built in the Flavian period & lasted until the late 4th/early 5th century AD, with significant improvement in the early 4th century; Watergate Hanger, West Marden (SU7712) is a modest villa on the South Downs, consisting initially of a three roomed cottage, and later transforming into a winged corridor villa. Mosaics were found in some of the rooms. Pottery indicated occupation from the mid 2nd to 4th century AD.; To the north of Alfoldean are further villas across the border into Surrey, - Ewhurst (TQ0841), Walton Heath (TQ2353), and Walton on the Hill (TQ2255). In general ,However, Surrey’s villas do not fit the national pattern very well and Ashtead (TQ1760) in particular is extraordinary in various ways. This last was the centre of a tile industry whose products included decorated box tiles, a peculiarity shared with Randolph’s Farm, Hurstpierpoint (TQ2815) which also boasted a villa and tile kiln, discovered in 1857, on elevated ground in the low Weald. It consisted of a large (c.24 x 9 m) section of tesselated floor, along with chalk foundations, flint walls, and a hypocaust. Poorly dated. Cinerary urns, metalled roads and other Roman material have been found in the area.
A well-preserved tile kiln at Reigate (TQ2850) has recently been lifted for display by the Surrey Archaeological Society. Epsom (TQ1861) also had a tile kiln. Sussex also has a few tile kilns among which are Wiston (TQ1513) a probable Roman tilery site on the Downs, consisting of many tiles, wall foundations and a furnace, found in 1848. There is very limited information, and the exact site is now lost; Wykhurst (TQ0840); Itchingfield (TQ1429) a Roman tileworks near to the river Arun, probably serving the needs of the enclosed settlement at Alfoldean, 2.5 miles distant. It consisted of a tile maker's workshop and integral drying area, built after tile making had begun in the 2nd century AD. There were many dumps of tile debris. Excavated in 1964. Nearly all of the finds consisted of fragments of baked tiles; and to the west are Curbridge (SU5212); and Braxell’s Farm (SU5115).
Temples are known at Farley Heath (TQ0544) and Wanborough. Farley Heath is the site of a square temple within a temenos in flat country near Albury. The outer portico enclosed a 46½ feet square area within a wall about 2 feet thick, the inner cella wall, around 2¾ feet thick, enclosed an area 24 feet square. Columns were found amongst the ruins. The temple probably faced east. The temple's temenos enclosure was restricted during its later history, and the temple itself destroyed by fire in the early 5th century. This rural temple at Farley Heath may mark the border between two British Celtic tribes, the Regnenses of Sussex and East Surrey, and the Atrebates of Berkshire and Hampshire. A road links this temple to Alfoldean, which lies approx 7 miles to the South East. At Wanborough, a second (circular) temple has been found recently, adding further important details to this nationally important site, which has produced unique items of Roman priestly regalia and vast numbers (10,000+) of coins, probably deposited in the Roman period but mostly Iron Age silver units. There is a small Roman period enclosure at Betchworth probably having a ritual use; its proximity to the Neolithic ritual site at Betchworth, together with some other later prehistoric evidence, suggests a very long-lasting use of this location. Other temple sites of importance are at Lancing Ring (TQ1706); Where a Romano Celtic Temple was discovered in 1828 north of Lancing Ring. The site was found to comprise a small late Iron Age shrine (c.700 BC - AD 43). Similar finds in Southern England have been inside late Iron Age forts. From artefacts and coins found on the Roman Celtic site the temple was probably in use during the first half of the Roman occupation. It comprised a 40 foot square pavement with a room 16 foot square in the centre, with walls of flint, plastered and painted red. Around the site were several graves. At Muntham Court (TQ1110) a circular timber temple (10.6 m dia.), positioned on a prominent part of a hill-top on the Downlands, about 4 km from the temple at Chanctonbury. It was excavated in 1953-4, with many rich votive items being found dumped outside the presumed entrance. Three internal pits all contained ox skulls and other bones. There was Iron Age activity beneath the temple, although religious continuity cannot be proven. Dated 1st - 4th century AD, but most activity in 2nd and 3rd centuries, based upon pottery evidence.; Chanctonbury Ring (TQ 1312). Possesses a small Romano-British religious complex set within an early Iron Age hillfort, with commanding views across much of the Downs and coastal plain. Inter-visible with Muntham Court & Lancing Down temples. A large Romano-Celtic type temple (c.12.5 m sq.) stood on the highest part, with a seven-sided building to the south-west fully revealed in 1990. Many animal bones and oyster shells were found, including many pig teeth and bones in the smaller building. Relatively few small finds. Coins and pottery indicate that the main period of use was mid 1st - late 2nd century AD, although there was some further activity in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Just over the border in Hampshire, we must remember Hayling Island Romano-British temple (SU7202). This circular structure, 47 ft. in outside diameter with massive walls 4¾ ft. thick, lay within a rectangular porticoed structure measuring 134 ft. by 143 ft., The foundations of a square entrance porch abutted the circular building on the south-east. Excavations recorded tesserae from a mosaic or tessallated floor, painted wall plaster, plaster mouldings and roof tiles. Other finds included pottery fragments, a fibula brooch, a bracelet, a gold torque, several animal bones and fourteen coins including one Celtic issue, the rest being Roman and ranging from Augustus to Constantine II. The plan of the building and its monumental structure coupled with the small finds suggest that this was a religious centre of some kind, or perhaps a mausoleum; we must also remember Weycock Hill in Berkshire (SU8277). Here an octagonal temple lies in a temenos on a gentle hill 5 miles SW of Maidenhead. The portico was 63 ft. 7 in. in diameter, the cella 35 ft. 11 in., the walls were a uniform 3½ feet thick. Built during the early-4th century and abandoned during the 5th, the temple probably faced east.
The Alice Holt/Farnham (SU8040 & SU8546) area was the seat of a major pottery industry, delivering particularly to London, where in the later Roman period it satisfied a large part of the coarse pottery market, and also directly to Alfoldean. The bulk of pottery to reach Alfoldean from these kilns were class 1 cordoned jars, class 1A cordoned & necked jars, class 2 jars with pedestals, class 3A flat-rimmed jars, class 3C triangular and hooked rimmed jars, class 4 bead rimmed jars, class 5 Atrebatic bowls, class 5A flat and triangular-rimmed bowls, class 5B beaded and flanged bowls, class 5C strainers, class 6A straight and convex sided dishes, and class 7 lids. Further potteries exist at Wisley (TQ0659), Arlington (TQ5207), Watt’s Hill (TQ4152), Rowland’s Castle (SU7310) producing everted rim and Beehive jars, Shedfield (SU8412), Whitmead (SU8843), Oakley (SU2406), and Linwood (SU1910). Pulborough (TQ0620) was the seat of pseudo-Samian production, and Wiggonholt (TQ0617) was the source of coarse white/buff wares in the form of flagons, storage jars, hemispherical bowls, and Mortaria. Hardham (TQ0317) was the major supplier to Alfoldean (some 65-70%) of reduced coarse wares in the form of girth-carinated bowls, lid-seated jars, bead-rimmed jars, storage jars, everted rimmed jars plain rimmed beakers, flat-rimmed jars, and bowls imitating Samian forms (Dr 37 & Ritterling 8), and also flanged, convex-sided and flat-rimmed bowls. Other potteries included Upchurch, Highgate Wood, New Forest, and further afield at Oxfordshire and Nene Valley.
The Weald in Sussex is well known for its iron working. This was no different in Roman times when a thriving mining community existed across the region from Broadfield (TQ2634) in the west to Chitcombe in the east. In the centre of the Weald at Holtye, near East Grinstead, a variety of iron mines are known and excavations in the 1970s discovered that a by-product of iron working was used to surface a Roman road thought to run between London (Londinium) and Lewes on the south coast (OS grid ref: TQ4540). Tons of iron slag were found compacted and embedded into the surface creating a tough and durable road some 250 metres in length. The road remains uncovered and can be seen today. Dr Henry Clere in 1976 estimated the production of Roman military ironwork from the area of the Weald at 550 tons per year. Armed with this information, Dr Oliver Rackham, an acknowledged authority on the historical countryside, estimated that the entire output of a 23,000 acre (c.9,300 Ha) coppice-wood would be required in order to sustain the industry. There are Nine Roman Iron-Mines Within 12 Miles of the Holtye Settlement - Kingscote (TQ3735), Hollybush Wood (TQ3935); Whalesbeach (TQ3934); Hammerwood (TQ4438); Pippingford Park (TQ4431); Oldlands (TQ 4726); Minepit Wood, Rotherfield (TQ5233) A small ironsmelting site on the high Weald, consisting of a single well-preserved domed furnace and a small amount of slag and pottery. It was probably in operation for a short period, around the middle of the 1st century AD., Castle Hill (TQ5528). And Broadfield, Crawley ( TQ2634). This latter site is a large Romano-British Ironworking site in the north-western Weald, by the river Mole. There were several kilometres of mine pits and associated industrial and domestic areas, spread over 12 ha. These included ore-roasting facilities, 36 shaft-furnaces, 3 slag dumps, a water reservoir, a blacksmith's workshop and several domestic dwellings. The settlement replaced that at nearby Goff's Park just after the conquest, and the mines continued until the 3rd - 4th century AD. The domestic area moved further to the north in the 2nd century AD.
In Hampshire, lies Iping (SU8426), a rectangular earthwork with rounded corners lying astride the Roman road between two major British tribal centres at Noviomagus Regnorum (Chichester) and Venta Belgarum (Winchester). Measuring a mere 282 feet by 367 (86 x 112 metres), the area enclosed by the turf defences was only about 2¼ acres (c.0.9ha), which is very small indeed, and would have difficulty accommodating more than the official posting station and perhaps an iron-smithy. The station is situated just over two miles to the north of Iping village, just south-east of the point where the Roman road crossed the Hammer Stream. Although unexcavated, surface finds of Roman material have been found within the confines of the earthwork by the Ordnance Survey; The Roman settlement at Neatham (SU7441) lies about the crossing of the Silchester to Chichester (north-south) road with the main London to Winchester (east-west) road, just north of the fording over the River Wey. Excavations in the 1980's to the west of the Silchester to Chichester highway revealed a number of rectangular, timber-built dwellings abutting onto the road, one measuring 3.5x20 metres. Behind these buildings, some of which revealed evidence of bronze-working, lay a 40m wide area delineated by a suspected boundary ditch, which was dotted by various (storage?) pits and wells. A previous dig undertaken in the 1970's had revealed a flint-built bath-house, in use between the late-third to late-fourth centuries, whose back wall was later found to conform to this suspected 40m western boundary. Occupation of this civilian settlement lasted from Flavian times until the late-fourth or early-fifth centuries; and in Surrey at Guildford (TQ0248) where there is a fair chance of there having been a Roman settlement of some nature, where the ancient ridge-track "The Pilgrim's Way" crosses the River Wey, a tributary of the Thames. The most likely site for the settlement being between the river crossing and the junction with the Roman road to Alfoldean to the east . There are two villas on the western side of the River Wey at Compton (SU9547) and Broadstreet (SU9651).
The best excavated villa remains the one at Bignor (SU9814), One of the largest villas in Britain (c.115 x 140 m not including outer courtyard). It is situated just to the north of the chalk downs, on fertile arable ground, near to Stane Street. A simple timber-framed corridor villa, built in the late 2nd/early 3rd century, was replaced by a masonry winged-corridor villa in the mid 3rd century. At the start of the 4th century, it was transformed into an extensive courtyard villa, set within a large masonry outer enclosure. It seems to have gradually declined in the late 4th - 5th centuries. It was originally excavated 1811-19, then again in the mid to latter part of the 20th century. Excavations continue today. There are a plethora of such villas following the Greensand Way, the coastline, and many of the south-facing ridges above the floodplains. - villas such as Pulborough (TQ0620), Hurstpierpoint (TQ2815), Angmering (TQ0504), Here the masonry foundations of an extensive villa, including a bathhouse, tessellated pavements, tiles and other domestic material were excavated in the 18th and 19th centuries and poorly recorded. There were also five cinerary urns (1st century AD?) and three late 3rd century coin hoards in the area. A little further west is the villa at Littlehampton, [Gosden Road] (TQ0302) a small, masonry corridor villa, built mid - late 2nd century AD (c.30 x 16 m). It consisted of a range of four rooms running north-south, although there were a series of alterations and additions. It was possibly preceded by a simple farmstead in the 1st century AD, and was probably abandoned in the later 3rd century. Earlier pits and Ditches contained Iron Age saucepan pottery, probably deposited in the 1st century BC. At least one cremation burial was found nearby, dating to mid-late 2nd century AD., and also the palace at Fishbourne (SU8304) which lay near to a coastal inlet, just over 2 km west of the Roman town of Noviomagus (Chichester). The earliest buildings were dated to the Roman conquest period and seem to have had military associations, possibly linked with the initial invasion of AD 43. In the early AD 60s, a substantial masonry 'proto-palace' was built. This was then incorporated into the great palace - probably built by the client king Togidubnus in c.AD 75-80. It is the largest domestic dwelling yet found in Roman Britain (c.160 x 140 m). It was of classical Mediterranean inspiration, with four wings surrounding large formal gardens. During the 2nd century AD it was drastically reduced in size, with only the north wing being occupied. Nevertheless, it is clear that a high standard of living was kept, with a succession of new mosaic floors being laid. At the end of the 3rd century AD, whilst preparations were being made for substantial new building works, the villa suffered a disastrous fire, which left it as a gutted ruin. It was never reoccupied. Work is still continuing at this important site adding important knowledge of the villa’s surroundings. Only two seasons ago (2006), an entirely hitherto unknown villa has been discovered at Blacksmith’s Corner, Walberton (SU9806). To the west, there are, Chilgrove 1 Villa at Brick Kiln Farm, Wellmeadow (SU8312), a Corridor villa in the South Downs, c.1400 m from Chilgrove 2 villa and 1500 m from Bow Hill temple. It was built in the late 1st century AD, possibly replacing a late Iron Age farmstead, as indicated by pottery, hearths and postholes. In the late 3rd century AD, it was rebuilt in a grander style (c.40 m in length), and further improvements were made in the 4th century. At the end of the 4th century, it was partly burnt down, the building materials were robbed, and an ironworking forge was set up.; Chilgrove 2 villa lies in Crossroads Field (SU8413) a villa and outbuildings, near to Chilgrove 1 villa and facing the main road to Silchester, c.200 m to the east. The earliest timber structure dated to the 2nd century AD. It was rebuilt in masonry in the late 3rd century, and enlarged in the 4th century (see plan: c.75 m length). There was a decline in standards during the late 4th century, but occupation continued into the 5th century, when there may have been an amalgamation with Chilgrove 1; Pitlands Farm, Compton, Up Marden (SU7912), an aisled villa building and bath house, located 2.5 miles west of Chilgrove 1 villa & 1.6 miles east of West Marden villa. Only a small part of the villa site has been investigated. It was probably built in the Flavian period & lasted until the late 4th/early 5th century AD, with significant improvement in the early 4th century; Watergate Hanger, West Marden (SU7712) is a modest villa on the South Downs, consisting initially of a three roomed cottage, and later transforming into a winged corridor villa. Mosaics were found in some of the rooms. Pottery indicated occupation from the mid 2nd to 4th century AD.; To the north of Alfoldean are further villas across the border into Surrey, - Ewhurst (TQ0841), Walton Heath (TQ2353), and Walton on the Hill (TQ2255). In general ,However, Surrey’s villas do not fit the national pattern very well and Ashtead (TQ1760) in particular is extraordinary in various ways. This last was the centre of a tile industry whose products included decorated box tiles, a peculiarity shared with Randolph’s Farm, Hurstpierpoint (TQ2815) which also boasted a villa and tile kiln, discovered in 1857, on elevated ground in the low Weald. It consisted of a large (c.24 x 9 m) section of tesselated floor, along with chalk foundations, flint walls, and a hypocaust. Poorly dated. Cinerary urns, metalled roads and other Roman material have been found in the area.
A well-preserved tile kiln at Reigate (TQ2850) has recently been lifted for display by the Surrey Archaeological Society. Epsom (TQ1861) also had a tile kiln. Sussex also has a few tile kilns among which are Wiston (TQ1513) a probable Roman tilery site on the Downs, consisting of many tiles, wall foundations and a furnace, found in 1848. There is very limited information, and the exact site is now lost; Wykhurst (TQ0840); Itchingfield (TQ1429) a Roman tileworks near to the river Arun, probably serving the needs of the enclosed settlement at Alfoldean, 2.5 miles distant. It consisted of a tile maker's workshop and integral drying area, built after tile making had begun in the 2nd century AD. There were many dumps of tile debris. Excavated in 1964. Nearly all of the finds consisted of fragments of baked tiles; and to the west are Curbridge (SU5212); and Braxell’s Farm (SU5115).
Temples are known at Farley Heath (TQ0544) and Wanborough. Farley Heath is the site of a square temple within a temenos in flat country near Albury. The outer portico enclosed a 46½ feet square area within a wall about 2 feet thick, the inner cella wall, around 2¾ feet thick, enclosed an area 24 feet square. Columns were found amongst the ruins. The temple probably faced east. The temple's temenos enclosure was restricted during its later history, and the temple itself destroyed by fire in the early 5th century. This rural temple at Farley Heath may mark the border between two British Celtic tribes, the Regnenses of Sussex and East Surrey, and the Atrebates of Berkshire and Hampshire. A road links this temple to Alfoldean, which lies approx 7 miles to the South East. At Wanborough, a second (circular) temple has been found recently, adding further important details to this nationally important site, which has produced unique items of Roman priestly regalia and vast numbers (10,000+) of coins, probably deposited in the Roman period but mostly Iron Age silver units. There is a small Roman period enclosure at Betchworth probably having a ritual use; its proximity to the Neolithic ritual site at Betchworth, together with some other later prehistoric evidence, suggests a very long-lasting use of this location. Other temple sites of importance are at Lancing Ring (TQ1706); Where a Romano Celtic Temple was discovered in 1828 north of Lancing Ring. The site was found to comprise a small late Iron Age shrine (c.700 BC - AD 43). Similar finds in Southern England have been inside late Iron Age forts. From artefacts and coins found on the Roman Celtic site the temple was probably in use during the first half of the Roman occupation. It comprised a 40 foot square pavement with a room 16 foot square in the centre, with walls of flint, plastered and painted red. Around the site were several graves. At Muntham Court (TQ1110) a circular timber temple (10.6 m dia.), positioned on a prominent part of a hill-top on the Downlands, about 4 km from the temple at Chanctonbury. It was excavated in 1953-4, with many rich votive items being found dumped outside the presumed entrance. Three internal pits all contained ox skulls and other bones. There was Iron Age activity beneath the temple, although religious continuity cannot be proven. Dated 1st - 4th century AD, but most activity in 2nd and 3rd centuries, based upon pottery evidence.; Chanctonbury Ring (TQ 1312). Possesses a small Romano-British religious complex set within an early Iron Age hillfort, with commanding views across much of the Downs and coastal plain. Inter-visible with Muntham Court & Lancing Down temples. A large Romano-Celtic type temple (c.12.5 m sq.) stood on the highest part, with a seven-sided building to the south-west fully revealed in 1990. Many animal bones and oyster shells were found, including many pig teeth and bones in the smaller building. Relatively few small finds. Coins and pottery indicate that the main period of use was mid 1st - late 2nd century AD, although there was some further activity in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Just over the border in Hampshire, we must remember Hayling Island Romano-British temple (SU7202). This circular structure, 47 ft. in outside diameter with massive walls 4¾ ft. thick, lay within a rectangular porticoed structure measuring 134 ft. by 143 ft., The foundations of a square entrance porch abutted the circular building on the south-east. Excavations recorded tesserae from a mosaic or tessallated floor, painted wall plaster, plaster mouldings and roof tiles. Other finds included pottery fragments, a fibula brooch, a bracelet, a gold torque, several animal bones and fourteen coins including one Celtic issue, the rest being Roman and ranging from Augustus to Constantine II. The plan of the building and its monumental structure coupled with the small finds suggest that this was a religious centre of some kind, or perhaps a mausoleum; we must also remember Weycock Hill in Berkshire (SU8277). Here an octagonal temple lies in a temenos on a gentle hill 5 miles SW of Maidenhead. The portico was 63 ft. 7 in. in diameter, the cella 35 ft. 11 in., the walls were a uniform 3½ feet thick. Built during the early-4th century and abandoned during the 5th, the temple probably faced east.
The Alice Holt/Farnham (SU8040 & SU8546) area was the seat of a major pottery industry, delivering particularly to London, where in the later Roman period it satisfied a large part of the coarse pottery market, and also directly to Alfoldean. The bulk of pottery to reach Alfoldean from these kilns were class 1 cordoned jars, class 1A cordoned & necked jars, class 2 jars with pedestals, class 3A flat-rimmed jars, class 3C triangular and hooked rimmed jars, class 4 bead rimmed jars, class 5 Atrebatic bowls, class 5A flat and triangular-rimmed bowls, class 5B beaded and flanged bowls, class 5C strainers, class 6A straight and convex sided dishes, and class 7 lids. Further potteries exist at Wisley (TQ0659), Arlington (TQ5207), Watt’s Hill (TQ4152), Rowland’s Castle (SU7310) producing everted rim and Beehive jars, Shedfield (SU8412), Whitmead (SU8843), Oakley (SU2406), and Linwood (SU1910). Pulborough (TQ0620) was the seat of pseudo-Samian production, and Wiggonholt (TQ0617) was the source of coarse white/buff wares in the form of flagons, storage jars, hemispherical bowls, and Mortaria. Hardham (TQ0317) was the major supplier to Alfoldean (some 65-70%) of reduced coarse wares in the form of girth-carinated bowls, lid-seated jars, bead-rimmed jars, storage jars, everted rimmed jars plain rimmed beakers, flat-rimmed jars, and bowls imitating Samian forms (Dr 37 & Ritterling 8), and also flanged, convex-sided and flat-rimmed bowls. Other potteries included Upchurch, Highgate Wood, New Forest, and further afield at Oxfordshire and Nene Valley.
The Weald in Sussex is well known for its iron working. This was no different in Roman times when a thriving mining community existed across the region from Broadfield (TQ2634) in the west to Chitcombe in the east. In the centre of the Weald at Holtye, near East Grinstead, a variety of iron mines are known and excavations in the 1970s discovered that a by-product of iron working was used to surface a Roman road thought to run between London (Londinium) and Lewes on the south coast (OS grid ref: TQ4540). Tons of iron slag were found compacted and embedded into the surface creating a tough and durable road some 250 metres in length. The road remains uncovered and can be seen today. Dr Henry Clere in 1976 estimated the production of Roman military ironwork from the area of the Weald at 550 tons per year. Armed with this information, Dr Oliver Rackham, an acknowledged authority on the historical countryside, estimated that the entire output of a 23,000 acre (c.9,300 Ha) coppice-wood would be required in order to sustain the industry. There are Nine Roman Iron-Mines Within 12 Miles of the Holtye Settlement - Kingscote (TQ3735), Hollybush Wood (TQ3935); Whalesbeach (TQ3934); Hammerwood (TQ4438); Pippingford Park (TQ4431); Oldlands (TQ 4726); Minepit Wood, Rotherfield (TQ5233) A small ironsmelting site on the high Weald, consisting of a single well-preserved domed furnace and a small amount of slag and pottery. It was probably in operation for a short period, around the middle of the 1st century AD., Castle Hill (TQ5528). And Broadfield, Crawley ( TQ2634). This latter site is a large Romano-British Ironworking site in the north-western Weald, by the river Mole. There were several kilometres of mine pits and associated industrial and domestic areas, spread over 12 ha. These included ore-roasting facilities, 36 shaft-furnaces, 3 slag dumps, a water reservoir, a blacksmith's workshop and several domestic dwellings. The settlement replaced that at nearby Goff's Park just after the conquest, and the mines continued until the 3rd - 4th century AD. The domestic area moved further to the north in the 2nd century AD.
