Sussex Archaeological Collections: Relating to the history and antiquities of the counties of East and West Sussex
Sussex Archaeological Society, 2000. (updated 2022) https://doi.org/10.5284/1000334. How to cite using this DOI
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 285
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000334
- How to cite using this DOI
The excavation of a Saxon grubenhaus at Itford Farm, Beddingham, East Sussex
by Richard James
with major contributions by
Luke Barber & Lucy Sibun
During the summer and autumn of 1998, a watching brief was maintained by Archaeology South-East (a division of University College London Field Archaeology Unit) during the construction of a wastewater pipeline between Lewes and Newhaven. Visual inspection of the pipeline easement to the north of Itford Farm, Beddingham revealed a number of cut features in the chalk bedrock. Excavation of the features revealed one to be an Early Saxon sunkenfloored building (grubenhaus) of 5th- to 6th-century date, from which a small but interesting assemblage of pottery was recovered. A boundary ditch of probable Saxo-Norman date was also investigated. Further features proved to be natural solution hollows in the chalk. No other structures were observed within the easement, but the discovery indicates the longevity of settlement at Itford Farm, and provides an interesting, albeit small-scale, example of shifting settlement patterns within the Ouse Valley.
