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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- ADS Collection: 285
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000334
- How to cite using this DOI
Turris de Pevenesel - another view
by TONY CHAPMAN
The 2011 publication of the report on the excavations in the 1990s at Pevensey Castle marks over a century of archaeological, architectural and documentary research. For the first time, the investigation around the keep and elsewhere on the site was carried out to modern standards of excavation, which produced evidence for a revised construction date of both the Roman fort and the medieval walls. In particular, the date of the keep is now placed around 1200. This article reappraises the archaeological interpretation of the trenches within the keep, and correlates it with the earlier investigation of the site by Harold Sands in 1910. The historical sources are also re-examined, to question the date and context of the keep reached in the recent report. As a result, an alternative, earlier, date for the great tower in the reign of Henry I is proposed, set against recent research on Romanesque great towers in England.
