| Title: |
Recent archaeological investigations at Peacehaven, East Sussex
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| Issue: |
Sussex Archaeological Collections 157 |
| Series: |
Sussex Archaeological Collections
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| Volume: |
157
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| Page Start/End: |
31 - 46 |
| Downloads: |
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| Licence Type: |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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| DOI |
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| Publication Type: |
Journal
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| Abstract: |
Large-scale excavations on the edge of Peacehaven, East Sussex, have considerably advanced understanding of this block of downland landscape from the early prehistoric period onwards. Three recent excavations, the findings of which are presented here, are located close by and compliment the published research (Hart 2015), allowing further consideration of the local downland landscape though time. The earliest material consisted of a residual struck flint of palaeolithic date and a background scatter of residual flintwork from the overburden, suggesting hunter/gatherer activity in the mesolithic and early neolithic periods. The first human activity to leave a lasting mark on the landscape was the digging and deliberate backfilling of a series of pits containing small assemblages of neolithic pottery and flintwork. Limited stratigraphic relationships and differing morphology suggest two phases of activity during this broad period. In the Late Bronze Age, ditches forming part of a field system and/ or droveway were laid out across the landscape. These were superseded by a series of Middle Iron Age droveways and a small number of pits. A realignment of the droveway gullies, which contained both Middle Iron Age material and small amounts of Romano-British pottery, suggests that this longstanding route across the downland was still in use in the 1st century AD. A small group of pits is thought to be contemporary with the last use of the routeways at that time. After this, the land seems to have reverted to open downland, with little deposition of archaeological material. |
| Year of Publication: |
2019
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| Locations: |
| District: |
Lewes |
| County: |
East Sussex |
| Place: |
Peacehaven |
| Location - Auto Detected: |
East Sussex |
| Country: |
England |
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| Subjects / Periods: |
| 1st century AD. (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| Romano-British (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| Middle Iron Age (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| early neolithic (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| early prehistoric (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| palaeolithic (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| mesolithic (Auto Detected Temporal) |
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EXCAVATION
(Event)
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| droveway (Auto Detected Subject) |
| droveway gullies (Auto Detected Subject) |
| pits (Auto Detected Subject) |
| ditches (Auto Detected Subject) |
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LITHIC IMPLEMENT
(Object England)
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| pottery (Auto Detected Subject) |
| flint (Auto Detected Subject) |
| field system (Auto Detected Subject) |
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POT
(Object England)
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| flintwork (Auto Detected Subject) |
| neolithic (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| Late Bronze Age (Auto Detected Temporal) |
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| Note: |
Supplementary material for this publication is available in the ADS Library
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| Source: |
ADS Archive
(ADS Archive)
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| Relations: |
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| Created Date: |
26 May 2022 |
