Sussex Archaeological Collections 133

The analysis of two significant colluvial deposits (at Southerham Grey Pit and Malling Hill) on the Malling-Caburn block of downland to the east of Lewes has enabled a detailed landscape history to be constructed for this area. This paper attempts to provide a summary of the human role in the development of the chalk/and block of Malling, Cliff and Ca bum. It includes evidence primarily from these two colluvial sequences, but comprises a review of other environmental archaeological data including some recent analysis of archived soil samples from Burstow and Holleyman's (1964) excavations at Ranscombe Camp. The important land mollusc evidence from Round-the-Down (Allen, in Butler this volume) is also reviewed. To conclude, an attempt is made to show how the detailed landscape history from these sites equates with the broader picture from downland in the region of Lewes.

Excavations at Bignor Roman villa between 1985 and 1990, in association with a programme of conservation and repair, investigated various parts of the site including the main baths, the north-east corner of the villa, and the boundaries of both the domestic and farmyard areas. Investigations undertaken on the site of the main baths in 1985, 1987 and 1988 (Part 1 of this report) revealed evidence for occupation prior to the construction of the baths, including the masonry footings for half-timbered and masonry structures, and a sequence of constructional phases not only for the heated rooms and cold plunge bath, but also for the development of the courtyard villa itself As a consequence of the excavations the remains of the cold plunge were restored for display (Appendix 1). Plough-damage assessment excavations in 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1990 (Part 2 of this report) re-established the line of the surrounding wall of the villa, and confirmed that the villa had developed in the 4th century AD from a winged-corridor structure, through a phase where two long lines of rooms flanked the approach to the earlier west wing, to a courtyard building with adjoining outer farmyard. Studies of finds from the 1985-1990 excavations provide additional information about both the economy and material culture of the site. This section of the report also includes a brief study of brick and tile found at Bignor before 1985 (Part 3 of this report).

Three places named in early documentary sources, the burh of Haestingaceaster, Haestingaport where Duke William constructed a castle before the battle of Hastings, and the town of Hastings have been assumed to be synonymous. There is, however, little or no tangible evidence for any significant pre-Conquest settlement at Hastings . Newly documented archaeological evidence from Pevensey Castle suggests that there was substantial settlement within the Roman walls throughout the middle and late Saxon period while topographical evidence suggests that Hastings was an unlikely site for an Alfredian burh. It is proposed that the burh of Haestingaceaster was situated within the Roman walls of Pevensey Castle and that the borough of Hastings was a mid-llth century or a post-Conquest creation. The name of Haestingaport could apply to either of these settlements.

Faced with dwindling revenues from taxation of a contracting economy during the late 16th and early 17 centuries, the search for means to bolster corporate income was never far from the minds of Rye's early Stuart governors . Examination of the fiscal policies pursued at Rye between 1600 and 1640 shows a corporation sensitive of the need to avoid placing additional burdens on already hard-pressed sectors of the economy, and nervous of the impact of general tax levies. But it also reveals the corporation 's ability to exploit and increasing dependence on - the revenue potential of the drink trade, and its willingness to deploy the machinery of the courts as a means of taxing illicit trading activities and a range of minor infringements of the law.

This article examines the history of stoolball both as a supposedly 'Sussex game' and as the focus for arguments over how traditional games are adapted by modem society. It deals with its origins and its rediscovery by antiquarian writers before it was taken up as a means of improving the lives of village women. This involved rule-making and organization; much depended on the patronage of the gentry. With the First World War it acquired a new ro le, as a therapy for injured soldiers. At that point, a Sussex lawyer and landowner, W W Grantham, became its leading proponent, tying it in with both charitable causes and an idealized 'Merrie England'. His insistence on male or mixed play eventually provoked a backlash by leading women and bitter disputes. It was then revived again, on a much smaller scale after the Second World War, with a particularly strong Sussex identity.