Roman excavation site in Sussex set to open to public

There will be tours of the excavation between 10am and 12 noon conducted by the archaeological team members, including the Project Director, Rob Wallace.

There will also be a display of Roman artefacts laid out in the Finds Unit featuring finds from this year’s excavation plus selected artefacts from previous years.

Whole Roman pottery vessels from Britain and the continent, tiles, brooches, coins, and 1800-year-old roof timbers unique in Britain, plus much, much more will be on display with the finds team on hand to answer any questions and explain the possible significance of the various finds.

For those wanting to mark the occasion there will be commemorative mugs and t-shirts to purchase. Whilst there is no set fee a suggested donation of £5 per person would be most gratefully received towards the cost of the project. (PLEASE NOTE: the Open Day will not go ahead in wet weather as the fine silt soil becomes dangerously slippery during and just after rain).

It has been another brilliant year at Bridge Farm with almost perfect digging conditions after a very wet first week. This has allowed new features to be investigated plus further excavation of some of the deeper pits commenced in 2023. Surface trowelling has revealed several possible rows of shallow postholes suggesting the location of rectangular structures.

Work is still underway to safely excavate what is believed to be a timber-lined well. This has required serious work to create a stepped excavation by hand to allow access to the timbers which are 2m below the trench surface. Regular pumping is also required as the feature extends below the permanent waterline; the waterlogged environment having protected the timbers and some leather shoe fragments for nearly two millennia.

The project has attracted more than 80 volunteers, as well the 30 undergraduate students on a four-week field school, mainly from Canterbury Christ Church University, and individual students wanting practical experience plus returning graduates helping supervision. The dig even attracts a few experienced archaeologists from commercial units taking a ‘busman’s holiday’ at this popular and most intriguing of archaeological sites.

Later in the year an exclusive exhibition featuring artefacts and display boards explaining the Bridge Farm site is to be held at Worthing Museum from September 21, 2024 to January 12, 2025. The project directors are also available for bookings of illustrated presentations to local societies (contact [email protected]).

For further details of the excavations, some background to the project and the site, and a location map to the site at BN8 5BX, go to www.culverproject.co.uk.