Big Dig set to reveal Walberton’s past

Almost 30 village gardens will be excavated during the Big Dig, organised by Worthing Archaeological Society.

Members of the society will be out in force across Walberton, together with six “finds” specialists, the county archaeologist and the Sussex finds liaison officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, to assess the artefacts unearthed from lawns, flower beds and vegetable patches.

At most sites, people will be digging their own 1m square test pit, up to 1m deep, under the supervision of a society member, although in a few cases members will do the spadework for those who are elderly or infirm.

“The bottom line is, we don’t know what we might find,” said the society’s project manager Pete Brannlund. “Before 2006, if you had looked at the county records of archaeology in Walberton, they would have told you only of one Roman burial, just outside the village.

“We now have the Roman villa site at Blacksmith’s Corner, plus another major site from the Bronze Age to mediaeval times at Walberton Nursery, and potentially another major site elsewhere, so I am certainly expecting some interesting finds.

“I would be very disappointed if we didn’t find a spread of Roman and mediaeval pottery covering most of the village. Walberton has been an attractive place for people to live for some time, and that was the same for our ancestors.”

The Big Dig came about following keen interest among villagers shown at open days held by the archaeological society at the Blacksmith’s Corner Roman villa site over the past couple of years.