|
|
|
| Question:
What types of Late Iron Age site are found in Sussex? |
| |
| |
| Boxgrove |
| This is a late Iron Age coin, made in a mould. Moulds for producing coins like this were found in a place called Boxgrove in West Sussex, suggesting to archaeologists that it was the site of a mint. Mints are very rare, and probably connected to the local kings, who would have issued the coins. |
|
| Garden Hill |
| This is the plan of a site from the Weald in East Sussex. It is surrounded by earth banks and ditches, and was used both as a place to live, and for the industrial working of iron. |
|
| Devil’s Dyke |
| Devil’s Dyke provides one of the most striking views in the South Downs. In the late Iron Age, a hillfort was built here, to provide security for the local people. It is unusual, because most of the other hillforts in the South Downs belonged to the Early and Middle Iron Ages, and were not being used at this time. |
|
| North Bersted |
| A farm belonging to the late Iron Age has been found at North Bersted, near to the Sussex coast. The outline of a roundhouse was found, which probably looked something like the reconstruction pictured here. Ditches were dug to drain water and so help prevent flooding. |
|
| Westhampnett |
| A late Iron Age cremation cemetery containing 161 individual graves was found at Westhampnett, near Chichester. The dead were burnt on wooden platforms and their ashes often put into pots like those pictured. Sometimes, they would be buried with their favourite possessions, such as brooches. |
|
| Chichester - Selsey |
| In the late Iron Age, the area around Chichester and Selsey was partly enclosed by large ditches such as that shown here. These may have defined the limit of what is known as an oppidum. This was a kind of town spread over a large area, with different areas being used for different purposes such as burial and housing. It is likely that the local kings lived here. |
|
