Level 3 - Life in late Iron Age Sussex - Settlement and Land Use

Settlement and Land Use

Hillforts and Farmsteads

In the Middle Iron Age (c.400 - 100 BC), the settlement pattern in Sussex was characterized by a small number of visually dominant hillforts on the South Downs, such as The Trundle pictured here. During the later Iron Age, there were significant changes, as most of these downland hillforts were abandoned, and there were marked increases in smaller enclosed farmsteads, especially on the West Sussex coastal plain. Further north in the Weald it was a different story, as less visually prominent hillforts, such as Garden Hill, became fully established. This was probably connected to the growth of the iron industry in the region at this time (see Trade & Industry).

Aerial photo of the Trundle hillfort

Chichester Entrenchments

To the north of Chichester there are a series of large linear defensive ditches, known as the Chichester Entrenchments or Dykes. These puzzling features may have been built to help defend an extensive territorial oppidum, with one possible centre at Selsey. Territorial oppida are regarded as the fore-runners of towns, and were a distinctive feature of the late Iron Age. There are well-documented examples at St Albans and Colchester. They enclosed huge areas of land and incorporated a number of areas with specialized functions, such as cemeteries and domestic housing. The Chichester/Selsey oppidum is not well understood, although domestic settlement, a cemetery and a probable coin minting area have all been found.

Section of Chichester Entrenchments

worthingIAquern.jpg

Iron Age Quernstone

Worthing

Agricultural Practices

The significant population increase in southern Britain during the late Iron Age was almost certainly associated with technological advances in agriculture. It was essentially a mixed farming economy, although the greater variety of crops now grown (wheat, barley & rye) enabled more efficient use of the differing types of environment. Additionally, the use of the iron-tipped ox-drawn plough would have significantly improved arable production.
The late Iron Age farms produced high yields of wheat and other crops which enabled them to accumulate wealth. This in turn led to a greater amount of disposable income and the development of an elite class in society.
Within Sussex, the proliferation of farmsteads on the coastal plain implies the large-scale exploitation of this fertile region. Extensive drainage networks would have been needed, implying a degree of centralised organisation perhaps associated with the territorial oppidum.