A280 Angmering By-pass West Sussex POST EXCAVATION ASSESSMENT AND UPDATED PROJECT DESIGN

An evaluation by Oxford Archaeology (OA) in January 2001, of a 2.4 km single carriageway by-pass road around the village of Angmering, West Sussex, revealed evidence for Neolithic, Bronze Age and mid-late Saxonactivity in the northern part of the route. A programme of excavation carried out over 9 weeks in July-September 2001 uncovered a mid-late Bronze Age enclosed settlement of a type well known on the South Downs but extremely rare on the coastal plan. Also present was a large ditch (2m deep x 4m wide) of similar date, perhaps forming part of a defensive earthwork. There was little evidence for Iron Age or Roman activity on the site. The Saxon features comprised parts of a large rectilinear ditched enclosure.A quantity of Neolithic flintwork suggests earlier activity at the site,although no pottery or features of this date were discovered. A geological investigation revealed significant potential for understanding the Pleistocene coastal topography in the central part of the by-pass route.