Home of Rolls‐Royce Site Extension, Westhampnett, Goodwood Archaeological Evaluation and Watching Brief Report

Oxford Archaeology were commissioned by Gardiner and Theobald Ltd on
behalf of Rolls‐Royce Motor Cars Limited to undertake a trial trench evaluation
at the site of a proposed redevelopment and extension to their existing facility
at Westhampnett, Chichester. An archaeological watching brief was also
undertaken during ground investigations to monitor and mitigate its impact on
any buried archaeological remains. The work comprised the excavation of 57
trenches between the 4th April and 18th May 2023.
The earliest evidence for activity on the site was confirmed through a small
assemblage of prehistoric worked flint and Bronze Age pottery, mostly
recovered as residual finds. No features were recorded as distinctly belonging
to the Bronze Age or earlier periods.
Significant evidence for settlement and use of the site began in the middle to
late Iron Age as evidenced by a small number of ditches and associated pits. This
activity then continued into the early Roman period, during which a complex of
rectilinear ditched enclosures was established. This activity continued through
to the late Roman period, shifting to the south‐east, closer to Stane Street, a
Roman road delineating the south‐east margin of the site.
A mixed assemblage of artefacts and a range of features on site indicate a
combination of different activities that were taking place during this period.
Given the proximity to the adjacent Roman road, it is likely that the site
developed into a small roadside settlement or farmstead to exploit the passing
trade in and out of Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester). There was no evidence
for any significant post‐Roman activity suggesting that the site went out of use
at the end of the Roman period.