Overview

"A programme of excavations on and around the keep of Pevensey Castle established that the fort wall of the late Roman ""Saxon Shore"" fort was constructed AD 280-300, very possibly during the usurpation of Allectus. A deep sequence of ""dark earth"" built up against the inside of the Roman fort wall during the Roman and early medieval periods, before and after the establishment of William I's castle after 1066. A substantial stone keep and probably the gatehouse and inner bailey were constructed around 1200 and traces of a tower on the outside of the Roman fort wall were recorded. Substantial later repairs to the inside included the addition of a tower against the outer face of the (collapsing) Roman wall, the construction of a garderobe chamber and the re-building of the north-east tower, probably in the early 14th century. The base of the now ruinous keep was filled with clay after the 16th-17th centuries, probably to provide a foundation for cannon to defend the castle against possible Armada invasion in 1588."

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9781874350552

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The excavations discovered important evidence for the castle's construction, development, repairs and decay between 1200 and the fifteenth century, after which the keep was filled with clay and used as an artillery platform against the threat of the Armada, then refortified once again during the Second World War.' -- Christopher Catling SALON - The Society of Antiquaries Online Newsletter, No. 260 15 August 2011

Author Information

Professor of Archaeology at University of Reading since 1988. Director of excavations at Silchester and its environs. Principal research interests are in Roman archaeology, particularly rural settlement, urbanism, economy, material culture, technology and trade Stephen Rippon is Professor of Landscape Archaeology at the University of Exeter, and President of the Society for Medieval Archaeology. His main research interests cover the Romano-British and medieval landscapes of Britain, and the origins of today’s countryside.

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