Details

The monument includes part of an Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery and
contemporary settlement, an earlier Bronze Age round barrow and traces of an
Iron Age settlement. These are situated on a chalk hill which now forms part
of the north western suburbs of modern Eastbourne.

The monument contains the best surviving part of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery,
including graves and associated below ground archaeological features.
Investigations carried out within the cemetery during 1991-92 revealed at
least 69 inhumation and 5 cremation burials. These were accompanied by a rich
assemblage of grave goods, or artefacts deliberately buried with the bodies,
including glass beakers, beads, brooches, spears, knives and shield bosses.
Analysis of these items suggests that the cemetery was in use during the fifth
to early seventh centuries AD. Traces of a contemporary settlement, including
rubbish pits, sunken-floored buildings, and a number of post holes
representing timber structures, were found in the north western sector of the
monument.

The investigations also revealed a number of earlier, buried prehistoric
features underlying the later cemetery. The infilled, circular ditch of a
Bronze Age round barrow was found close to the north western edge of the
monument, partly disturbed by several later, Anglo-Saxon burials. The earlier
round barrow may have formed the focus of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery. Also
underlying the cemetery were traces of an Iron Age settlement, represented by
features which include a boundary ditch, storage pits and a kiln. Scientific
analysis of the clay lining of the kiln suggested that it was in use during
the first century BC.

The monument will have been partly disturbed by modern service trenches.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Beginning in the fifth century AD, there is evidence from distinctive burials
and cemeteries, new settlements, and new forms of pottery and metalwork, of
the immigration into Britain of settlers from northern Europe, bringing with
them new religious beliefs. The Roman towns appear to have gone into rapid
decline and the old rural settlement pattern to have been disrupted. Although
some Roman settlements and cemeteries continued in use, the native Britons
rapidly adopted many of the cultural practices of the new settlers and it soon
becomes difficult to distinguish them in the archaeological record. So-called
Anglo-Saxon cemeteries are dated to the early Anglo-Saxon period, from the
fifth to the seventh centuries AD. With the conversion to Christianity during
the late sixth and seventh centuries AD, these pagan cemeteries appear to have
been abandoned in favour of new sites, some of which have continued in use up
to the present day. Burial practices included both inhumation and cremation.
Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemeteries consist predominantly of inhumation burials
which were placed in rectangular pits in the ground, occasionally within
coffins. The bodies were normally accompanied by a range of grave goods,
including jewellery and weaponry. The cemeteries vary in size, the largest
containing several hundred burials. Around 1000 inhumation cemeteries have
been recorded in England. They represent one of our principal sources of
archaeological evidence about the Early Anglo-Saxon period, providing
information on population, social structure and ideology. All surviving
examples, other than those which have been heavily disturbed, are considered
worthy of protection.

The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at St Anne's Road survives well, despite some
subsequent disturbance, in close association with a range of earlier,
prehistoric features. Part excavation has shown that the cemetery contains
well-preserved burials and further, important archaeological and environmental
evidence relating to the original use of the monument. The monument belongs to
a group of contemporary Anglo-Saxon cemeteries located in the Eastbourne area,
illustrating the relatively dense early Anglo-Saxon settlement of this part of
the Sussex Downs.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Stevens, L, Archaeological Site, St Anne's Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, (1995)
Stevens, L, 'Sussex Archaeological Collections' in An Iron Age site at St Anne's Road, Eastbourne, , Vol. 125, (1987), 75-80
Stevens, L, 'Sussex Archaeological Collections' in Human Skeleton at St Anne's Road, Eastbourne, , Vol. 121, (1983), 208
Other
1992/43, Stevens, P, Archaeological assessment at ECAT, Eastbourne, (1993)
Greatorex, C, Interim Report on Arch Eval at ECAT, St Anne's Road, Eastbourne, 1997, 540
Stevens, P, Excavations at ECAT, an interim report, 1992,
TR31167DCA, Tempus Reparatum, Specification for a Programme of Arch Eval, ECAT, Eastbourne, (1997)

Source: Historic England