Would you like to know more about our Prehistoric, Roman or Saxon ancestors - or perhaps the mediaeval period, or industrial archaeology ? Do you read about archaeology or watch Time Team on television ? Have you ever thought of helping to research and excavate historical sites ? Chichester & District Archaeology Society offers its members a wide range of activities.

   The Society celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2011. Its aims are to increase public awareness of and support for archaeology and to encourage volunteer assistance to local activities. The Society is affiliated to the Council for British Archaeology and works closely with Sussex Archaeological Society, the District Archaeology Officer, Chichester Harbour Conservancy, English Heritage, Chichester District Museum and Fishbourne Roman Palace.

   From September to May we offer a programme of lectures in the cinema of the New Park Centre, New Park Road, Chichester on the fourth Wednesday of the month, given by leading archaeologists, authors and academics. Local courses and events are publicised and magazines are available for members to borrow. Refreshments are often available after the meeting, when members have a chance to chat. We welcome non-members at the lectures, which start at 7.30 pm and usually finish about 9 pm. A small entry fee is payable on the door.

   We arrange excursions for our members to major exhibitions and places of archaeological interest, conducted by local experts. Members recently visited Brading Roman villa on the Isle of Wight, Southampton, Durrington Walls and the Stonehenge cursus, and a workshop reproducing Roman glass near Andover. We are grateful to the District Archaeologist for leading regular walks exploring lesser-known local archaeology, most recently at the Trundle, West Dean, Duncton Common, and Graffham and Selham.

   Last summer CDAS carried out excavations at Roman villa sites at Warblington and West Marden, and members of the Society have joined community digs in the Bishop’s Palace and at the Roman walls in Chichester, at Harting, Selhurst Park and Dell Quay. We continue to monitor the condition of sites of archaeological interest recorded within the Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. CDAS recently undertook a joint project with the Emsworth Maritime Heritage Trust to improve understanding of the local oyster industry and mounted an exhibition on the results at Emsworth museum. The Society is actively fieldwalking around Chichester Harbour and at Bosham, in co-operation with Chichester Harbour Conservancy, and at Hambrook, Pagham, Birdham and Didling.

   Our Documentary Research Group prepares reports on sites of interest prior to investigation in the field using the historic documents and maps held by the County Records Office, Chichester Library and Fishbourne Roman Palace. Examples are Dell Quay Roman tilery, the site of our fieldwalk at Didling, and the Warblington and Havant Roman villas.

   Our survey group carries out topographical and geophysical surveys around the district. We have borrowed resistivity and magnetometry meters from English Heritage and carried out surveys at Selhurst, Fishbourne Roman Palace and other Roman sites and, probably most exciting, Roman sites within Chichester - in Whyke (the amphitheatre) and beside the city walls where formerly unknown bastions were identified. Following resistivity surveys in the Deanery garden and the Bishop’s Palace courtyard small excavations were mounted which uncovered mediaeval walls, thought to have belonged to a great hall, as well as deeper Roman remains. We now have our own magnetometer and theodolite, thanks to generous help from Chichester Harbour Conservancy, and the first surveys with this new equipment have been successfully concluded. Several topographical surveys have also been carried out, and the results from one of these, namely a small Iron Age enclosure on top of Bow Hill, was published in Sussex Archaeological Collections volume 147 of 2009.

   Our programme of training courses for members covers flint recognition, Roman and Mediaeval pottery, human and animal bones, geology, glass, documentary research and basic excavation techniques.

   In 2008 we published, in close co-operation with the District Archaeology Officer, a revised edition of our guidebook to the visible archaeology of Chichester, “Walk Into Chichester’s Past”, which aims to correct some of the myths and errors which have unfortunately crept into other accounts. In recognition of Chichester’s links with its twin city, Chartres, we have produced a French-language version “Découvrir Chichester à Pied”. An Italian version, for visitors from the other twin city, Ravenna, is planned.

   You will find further details of our activities in other sections of this website.