Are you interested in knowing more about our Stone Age, Roman or Saxon ancestors? Or perhaps the mediaeval period, or industrial archaeology ? Do you read books about them 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 was founded in 1991. 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 the Society offers 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. At these meetings relevant magazines are made available for members to borrow and leaflets about local courses and events are displayed. Non-members are most welcome at the lectures, which start at 7.30 pm and usually finish about 9 pm. A small entry fee is payable on the door. Refreshments are often available after the meeting, when members have a chance to chat.

   We arrange excursions for our members to major exhibitions and places of archaeological interest, conducted by local experts. We recently visited a range of sites in Southampton, Durrington Walls and the Stonehenge cursus, and we ran a group visit to the British Museum exhibition on Emperor Hadrian. We are grateful to the District Archaeologist for leading regular walks exploring out-of-the-way archaeology, most recently at Iping, around Arundel, and in the Arun valley south of Pulborough.

   Working with the District Archaeologist, members of the Society have joined community digs at Harting, at Selhurst Park and at Dell Quay and we continue to monitor the condition of sites of archaeological interest recorded within the Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. CDAS has undertaken a project jointly with the Emsworth Maritime Heritage Trust to improve understanding of the local oyster industry, which was very active in the 19th century. We mounted a joint exhibition on the results at Emsworth museum. The Society has carried out fieldwalks around Chichester Harbour and at Bosham, in co-operation with Chichester Harbour Conservancy, and others 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.

   The society has an active survey group which carries out topographical and geophysical surveys around the district. Following training courses run on the society’s behalf by English Heritage (EH) in 2006, the group has borrowed resistivity and magnetometry meters from EH and carried out surveys at Selhurst, several Roman sites and, probably most exciting, Roman sites within Chichester in Whyke (the amphitheatre) and in the Cathedral Close. Following the results from resistivity surveys obtained 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. Recently the society has acquired its own magnetometer with help from the Chichester Harbour Conservancy, and the first surveys with this new equipment have been successfully concluded. In the meantime 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, will shortly be published in Sussex Archaeological Collections.

   Our programme of training courses also covers flint recognition, Roman and mediaeval pottery, human and animal bones, geology and basic excavation techniques, and we expect to offer further courses in the coming months.

   In 2008 we published, in close cooperation 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.

   Further details of our activities are given in other sections of this website.