Excavations at Cissbury

Pitt-Rivers has a long history of archaeological work at Cissbury, first visiting the site whilst surveying the hillforts of Sussex in 1866-1867, returning later in 1867 to carry out excavations at the site, which continued for a second season in 1868.  Seven years on the General revisited the site in 1875 to reopen a number of pits and resume his excavations.

White patinated flint core (PRM 1884.131.19) excavated from Pit 13 on January 31st 1868 by Lane Fox. 

We have started work on the Cissbury archaeological assemblage which is dominated by stone tools.  The majority are recorded as having been found by Lane Fox, however a few are attributed to local people who provided assistance to the General during the excavations.  Mr. Tupper the gamekeeper is named on a number of stone tools yet to be catalogued, as is Mr. Charles Ballard the miller, who provided tents and labour for the excavations (Lane Fox 1876:385, Harrison 1877: 431, 437).  He also collected an iron chain (PRM 1884.140.558) which he presented to the General in 1877.

Iron chain (PRM 1884.140.558) found by Mr. Ballard and presented to Lane Fox.

References

Lane Fox, A
.  1876. Excavations in Cissbury Camp, Sussex; Being a Report of the Exploration Committee of the Anthropological Institute for the Year 1875. The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 5: 357-390

Harrison, J. Park.  1877.  Report on Some Further Discoveries at Cissbury.  The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 6: 430-442

Three public talks: Lewes, Leeds and Oxford

images: An example (below) of the specially-made 'medalets' placed by General Pitt-Rivers, having been date-stamped, in his excavations before backfilling - and (above) a wooden case in which he kept some of them (Pitt Rivers Museum Accession Number 1971.30.5).

Public engagement is a central element of the Excavating Pitt-Rivers project. Throughout 2013 the project team will be talking about the project to a range of audiences. Three of these are scheduled for May and June:

On Tuesday 7 May, Dan Hicks will be introducing the project to archaeology students at St Cross College, Oxford. The talk is at 5.30pm. Further details are on the website of St Cross College and enquiries can be sent to dan.hicks@prm.ox.ac.uk

On Saturday 8 June, Dan Hicks will be giving a talk on Augustus Pitt-Rivers in Sussex, hosted by Sussex Archaeological Society. The talk is at 2pm, and will be at Barbican House, Lewes. It will be followed by an optional field trip to nearby Mount Caburn, where Pitt-Rivers excavated during the 1870s. Further details are on the website of the Sussex Archaeological Society, and enquiries can be sent by email to members@sussexpast.co.uk

On Saturday 22 June, Dan Hicks will be giving a talk on  Augustus Pitt-Rivers and Yorkshire at the AGM of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society. The talk will be at Claremont, 23 Clarendon Road, Leeds LS2 9NZ (2pm). Further details are on the website of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society and enquiries can be sent by email from yas.enquiries@gmail.com

All welcome!