Reasons for Designation
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.
Although it has been partially disturbed by 19th century and modern
construction work, the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Manor Cottages survives
comparatively well, and has been shown by partial excavation to contain
archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and
the landscape in which it was constructed. A further Anglo-Saxon cemetery and
a number of Anglo-Saxon burial mounds are situated on the Sussex Downs within
c.4km of the monument. These monuments are broadly contemporary and their
close association illustrates the relatively dense early Anglo-Saxon
settlement of East Sussex. The location of the cemetery within the village of
Selmeston, close to the extant medieval church, will provide evidence for the
(as yet) little understood relationship between early Anglo-Saxon and later
medieval settlement and burial practices.
Details
The monument includes part of an Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery situated in
the Low Weald of East Sussex, in the lee of the Sussex Downs. The cemetery,
which dates to the period between the fifth and early seventh centuries AD,
has been estimated, by analogy with similar examples, to contain at least 100
east-west aligned, rectangular graves. These survive at a depth of c.1.5m
beneath the present ground surface.
The cemetery was discovered during the construction of Manor Cottages in 1897
when at least two graves were disturbed. These burials were accompanied by a
rich assemblage of grave goods including swords, spears, glass vessels and
a fragment of a gilt saucer brooch. Subsequent partial excavations carried out
in 1950, 1963 and during the 1970s have uncovered a further 43 graves, all
except two of which were found to contain male burials. Soil stains found in
the graves indicated that at least some of the bodies were originally buried
in wooden coffins, although these had disintegrated over the years.
Manor Cottages, all associated outbuildings, structures and steps, the modern
surfaces of all paths, and all modern walls and fences are excluded from the
scheduling, although the ground beneath all these features is included.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
