A Note on the Results of Recent Excavations at Camber Castle,Sussex

Abstract

A significant number of clay tobacco pipes in the style of the Ottoman ‘chibouk’ can be found in museums and private collections on the islands of Malta and Gozo. Indeed the smoking of these pipes remains a folk memory with the majority of senior citizens. It became obvious that very few of these artefacts were made locally and that the Maltese, being at the geographical centre of Mediterranean culture, might have received their imports from anywhere.

In 19th-century Tunisia (Malta’s nearest North African neighbour) three-quarters of the European population were Maltese migrants. Therefore, this study set out to discover whether Tunisia was a source of supply.

In Tunis it became obvious that although clay tobacco pipes had turned up in local excavations, little attention had been paid to them and a fuller examination was welcomed. A by-product of this examination was to establish a locally made Tunis pipe, although little evidence was found for trade to Malta in that particular commodity.     

Evidence of pedogenesis from a neolithic site at Rackham,Sussex

A rich assemblage of Neolithic flints and associated charcoal lies at a depth of 15–20 cm in what is now a strongly-leached podzol. The site was probably associated with butchery and the preparation of animal materials using flint implements manufactured on the site. The pollen profile suggests that the contemporary vegetation was mixed deciduous forest and that the artifacts were buried by earthworm action. Subsequent deforestation and the development of Calluna heath would have led to the extinction of the earthworms and the development of the present podzol.     

Sussex Folklore

SING A SONG OF ENGLAND : A SOCIAL HISTORY OF TRADITIONAL SONG. By REGINALD NETTEL. Phoenix House, 1954. Pp. 286, 5 pi. 8 vo. Reviewed by A. G.

FOLKSONGS AND FOLKLORE OF SOUTH UIST. By MARGARET FAY SHAW. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul. 1955. Pp. xiv, 290 + 24 plates + map. 50s. Reviewed by W. B.

PSYCHOANALYSIS AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES, VOL. 4. New York, International Universities Press, Inc. 1955. Pp. 295. $6.00. Reviewed by W. B.

FESTSCHRIFT FÜR WILL-ERICH PEUCHERT ZUM 60. GEBURTSTAG. HERAUSGEGEBEN VON HELMUT DÖLKER. Berlin, E. Schmidt, 1955. Pp. ix, 164 + portrait. DM. 19.80. Reviewed by W. B.

NEW MEXICO VILLAGE ARTS. By ROLAND F. DICKEY. Drawings by LLOYD LÓZES GOFF. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. 1949. Pp. xii + 266. $5.00. Reviewed by Beatrice Blackwood.

THE LAND DAVAKS OF SARAWAK. By W. R. GEDDES, M.A. (N.Z.), Ph.D. (Lond.), London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1954. Colonial Research Studies No. 14, Pp. 113, folding maps and tables, 3 pp. of plates. £1 12s. 6d. net. Reviewed by Beatrice Blackwood.     

Medieval Iron-Workings in Minepit Wood,Rotherfield, Sussex

FROM 1965 TO 1967 detailed excavations were carried out in Minepit Wood, Rotherfield, Sussex, on what proved to be a complete and undisturbed iron-working site of the 14th and 15th centuries. Two periods were distinguished. Except for part of the roasting-furnace nothing survived of the earlier structures. The remains of the later period (which followed closely on the earlier) included a dump of natural ore prepared for roasting; a stone-built roasting-furnace with attendant heap of ore-roasting refuse; a stone and clay smelting-furnace and slag-heap; the groundwalls of a timber-framed building, which had been partly roofed and enclosed the smelting-furnace and supplies of roasted ore and charcoal; the ground- walls of a small ancillary building; and a few pieces of iron and contemporary pottery. One of the many minepits, which gave the wood its name, was also shown to be late medieval.     

The Cross-Legged Effigy at Horsted Keynes,Sussex, with Some Remarks on Early Effigies of Diminutive Dimensions

The Summer Meeting of the Institute in 1976 included a visit to Aydon Castle, and has provoked discussion of this important and well-preserved building. Here it is shown that the house was in single ownership at the time of its construction, and the implications of its lay-out and the sequence of development are considered.     

A Sixteenth-Century Wealden Blast Furnace: A Report on Excavations at Panningridge,Sussex, 1964-1970

Abstract

The excavation recovered evidence for two periods of iron smelting; there were substantial surviving structures from a blast furnace thought from documentary sources to have produced pig-iron from 1542 until at least 1563 and, superimposed, indications of a later furnace built with major changes in layout at some time after 1563 but abandoned well before 1611. It was possible to compare, in particular, the application of water-power in the two periods and to sample ore and cast iron. The features of the first furnace could be related to references in surviving account books, and thus a yardstick may be offered for future fieldwork on undocumented furnaces of the period.     

Human Activities and Site Formation at Modern Lake Margin Foraging Camps in Kenya

Interpretation of archaeological sites with predominantly freshwater fish and reptile remains has been impeded by lack of documentation of how humans process such vertebrates, of bone modifications resulting from such handling, and of physical characteristics of sites produced by these activities. We report on 19 contemporary foraging camps on the shore of Lake Turkana, Kenya, with the creation, abandonment, and resulting faunal assemblages of 7 of these more closely described. Variable processing activities created a range of site structures but cross-assemblage regularities in patterns of bone surface modification and element frequencies are perceptible. Most sites were very large, with special-purpose activity areas peripheral to the main residential area. Site structure and size depended mainly on specific subsistence activities carried out and features of the camp locale rather than upon the number of occupants or duration of occupation. Sites can be classified as base camps or as fish production camps, with consistent differences in site structure and bone assemblage characteristics.     

The Numerical Basis of Roman Camps

Roman camps are based on rectangles with sides in whole number ratios and their areas are proportional to the size of the force encamped. The data given by Polybius and Hyginus suggests the area was surveyed in actus and indicates that it was calculated by simply adding up the space required by each unit from a standard allocation and then increasing that sum by a certain factor to allow for roads and other quarters. This gave the area within the intervallum , which was then added to define the inner face of the rampart. The paradigm can be simplified to the rule that two actus quadrati were allowed per cohort, with a turma counting as 1/8th cohort. The intervallum width was 1/8th the sq. root of the area it enclosed. Permanent forts also seem to have been laid out with the actus of the unit of measurement. The paradigm enabled use of a computer spreadsheet to investigate the possible composition of the forces associated with particular camps. This suggested that in the Mons Graupius campaign Agricola had two legions and built the 63-acre camps in NE Scotland.     

From Rosa Luxemburg to Hannah Arendt: Socialism,Barbarism and the Extermination Camps

The relationship between Rosa Luxemburg and Hannah Arendt has occasionally been noted but rarely systematically discussed. In fact, there is a profound sense in which Arendt's continuing preoccupation with the significance of the extermination camps owes much to Luxemburg's earlier expressed concern that barbarism was a real possibility. Luxemburg first raised this in the context of the First World War, which she saw as a catastrophe marking a fundamental break with the past and opening the way to terrible new possibilities. The terms that Luxemburg used to describe this catastrophe apply better to subsequent events that Arendt was to analyse, particularly the extermination camps (“hell” on earth). In explaining how barbarism could occur, Arendt drew extensively on Luxemburg, emphasising the impact of world wars, imperialism and nationalism, though she was of course then to go further in analysing what barbarism meant when it took place.     

Space and Manpower in Roman Camps

Summary.   Certain aspects of space and manpower use in Roman camps were investigated using a previously published spreadsheet model. Over half the camp area was not needed for the men's tents and this was probably enough to cope with patches of unsuitable ground within the rampart. The relationship between the camp area and perimeter was such that the bigger the camp, the relatively fewer men were needed to make and defend it. Small camps, which required relatively greater effort from the men, could be made quickly. Data from the Polybian and Hyginian models suggested that the basic determinant of camp design and numerical structure of the army lay in the requirement for a man to labour upon and defend no more than five feet of perimeter. Compared with the Polybian model, the Hyginian model greatly reduced the area and perimeter length for any given force, thus enabling the army to adopt a more aggressive posture.     

Settlement Patterns of Logging Camps in the Great Lakes Region

Logging camps in the Great Lakes States experienced enormous changes between the 1840s and the 1940s. Research discloses an almost infinite variety in logging camp arrangements through time. The various buildings oj a camp sometimes stood side by side, other times they formed an “L” or “I” shape and still others were irregularly arranged. The camp buildings displayed increasing functional specialization through time. In the earliest camps a single building might serve for cooking, eating and sleeping. The later camps typically contained separate buildings to serve each of these functions besides a granary, blacksmith shop, van (store), saw filing shed, etc. Not surprisingly, the bunkhouse and the cookhouse or kitchen were always next to each other, as were the barn or stable and the blacksmith shop. Although the camps gradually increased in size during the pine-river drive era, the largest camps were associated with the hardwood-rail era. There was, however, great variation within any period. Whether a camp was that of a large company, small independent company or jobber largely determined the number of buildings it contained. The bunkhouse, kitchen-mess hall, stables or barns were always the largest structures of a camp. There is little chance that they would be confused with the office, blacksmith shop or any of the other structures commonly associated with logging camps. Structures at jobber camps were smaller than at corporate camps. The influence of different cultural groups, the increasing size of operations, the changing technology of logging and log transportation were among the factors that influenced settlement patterns at logging camps in the Great Lakes Stales.     

Fragments of an early carvel-built vessel from Camber, East Sussex, England

A briefcase-study of a group of nautical timbers attempts to demonstrate the potential of areas, which are subject to large scale mineral extraction, as archives of cultural information. These are rarely investigated.