With village’s rich history, the discovery of a 14-hectare Roman settlement is no surprise

News that archaeologists uncovered evidence of a 14 hectare Roman settlement in Tangmere will come as no surprise to anyone who’s read up on village history.

The village is just a mile south of Stane Street, after all; a Roman road linking Chichester (then known as Noviomagus Reginorum) with London via a route now followed rather closely by the A24, A29 and A285.

Tangmere itself is believed to date back to the Saxon era; around 680AD, when King Caedwalla granted some ten acres of land to the church. By 1086, Tangmere was recorded in the Domesday book as having a population of 160, with the stone church of St Andrew built shortly after the Norman Conquest. The building incorporated pieces of Roman bricks, as well as fragments of pre-norman carved stone, although the presence of an ancient yew tree on the site suggests it had spiritual significance for a long time before that.

In 2016, analysis of lidar and aerial photography lead to the rediscovery of a longlost Roman road connecting Chichester with Arundel, which may well have run through land near Tangmere. According to an article published by Historic England, leading experts, including Ivan Margary, who secured the preservation of the Roman Palace at Fishbourne, had speculated about the existence of the road for decades. Modern technology revealed traces of the speculated road along 8km of the 15km between Chichester and Arundel. It’s believed likely that the road followed Stane Street to a point just north of East Hampnett before branching off along what became Old Arundel Road, which meets the A27 as it sweeps in from the south west between Boxgrove and Tangmere.

So perhaps, with that in mind, the discovery of a roman settlement in Tangmere’s Strategic Development Site should come as no surprise.