R. C. SHERIFFS JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY

Northern Advocate, 8 January 1938, Page 2

R. C. SHERIFFS JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY

Mi. R. C. Sheriff, author of “Journey's End,” is hard at work at Angmering, Sussex, probing the earth for the buried secrets of an old Roman villa, writes Louise Morgan, in the “Nows Chronicle.” I watched him pushing a 4ft. steel probe into the loamy clay of what has been known locally for generations as “The Haunted Field.” Now he and his helpers are discovering why no crop has ever grown there, for not far below the surface lie the remains of one of the largest, oldest and probably richest Roman residences in Britain. During the week-end Mr. Sheriff skinned several yards of fresh turf, moved five tons of earth, and was rewarded by discovering his second corner stone, “It’s a joy to get away to the peace of this beautiful spot,” he told me, “and we intend to work week-ends throughout the winter.

Seven Years’ Lease. “Subject to the Duke of Norfolk’s decision we hope to obtain a seven years’ lease. It will take all that time and longer to explore this big site.” He took me over the five or six acres pitted with “finds.” Guarded with tarpaulins and piles of tares against frost, the archaeologist’s worst enemy, is a huge bathhouse, dated about A.D. 70, with two hot baths, one tepid, one cold, a dozen dressing rooms and 100 ft. of tiled drain with brick arch-springs. The cold bath is in a fine condition, with pink cement floor and quarter moulding intact. Black burnt earth indicates the furnace rooms, and hollow flue tiles are still in place, through which hot air poured up to warm the olive skins of bath-loving Romans.

A Harbour Town? Painted wall stones set in patterns and thousands of white and painted mosaic floor stones, all imported, prove the bathhouse to have been elaborately decorated. “Such a large and rich building,” said Mr. Sheriff, “means that we may discover anything from the country house of a wealthy merchant to a harbour town.” In the wooden treasure hut are masses of finds, among them a floor tile across which, while it was still soft, a dog ran nearly 2,000 years ago, immortalising itself in six perfectly clear pawmax’ks. Another tile bears the imprint of a sandal. A piece of red Samian ware shows part of a beautiful processional design. “My heart is set on finding the rest of that jar and restoring it,’"’ said Mr. Sheriff. Day’s March Away. He hopes to uncover a “lost” Roman road which connected Angmering and Chichester, a day’s march away. It; led to a ferry, he believes, which took passengers across what was then a tidal inlet to the west of the villa. Work started in the spring with the co-operation of the Littlehampton and Sussex Archaeological Societies, Members of the Balliol Boat Club of Oxford undergraduates, which Mr. Sherriff coached, and local volunteers have also helped. With Dr. R. E. Mortimer Wheeler as adviser, Miss Leslie Scott is directing the work. j