Sussex , from the Old English 'Sūþseaxe' ('South Saxons'), is a historic county in South East England.
Evidence from a fossil of Boxgrove Man (Homo heidelbergensis) shows that Sussex has been inhabited for at least 500,000 years. It is thought to be the oldest human fossil ever discovered in Britain.
Near Pulborough, tools have been found that date from around 35,000 years ago and that are thought to be from either the last Neanderthals in northern Europe or pioneer populations of modern humans. On the South Downs lie Neolithic flint mines that date to around 4000BC, some of the earliest in Europe. The county is also rich in remains from the Bronze Age and Iron Age.
Prior to Roman invasions it was occupied by a Belgic tribe called the Atrebates. Togidubnus ruled over much of Sussex when the Roman conquest of Britain began and formed most of the Roman canton of the Regni.
The retreat of Roman forces in the 5th century facilitated the landing of migrants from what is now Germany and created the kingdom of the South Saxons under King Ælle, who is recorded as having held overlordship over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and as being the first bretwalda, or 'Britain ruler'. Under St Wilfrid, Sussex became the last of the seven traditional kingdoms of the heptarchy to undergo Christianisation. By the 8th century the kingdom had expanded to include the territory of the Haestingas. Around 827 in the aftermath of the battle of Ellandun, Sussex was annexed by the kingdom of Wessex, a kingdom that with further expansion became the kingdom of England.
In 1066 Norman forces arrived in Sussex, the heartland of King Harold Godwinson. Defeating Harold at the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror established five (later six) semi-independent territories known as rapes within Sussex. The South Saxon see was transferred from Selsey Abbey to a new cathedral in the city of Chichester. Castles were built, many the subject of sieges in the High Middle Ages. Sussex was of strategic importance on the most direct route between Angevin lands in England and Normandy. Many Sussex ports, including the Cinque Ports, provided ships for military use.
A succession crisis in the kingdom of France led to the Hundred Years War in which Sussex found itself on the frontline. Various rebellions followed in the late medieval period, including the Peasants’ Revolt, Jack Cade's rebellion and the rebellion of the Merfold brothers.
Under Henry VIII, the church in England split from Roman Catholicism. Mary I returned England to Catholicism and in Sussex 41 Protestants were burned to death. Under Elizabeth intolerance continued on a lesser scale as many Catholics in Sussex died at this time. In Elizabeth's reign, Sussex was open to the older Protestant forms practised in the Weald as well as the newer Protestant forms coming from Continental Europe; combined with a significant Catholic presence, Sussex was in many ways out of step with the rest of southern England. Sussex escaped most of the ravages of the Civil War with two sieges and one battle.
As the Industrial Revolution took hold, the Wealden iron industry collapsed. The growth of the seaside resorts in the 18th century was especially significant in Sussex. Sussex men played a significant role in the first world war Battle of the Boar's Head. At the war's end terms of the Armistice were agreed at Danny House. In World War Two the county was a base for the Dieppe Raid and D-Day landings.
In 1974, the Lord-Lieutenant of Sussex was replaced with one each for East and West Sussex, which became separate ceremonial counties. In the 21st century a county day and a county flag were created for Sussex and a National Park was established for the South Downs.
Prehistoric Sussex Stone Age In 1993 a human-like tibia was found at Boxgrove near Chichester. Then in 1996 further hominid remains were found: two incisor teeth from a single individual recovered from the lower freshwater deposits at the site. The remains came to be known as "Boxgrove man" and are thought to be a species known as Homo heidelbergensis.Roberts. Boxgrove: A Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex (English Heritage Archaeological Report). Summary. p.xix Boxgrove man apparently lived in a temperate stage immediately prior to the Anglian glaciation, in the Lower Palaeolithic period between 524,000 and 478,000 years ago.C B Stringer and E Trinkham. The Human Tibia from Boxgrove. Chapter 6.2 in Boxgrove: A Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex
In 1900 Upper Palaeolithic flintwork was found at a site in the Beedings. Then in 2007–08 Early Upper Palaeolithic archaeology was found at the same site. The archaeology at the Beedings spans a crucial cultural transition in the European Palaeolithic and therefore provides an important new dataset for the analysis of late Neanderthal groups in northern Europe and their replacement by modern human populations.Pope. Early Upper Palaeolithic archaeology at Beedings. Archaeology International Issue 11: p. 33
It is believed that during the Mesolithic Age nomadic hunters arrived in Sussex from Europe.Armstrong. A History of Sussex. Ch. 3.|page=18Peter Drewett. Late Hunters and Gathers in Leslie. An Historical Atlas of Sussex. pp. 14–15 At the time (8000 BC), Britain was still connected to the continent, however the ice sheets over northern Europe were melting rapidly and causing the gradual rising of sea levels, which eventually led to the forming of the Straits of Dover, effectively cutting off the Mesolithic people of Sussex from the continent. There have been archaeological finds from these people, mostly in the central wealden area to the north of the Downs. Large amounts of knives, scrapers, arrow heads and other tools have been found.
Close to the River Ouse near Sharpsbridge, a polished axe, polished axe fragments, a chisel and other examples of Neolithic flintwork have been found. The fact that these implements were found close to the River Ouse suggests that some land clearance may have taken place in the river valley during the Neolithic period.Butler. Mesolithic and later flintwork from Moon’s Farm, Piltdown, East Sussex, SAC. pp. 222–24.
From about 4300 BC to about 3400 BC the mining of flint for use locally and also for wider trade was a major activity in Neolithic Sussex.Drewett. Neolithic Sussex: published in 'Archaeology in Sussex to AD 1500: Essays for Eric Holden.' p. 27. There was also a Neolithic pottery industry, with styles of pot reminiscent of finds elsewhere, such as Hembury and Grimston/Lyle Hill.Alison Haggarty. Machrie Moor, Arran: recent excavations at two stone circles. pp. 59–60
Bronze Age
From the Bronze Age (about 1400-1100BC) settlements and burial sites have left their mark throughout Sussex.Ann Ellison. The Bronze Age of Sussex. Essay in Archaeology of Sussex to AD 1500: Essays for Eric Holden. fig.14. - distribution of Bronze Age sites in Sussex. The transition from the late neolithic to the Early Bronze Age in Sussex is marked by the appearance of Beaker pottery.Hutton. The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles. pp. 88–89. The author discusses the possibility that the Beaker people may not have existed. There have been several finds including some in Beaker settlements; a significant settlement was one discovered near Beachy Head in 1909. The site was partially excavated in 1970 and the finds included pottery, flints, post settings, shallow pits and a midden.Ellison. The Bronze Age of Sussex. Essay published in 'Archaeology of Sussex to AD 1500: Essays for Eric Holden.' p. 30.
The presence of Beaker pottery provides the first evidence of the migration of people from northern Europe since the early Neolithic period. In the 1980s some pre-historians doubted the existence of the Beaker people as migrants and suggest that it was possible that the Beaker culture may have just been a new development of the local neolithic people. However more recently, the analysis of ancient human DNA, has enabled scientists to establish that the British Beaker populations were in fact more closely related to those originating from central Europe and that the presence of Beaker people in Britain was just part of the continuing east-to-west expansion that had brought Steppe-related ancestry into central and northern Europe.
Iron Age There are over fifty Iron Age sites that are known throughout the Sussex Downs. Probably the best known are the hill-forts such as Cissbury Ring.Bedwin. Iron Age Sussex-Downs and Coastal Plain: published in 'Archaeology in Sussex to AD 1500: Essays for Eric Holden'. p. 41. A small number of agricultural settlements, or farmsteads, have been excavated on a large scale.
The results of these excavations have provided a picture of the economy, based on mixed farming. Artefacts such as iron ploughshares and sickles were excavated. The presence of animal bones, particularly cattle and sheep, attests to the pastoral element to their economy. Various items have been found that indicate that they used to spin and weave the wool they produced. The Sussex Iron Age dwellers supplemented their diet with marine shellfish, the remains of which have been found on several sites.
Towards the end of the Iron Age in 75BC, people from the Atrebates, one of the tribes of the Belgae, a mix of Celtic and German stock, started invading and occupying southern Britain.Koch. Celtic culture. Retrieved 29 October 2011 pp. 195-196Armstrong. A History of Sussex. Ch. 3. This was followed by an invasion by the Roman army under Julius Caesar that temporarily occupied the south-east in 55BC. Then, soon after the first Roman invasion had ended, the Celtic Regni tribe under their leader Commius occupied the Manhood Peninsula.
Tincomarus and then Cogidubnus followed Commius as rulers of the Regni. At the time of the Roman conquest in AD 43 there was an oppidum in the southern part of their territory, probably in the Chichester region.Garland. Past. pp. 5 -7
Roman Sussex
After the Roman invasion Cogidubnus was installed or confirmed by the Romans as ruler of the Regni and he took the name Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus and claimed to be ‘'rex magnus Britanniae'’.Cannon. A Dictionary of British History. His name is mentioned in two exceptionally early Roman inscriptions in his capital of Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester).
There are a variety of remains in the county from Roman times, coin hoards and decorated pottery have been found.White. Mid-Fifth Century Hoard. pp. 301–315
There are examples of Roman roads such as: Chichester to Silchester Way Chichester to London Stane Street
Also a variety of buildings, the best known being: Bignor Roman Villa Fishbourne Roman Palace Anderitum (Pevensey Castle)
The coast of Roman Britain had a series of defensive forts on them, and towards the end of the Roman occupation the coast was subject to raids by Saxons.Myers. The English Settlements. pp. 83-89. Additional forts were built against the Saxon threat, an example in Sussex being Anderitum (Pevensey Castle). The coastal defences were supervised by the Count of the Saxon Shore.
There is some suggestion that around the beginning of the fourth century the Roman authorities recruited mercenaries from the German homelands to defend the southern and eastern coasts of Britain.Jones. The end of Roman Britain. pp. 32–37. The area they defended was known as the Saxon Shore. It is possible that these mercenaries remained after the departure of the Roman army and merged with the eventual Anglo-Saxon invaders.
Kingdom of Sussex
The foundation of the Kingdom of Sussex is recorded by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year AD 477, saying that Ælle arrived at a place called Cymenshore in three ships with his three sons and killed or put to flight the local inhabitants.ASC Parker MS. 477AD.