More information : (SU85580478 sited from plan xv and fig 4B 4)
The Westgate Roman Inhumation Cemetery. Excavations in the grounds of the Theological College which was to be redeveloped into blocks of flats in 1985 and 1987, west of the walled city of Chichester revealed a total of 62 burials of a late Roman cemetery of predominantly west-east graves.
Two burials were in lead coffins. Most graves were of adults with males twice as frequent as females. There was little evidence for grave goods. Burial 3 had an Aucissa-type brooch in its filling and burial 17 a buckle from a lorica segmentata, both finds probably accidental. The only find perhaps deliberatley placed in a grave pit was a bronze coin of the 'falling horseman' type found near the base of the skull in burial 15, which provides a terminus post quem of AD 350 for the grave. An inlaid glass bead, a melon bead and three linked bronze bracelets were found in surface deposits and the excavator believes they were of a ritual nature. A redeposited dupondius of Vespasian was also found.
As there were no positive indicators for christianity, the cemetery is assumed to have been pagan, and probably 4th century in date (1) |