Roman pottery found at archaeological dig in Portslade

The first excavation at the old Manor House in Easthill Park, Portslade, was carried out by volunteers from the Brighton and Hove Archaeological Society and the charity Fresh Start Portslade.

Portslade's Lord of the Manor built the Manor House behind St. Nicolas Church in the 1130s. The ruins are an example of a Norman manor house.

Fresh Start Portslade led the project and want to raise awareness of the area's history and resurrect the old manor house as a local history and community focal point.

Part of a Roman plate was found

John Shepherd, the project leader from Fresh Start Portslade, said: "We are very grateful to Brighton and Hove Archaeology Society for coming along to help bring the fascinating history of Portslade's old Manor House to life.

"We have also been working with local volunteers to create learning resources for adults and children alike, including the information boards that have been erected around the site and online educational packs for local schools."

Geo scans were carried out before the excavation to identify where to dig the test pits. The volunteers dug five different holes on the first day, which revealed around 1,900 small finds; two more pits were dug the following day.

Some of the found items included remains of Roman pottery, clay pipe, a buried medieval flint wall and the remains of a wild boar. The dig ended late on Saturday afternoon and has shown potential for even more finds in the future.

The Mayor of Brighton and Hove Alan Robins opened the dig

Pete Tolhurst, the archaeology society's field unit director, said: "We are delighted to work in partnership with Fresh Start on this unique community project.

"The seven test pits excavated revealed various features and a range of interesting finds. We have identified other areas for further investigation and hope to work with Fresh Start on these in the future."

Future projects at the manor house include family open days, school education projects, live music and performance and medieval cookery lessons.

Mayor of Brighton and Hove, councillor Alan Robins, opened the dig at the ancient monument.

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He said: "I am immensely proud of all the work that is being done to revive the history of these ancient ruins, which has been hidden away for so long with few people having any knowledge of their history."