Event/Activity EPM202 - Southwick Hill Crossroads 1956

A number of Anglo-Saxon burials were discovered during roadworks and a subsequent rescue excavation at Southwick Hill Crossroads in April 1956. Engineering works carried out by Warnings Ltd to reconstruct the road junction caused extensive ground disturbance, and several graves were badly damage by bulldozer or mechanical digger. A number of graves were completely destroyed, and the remains of at least four individuals recovered from spoil heaps. A rescue excavation was subsequently undertaken by Portsmouth Museum Service and the Inspector of Ancient Monuments, with the co-operation of Warnings. The burials belonged to an Anglo-Saxon cemetery which had been partially excavated in 1948 (see EPM201). The junction at Southwick Hill Crossroads is now a roundabout where Portsdown Hill Road, Southwick Hill Road and James Callaghan Drive meet. Accession No: 1956/3-6