Event/Activity EPM284 - Long Curtain and Southsea Castle Additional GI Works Archaeological Watching Brief

Wessex Archaeology carried out an archaeological watching brief between the 16th September and 24th October 2019 on Geotechnical Works located within or adjacent to the Scheduled Monuments of Long Curtain, King's Bastion and Spur Redoubt, and Southsea Castle. The work was commissioned by the Eastern Solent Coastal Partnership and formed part of the larger Southsea Coastal Defence Scheme. The Geotechnical Works were carried out in addition to a wider series of GI works previously undertaken in 2018. Archaeological monitoring was carried out on three boreholes and three trial pits situated within the area of Long Curtain, King's Bastion and Spur Redoubt (Frontage 1), and six boreholes adjacent to Southsea Castle (Frontage 4). The watching brief indicated there was limited evidence for surviving buried archaeological remains from the earlier fortifications at Long Curtain Moat. Boreholes adjacent to Southsea Castle suggested there was low potential for surviving archaeological remains within the areas examined.