ABSTRACT

The shape of Pevensey Bay has changed markedly since first the Romans and then the Normans had landed here. The flat area north of Pevensey itself that shows up as a dark shape north-east of Eastbourne on the geolog-

ical map (Figure 19, p. 154) in the South Coast Handbook was then a lagoon

dominated in the west by the peninsula on which the castle was built.1 The

Levels are classified as seasonally boggy and flooded land, an obstacle for

horse-drawn vehicles and motorised troops especially in winter and spring.