More information : (SU85700472) (SU86140449) (SU86400465) (SU86410485) (SU86380517)
(SU86340522) (SU86220524) (SU85880514) (SU85720497) (SU85700472)
(sited to the course of the town wall from OS 1:2500 1963, 1964 and 1967)
The late second century defences, of which a considerable part survives today, consisted initially of two V-shaped ditches with an earth bank and a palisade. Excavations by John Holmes in 1959 when the defences on the south-west corner of the city were sectioned and another section cut through the bank at the rear of the wall along Market Avenue indicated that the bank had been constructed with soil from the ditch. At some time after the defences had been erected the bank was cut back and a masonry revetting wall built in front. A late second to early third century date is suggested for this work on analogy with similar episodes at Silchester and Winchester.
At some time in the fourth century bastions were added to the walls and this required the filling of the inner ditch with rammed chalk and flint where they were constructed. In place of the original two ditches a third was dug further away from the wall, providing a 'killing ground' for the defenders.
Only seven of the bastions are now known and of these, only five are above ground. Four have been examined by archaeologists and consideration of the published reports indicates that the construction details of each tower seem to be identical. The construction of these defences is thought to date to shortly after the 'barbarian conspiracy' of AD 367.
Very little has been discovered of the four main gates. What remained of the superstructure of the late medieval gates was swept away when the town was largely rebuilt in the C18th. Discoveries since then have been sparce but tend to support the view that they were just simple tunnels through the wall, lacking out-thrust drum towers, and with one or two guardrooms behind (see SU 80 NE 85 -North Gate; SU 80 SE 107 - Westgate; SU 80 Se 109 - Southgate. 'There is no direct evidence to date their construction' (1)
Additional references (2-3)
The extant elements of the walls of the Roman city of Chichester described above in (1) were recorded from lidar imagery during a survey carried out as part of a doctoral research project. (4)
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