Stane Street, Chichester

Stane Street is the modern name of the 91 km-long Roman road in southern England that linked Londinium (London) to Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester) [1]. The exact date of construction is uncertain; however, on the basis of archaeological artefacts discovered along the route, it was in use by 70 AD and may have been built in the first decade of the Roman occupation of Britain (as early as 43–53 AD) [1]. Stane Street shows clearly the engineering principles that the Romans used when building roads [1]. Stane is an old spelling of "stone" which was commonly used to differentiate paved Roman roads from muddy native trackways [1]. For much of its length, Stane Street consisted of a central agger, with parallel ditches either side [1]. Mansiones have been identified on Stane Street at Alfoldean and Hardham [1]. The mansio at Hardham is thought to have become disused by the end of the second century AD and the road is absent from the third-century Antonine Itinerary [1]. Nevertheless, Stane Street continued to be an important trade route until at least the early fourth century [1].