The Sussex Archaeological Society

The Sussex Archaeological Society was founded in 1846 and is the largest county archaeological society in the United Kingdom. It exists to promote the study of history and archaeology in the counties of East and West Sussex.

It is a limited company and a registered charity, with over 2300 members. It fulfills its charitable objectives by:

1. Opening six museums in Sussex to the public, including the famous Fishbourne Roman Palace.
2. Publishing an annual academic journal.
3. Carrying out its own research excavations, fieldwork and historical studies.

It increasingly fulfills its aims by the use of ICT technologies. A UK government-funded website (romans-in-sussex.co.uk), developed by the staff of the Society, will be launched in March 2001.

The Sussex Archaeological Society employs 30 full-time and 62 part-time staff, and has an annual turnover of some £1.5 million sterling.

More details of the Society and its six museums:

1. Fishbourne Roman Palace
2. Lewes Castle
3. Anne of Cleves House
4. Michelham Priory
5. Marlipins Museum
6. The Priest House

John Manley

John Manley was educated at the University of Manchester (UK) where he obtained three degrees - a BA in Ancient History and Archaeology (1973), an MA in Bronze Age Italy (1980) and an MA in Social Anthropology (1986). His career has been as a professional archaeologist working in the UK since 1977. He was formerly County Archaeologist for Clwyd, in north-east Wales, and is now Chief Executive of the largest county archaeological society in the UK, the Sussex Archaeological Society. John Manley has excavated and undertaken extensive fieldwork in the United Kingdom as well as in several other countries including Iran, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Italy, Spain, Jordan, the British Virgin Islands and France. He finished (in 1999) a five-year programme of excavating at Fishbourne Roman Palace, where he discovered a new Roman building standing in front of the Palace. He has published over 35 academic articles on aspects of archaeology, including excavations at Caergwrle Castle, Rhuddlan and Pentre Llyn Cymmer - all in Wales. His previous books include: Atlas of Prehistoric Britain Phaidon 1989 and The Atlas of Past Worlds Cassell 1993.

David Rudkin

David Rudkin was born in 1943 and, after a short career in mechanical engineering, went to Sheffield University in 1969 to read Archaeology and Prehistory. This was followed by a year at Leicester University where he was awarded a post Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies. He was employed as Keeper of Archaeology for Portsmouth City Museums for seven years, where he was responsible for the curation of the archaeological collections and for excavations within the city. During this time he gained the Diploma of the Museums Association. He was appointed Director of Fishbourne Roman Palace in 1979. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1989.