Volume 4: South-East England
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Current Display: Selsey 02, Sussex 
Overview
Object type: Fragment
Measurements: H. 30 cm (11.8 in); W. 28 cm (11 in); D. Built in
Stone type: Pale grey (with a slight brownish tinge), finely pellety limestone, with Chara nucules and a gastropod cast; see Selsey no. 1.
Plate numbers in printed volume: Ill. 160
Corpus volume reference: Vol 4 p. 171-172
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Present Location
Incorporated into the west side of war memorial base
Evidence for Discovery
See Selsey no. 1.
Church Dedication
St Peter
Present Condition
Badly broken and worn
Description
It is rectangular, incomplete, and heavily weathered. There is a narrow border of square section along the upper edge, the remaining edges are trimmed. The face is decorated with an irregular interlace from which develops a three-element leaf. The lower part of the decoration is weathered away.
Discussion
As with Selsey no. 1, the original function of the piece is impossible to establish. The incoherent nature of the interlace suggests a date in the late pre-Conquest period, and this is supported by the form of the leaf. This is best paralleled in works of the tenth century, for example, on the shaft from East Stour, Dorset (Cramp 1975, fig. 19). However, the present carving is too weathered for detailed comparisons to be drawn.
Date
Tenth to eleventh century
References
Heron-Allen 1911, 102 - 3, pl. XXII; Heron-Allen 1935, 37 - 8, pl. on 31; Mee 1937, 331; Aldsworth 1979, 106, fig. 2.4, pl. 2.4; Tweddle 1986b, i, 112, 251 - 2, ii, 458, iii, pl. 85a; Prior n. d., 19
D.T.
Endnotes
