The fragmentary remains of a Roman-era cart axle, found at Edburton, Sussex, were taken to the Mary Rose Trust conservation team on 10th July 2024. We believe the axle dates to the mid-4th century, with 4th century coins and pottery sherds found stratified both above and below the axle in a ditch, on a site associated with a large metal hoard (now at the British Museum for processing as Treasure). The pieces of worked oak were handed to David Pearson, Conservation Manager, with a view to treating and conserving them for permanent display in the Worthing Museum archaeology galleries. Dr Damian Goodburn has suggested this is the finest surviving example of a Roman-era axle, that he is aware of, in Britain. The timeframe for the completion of this work is September 2025. Conservation will follow a three step process as follows: desalination (two months) Polyethylene Glycol consolidation treatment using PEG 400 and PEG 2000 (nine months) and Freeze Drying (two months).
