Anderitum was a Saxon Shore fort in the Roman province of Britannia. The ruins adjoin the west end of the village of Pevensey in East Sussex, England. The fort was built in the 290s and was abandoned after it was sacked in 471. It was re-inhabited by Saxons and in the 11th century the Normans built a castle within the east end of the fort.
View from the castle inner bailey showing the outer Roman curtain wall
Anderida Portus, shown at the southern point of the Forest of Anderida
Roman masonry in the walls of Anderitum, showing the distinctive layers of Roman bricks
The Saxon Shore was a military command of the Late Roman Empire, consisting of a series of fortifications on both sides of the Channel. It was established in the late 3rd century and was led by the "Count of the Saxon Shore". In the late 4th century, his functions were limited to Britain, while the fortifications in Gaul were established as separate commands. Several well-preserved Saxon Shore forts survive in east and south-east England.
Burgh Castle in Norfolk, seen from the air.
Roman masonry, with its distinctive bands of Roman tiles, in the outer walls of the Saxon Shore fort of Anderitum, which was later re-fortified as Pevensey Castle in East Sussex.
The nine British Saxon Shore forts in the Notitia Dignitatum. Bodleian Library, Oxford.
