Field-walking (or Surface Artefact Collection) is a technique well-suited to rapid initial appraisal of the archaeological potential of a site, or group of sites. The identification and spatial analysis of artefacts systematically collected from the ground surface can offer valuable clues to the distribution of archaeological sites, and help in the formulation of mitigation strategies, or in the design of further fieldwork.

The obvious problem with the technique is the need for open, preferably recently-ploughed areas for investigation, and hence it is entirely unsuitable for urban sites, or most brownfield sites. However field-walking can be a useful tool on large-scale rural sites, for instance in advance of groundworks for quarries, reservoirs or housing schemes, and has been used extensively by ASE in the investigation of new road corridors.

Recent projects with a field-walking element include the investigation of the site of the new Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club Community Stadium, near Falmer in East Sussex and at Bourne Hill House, near Horsham, West Sussex. The Bourne Hill House site produced a significant assemblage of Mesolithic flintwork, adding to the corpus of known sites of this date in the Horsham area.

• A27 Polegate Bypass, East Sussex

• A27 Patching Junction Improvement, West Sussex

• A24 Horsham-Capel Improvement, West Sussex/Surrey

• Eastanton Manor Development, Andover, Hampshire

• Proposed Reservoir at Clay Hill, Ringmer, East Sussex

• The Community Stadium, Falmer, East Sussex

• Bourne Hill House, Horsham, West Sussex