Venta Belgarum

Winchester began as Venta Belgarum, a Roman town in the province of Britannia Superior. It stood on the site of an earlier Iron Age settlement called Oram’s Arbour, near the River Itchen. The Romans laid out a street grid and diverted the river to shape the new town. By the second century it had grown larger than Silchester and Chichester. A defensive bank and ditch were added in the second century, followed by stone walls early in the third. The town covered 144 acres, making it one of the biggest in Roman Britain. Excavations have uncovered fine townhouses, public buildings and temples. One temple was dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, another to the Celtic horse goddess Epona. Archaeologist Julian Richards led digs at the Lankhills cemetery in 1998 and 2013 as part of a television series. After the fourth century the town declined and houses fell into disrepair. The drainage system failed and people moved to higher ground. Burials continued, including men buried with military-style belts. By the seventh century the site had become the royal centre of the West Saxons. Later Saxon, Danish and Norman kings still held court there.