Venta Belgarum

The settlement was apparently established around AD 70, partially on the site of Oram's Arbour, which had been abandoned for some years.

Although in the early years of the Roman province it was of subsidiary importance to Silchester and Chichester, Venta eclipsed them both by the latter half of the second century.

Excavations of the cemetery were carried out by British archaeologist Julian Richards in 1998, and again in 2013, as part of the BBC television series Meet the Ancestors.

The defences were however strengthened and the cemeteries remained in use, notably with burials of males wearing so-called military-style mercenary belts.

[6] Following the Roman withdrawal from Britain in 410, urban life seems to have ceased around 450, although a small administrative centre might have continued after that on the site of the later Anglo-Saxon palace.

Exposed section of the Roman foundations which lie underneath the medieval city walls
Roman mosaic found locally, now in the Winchester museum
Red Roman bricks can be seen mixed with medieval material in this wall on St. George's Street.