Roman Winchester

The area around Winchester was occupied for many centuries - but the first city grew with the arrival of the Romans. The local tribe were the "Belgae" a celtic tribe from the area we know today as Belgium. The word "Venta" was often given to settlements which arose primarily as market places serving the surrounding area. ( for example Venta Icenorum is Caistor, near Norwich - the market town of the Iceni tribe; Venta Silurum is modern Caerwent). The modern name of the city is Winchester - from Venta (Win) and chester - a name often given to fortified roman places.

The River Itchen (which meets the sea at Southampton) flowed through the centre of the site of the Roman town, but was diverted outside the roman wall. While most of the Roman city is not visible to visitors, roman remains have been discovered across the current city centre and in some peoples' basements. The current High Street follows the original main street of the Roman city. The walls, built in the 3rd century, formed the boundary for the later city, and roman remains can be seen in the existing walls.