Venta Belgarum

Venta Belgarum,orVenta Bulgarum,was a town in theRoman provinceofBritannia Superior,thecivitascapital of the local tribe, theBelgae,and which later became the city ofWinchester.

Exposed section of the Roman foundations which lie underneath themedieval city walls

Etymology

The name isProto-Celticin origin:Ventacomes from*Uentā,aCommon Brittonicword meaning "market". Roman writers recorded the town asVenta Belgarum(The Venta of theBelgae) to distinguish it from the other tribal markets in Britain such asVenta SilurumandVenta Icenorum.

Development

Roman mosaicfound locally, now in the Winchester museum

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

It became the tribal capital of the Belgae, who had probably held severalIron Agehill fortsin the near vicinity of the site (St Catherine's Hill,Oram's Arbour andWorthy Down) once the Romans had pacified the area, as was their policy for relocating many other British tribes.

TheRiver Itchenwas diverted and a street grid laid out. Although in the early years of the Roman province it was of subsidiary importance toSilchesterandChichester,Venta eclipsed them both by the latter half of the second century.

A defensive bank and ditch were dug around the town in the 2nd century.At the beginning of the third century, Winchester was givenprotective stone walls.At around this time, the city covered an area of 144 acres (58 ha), making it among the largest towns in Roman Britain by surface area. The city had many fineRomantownhouses ordomus,as well as public buildings andRoman temples.

Like many other Roman towns, however, Winchester began to decline in the later fourth century.

Religion

Theforum-basilicaappears to have included a temple toJupiter,JunoandMinervaalong with an accompanying Jupiter Column. Elsewhere, there was aRomano-Britishstyle temple dedicated to theCeltichorsegoddess,Epona.There was a largeRomano-Britishcemetery to the north of the town, atLankhills,and another to the east. Excavations of the cemetery were carried out by British archaeologistJulian Richardsin 1998, and again in 2013, as part of the BBC television seriesMeet the Ancestors.

Decline

Red Roman bricks can be seen mixed with medieval material in this wall on St. George's Street.

From the mid-4th century, new development at Venta halted. Houses fell into disrepair and the drainage system collapsed. The population concentrated itself in the higher and drier areas of the town. The defences were however strengthened and the cemeteries remained in use, notably with burials of males wearing so-called military-style mercenary belts. Historian David Nash Ford identifies the community as theCair Guinntguic( "FortVenta ") listed byNenniusamong the 28 cities ofBritainin hisHistory of the Britains.

Following theRoman withdrawal from Britainin 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. Amid theAnglo-Saxon settlement of Britain,cemeteries dating to the 6th and 7th centuries suggest a revival of settlement andWintanceastrebecame the usual court for the kings ofWessex,and then for other Saxon, Danish, and Norman kings ofEngland.