Hampshire tribes of northeastern Gaul - whether these two events are linked to the decline of hillforts is unknown. By the Roman conquest, the "oppidum" at Venta Belgarum, modern-day Winchester, was the "de facto" regional administrative centre; Winchester was, however, of secondary importance to the Roman-style town of Calleva Atrebatum, modern Silchester, built further north by a dominant Belgic polity known as the Atrebates in the 50s BCE. Julius Caesar invaded southeastern England briefly in 55 and again in 54 BCE, but he never reached Hampshire. Notable sites from this period include Hengistbury Head (now in Dorset), which was a major
Venta Icenorum Venta Icenorum Venta Icenorum, located at modern-day Caistor St Edmund in the English county of Norfolk, was the civitas or capital of the Iceni tribe, who inhabited the flatlands and marshes of that county and are famous for having revolted against Roman rule under their queen Boudica (or Boadicea) in the winter of 61 AD. The town itself was probably laid out, and its first streets metalled, approximately in the first half of the second century. The town, which is mentioned in the "Ravenna Cosmography", and the "Antonine Itinerary", was a settlement near the village of Caistor St. Edmund, some