Solent of nationally important protected landscapes including the New Forest National Park, and the Isle of Wight AONB. The word first appears in the Saxon record as "Solentan", but pre-dates the English language and is first recorded as "Soluente" in 731. This original spelling suggests a possible derivation from the Brittonic element "-uente", which has endured throughout the history of Hampshire, being present in the Roman city of Venta Belgarum, the medieval kingdom of Gwent (or Y Went), and the modern town of Winchester. A pre-Celtic and supposedly Semitic root meaning "free-standing rock" has also been suggested as a possible description
La Venta of legitimizing power.” Frans Blom and Oliver La Farge made the first detailed descriptions of La Venta during their 1925 expedition, sponsored by Tulane University. Originally La Venta was thought to be a Mayan site. It wasn't until more sophisticated radiocarbon techniques were developed in the 1950s that Olmec sites were irrefutably dated as preceding the Maya. La Venta was first excavated by Matthew Stirling and Philip Drucker (assisted by Waldo Wedel in 1943, due to Drucker’s military service during WWII) between 1940 and 1943, resulting in several articles by Stirling and in 1952 a two-volume monograph by Drucker. Stirling