Belgae Britain after participating in Vercingetorix's rebellion and either joined or established a British branch of his tribe. Based on the development of imagery on coins, by the time of the Roman conquest, some of the tribes of south-eastern Britain likely were ruled by a Belgic nobility and were culturally influenced by them. The later "civitas" (administrative division) of Roman Britain had towns including "Portus Adurni" (Portchester), and "Clausentum" (Southampton). The "civitas" capital was at "Venta Belgarum" (Winchester), which was built on top of an Iron Age "oppidum" (which was itself built on the site of two earlier abandoned hillforts), which
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