Winchester more urban settlement type developed, known as an oppidum, although the archaeology of this phase remains obscure. It was overrun by the confederation of Gaulish tribes known as the Belgae sometime during the first century BCE. It seems to have been known as Wentā or Venta, derived from the Brittonic for "town" or "meeting place", or the word for "white" (Welsh "gwyn"), due to Winchester's situation upon chalk. After the Roman conquest of Britain, the settlement served as the capital () of the Belgae and was distinguished as Venta Belgarum, "Venta of the Belgae". Although in the early years of
Battle of Venta del Pozo Colonel Jean-Alexis Béteille, who was left for dead on the field after receiving twelve sword wounds (eight to the head, one of which cracked his skull open, and four to his left hand). French surgeons managed to save him. Several months later he was made brigadier general and officer of the Légion d'honneur by Napoleon himself. The German 1st and 2nd KGL Light battalions wore the "Venta del Pozo" battle honour until 1918 in their subsequent service with the Hanoverian and Prussian armies. Battle of Venta del Pozo The Battle of Venta del Pozo, also known as the Battle of