Basingstoke (Sorbiodunum), and by another Roman road that linked Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum) in the north with Winchester (Venta Belgarum) to the south. These cross-cutting highways, along with the good agricultural land hereabouts, account for the many “Roman” villas in the area, mostly put up by Romanized native nobility (Roman villa). Even more ancient was the Harrow Way, a Neolithic trackway, possibly associated with the ancient tin trade, that crossed all of southern England from west to east, from Cornwall to Kent, passing right through Andover and Basingstoke. The precise size and shape of Basingstoke today are difficult to identify, as it
Venta Silurum other Romano-British tribal capitals. In 2010 a programme of archaeological work was carried out, by Monmouth Archaeology, as part of the construction of a new garage, at Museum Cottage. A number of finds were made. Venta Silurum Venta Silurum was a town in the Roman province of "Britannia" or Britain. Today it consists of remains in the village of Caerwent in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. Much of it has been archaeologically excavated and is on display to the public. Venta was established by the Romans in AD 75 as an administrative centre for the defeated Silures tribe in Roman Wales.