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
New England town In recent decades, many boroughs and villages have disincorporated, reverting to full town control. The term "village" is sometimes used in New England to describe a distinct, built-up place within a town or city. This may be a "town center", which bears the same name as the town or city (almost every town has such a place), or a name related to that of the town, or a completely unrelated name. The town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, for example, includes the villages of Barnstable Village, West Barnstable, Centerville, Marstons Mills, Osterville, Cotuit, and Hyannis. Except for the incorporated villages in Vermont,