Venta Belgarum Oram's Arbour and Worthy Down) once the Romans had pacified the area, as was their policy for relocating many other British tribes. The River Itchen was diverted and a street grid laid out. Although in the early years of the Roman province it was of subsidiary importance to Silchester and Chichester, Venta eclipsed them both by the latter half of the second century. A defensive bank and ditch were dug around the town in the 2nd century. At the beginning of the third century, Winchester was given protective stone walls. At around this time the city covered an area of
Ancaster Roman Town Ancaster Roman Town Ancaster Roman Town was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. It is sited on the Roman road known as the Ermine Street and is situated in the county of Lincolnshire. Its name in Latin is unknown, although it has traditionally been identified with "Causennis" or Causennæ, a name which occurs as a town on the route of "Iter V" recorded in the Antonine Itinerary. Rivet and Smith questioned this identification in 1979 and suggested that a more likely identification would be either the Roman settlement at Salters ford, near Grantham in Lincolnshire, or at