Which English city was called Clausentum by the Romans?
Clausentum Clausentum Clausentum was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. The site is believed to be located in Bitterne, which is now a suburb of Southampton. Antonine Itinerary VII documents the Roman settlement of "Clausentum" as being west of "Noviomagus Reginorum" (Chichester) and from "Venta Belgarum" (Winchester). In 1610, William Camden identified Southampton as being the site of "Clausentum" and described how at Bitterne he had seen "old broken walls, and trenches of an antient castle". Around 1770, John Speed claimed that "Clausentum" was in the area that is now known as Bitterne Manor. In 1792, the Richard
Clausentum Warner investigated those claims and found a ditch, a bank and some Roman coins. Since then, this site has been investigated further and is generally accepted as the site of "Clausentum", but there is no universal agreement. Reference to modern maps shows Bitterne Manor to be from Chichester. Wickham is at the junction of two Roman Roads and is a better fit to the distances documented in Antonine Itinerary VII. The case for "Clausentum" being situated at Bitterne Manor is based on archaeological evidence, and the geography of the site (nestled inside a sharp bend in the River Itchen) which