A NEW breakthrough book has created the new clearest window through which we can see life in Winchester during the Roman period.

The book presents findings from archaeological digs which took place around 50 years ago, and presents new details never before published.

Produced by the Winchester Excavations Committee, it was launched at Winchester School of Art.

Venta Belgarum, the name the Romans gave the settlement, was laid out in a site that is now the modern core of the city.

This name was a Romanisation of the Brittonic word for market, Uenta, and the name of the tribe that lived in the area, the Belgae. It essentially meant ‘market of the Belgae’.

Roman army surveyors likely undertook the laying of streets, and creation of a system of defences, and historians suggest this may have taken place around the first century AD, just a few decades after the Romans invaded.

The city had a system of baths showing that many of the people had a Romanised way of life. Evidence points to there having been an aqueduct up to 24 kilometres long, although no ruins of it have been found.

Only one intact Roman altar was found, on Jewry Street, dedicated to one Lucretianus. They are described as ‘benefictarius consularis’, making them high ranking within the army.

Excavations at Lower Brook Street found remains of a temple, built in a distinctive Romano-Celtic style instead of a classical Roman style.

Historians believe the people of Roman Winchester would’ve flourished, with building materials brought in from Bath, food delicacies from the Mediterranean and wine from the Rhineland. Roman style houses with mosaic floors and central heating were built in the centre of the city.

Venta Belgarum suffered attacks from “barbarian” invaders, according to Roman sources. City defences were strengthened, and bones found in the Lankhills cemetery appear to be of people from mainland Europe, who may have travelled as a local militia.

It seems that the settlement had entered decline by the late fourth century, with many areas being deserted or used as farmland. It would later be resettled by Germanic tribes like the Saxons.

The book publishing all of these findings is in two volumes, and as well as printed, it is available as an e-book from Archaeopress for £16.

The research and publication have been funded through support from Winchester City Council and Hampshire County Council as well as from trusts and individuals including the de Laszlo Foundation and the late Nigel McNair Scott.