Archaeological finds suggest that the area
has been inhabited since the stone age. Following the Roman invasion of Britain
in AD 43 and the conquering of the local Britons in 70 AD the fortress
settlement of Clausentum was established. It was an important trading port and
defensive outpost of Winchester, at the site of modern Bitterne Manor.
Clausentum was defended by a wall and two ditches and is thought to have
contained a bath house. Clausentum was not abandoned until around 410.
The Anglo-Saxons formed a new, larger,
settlement across the
