Editing Hampshire (section)

===The Roman Era===

The Romans invaded Britain again in 43 CE and Hampshire was incorporated into the Roman province of Britannia very quickly. It is generally believed their political leaders allowed themselves to be incorporated peacefully. Venta became the capital of the administrative polity of the Belgae, which included most of Hampshire and Wiltshire and reached as far as Bath. Whether the people of Hampshire played any role in Boudicca's rebellion of 60–61 is not recorded, but evidence of burning is seen in Winchester dated to around that period.<ref>Cunliffe, B, 1991, ''Wessex to AD 1000'', p.218</ref> For most of the next three centuries southern Britain enjoyed relative peace. During the later part of the Roman period most towns built defensive walls; a pottery industry based in the New Forest exported items widely across southern Britain. A fortification near Southampton was called [[Clausentum]], part of the [[Saxon Shore]] forts, traditionally seen as either defences against maritime raids by Germanic tribes, or as a settlement area of Germanic tribes, which receives support from archaeological finds. Artefacts of a Germanic style have been found in burials, while there is also evidence of the presence of early Saxon settlement in southern England and the northern coasts of Gaul around [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]] and [[Bayeux]].<ref>''CBA Report 18: The Saxon Shore'', pp. 63-67</ref> This, in turn, could mirror a well documented practice of deliberately settling Germanic tribes to strengthen Roman defences.

[[File:Aerial photograph of Portchester Castle, 1938.jpg|thumb|Photograph of Portchester Castle in June 1938]]
Portus Adurni was a [[Castra|Roman fort]] situated at the north end of [[Portsmouth Harbour]]. It was part of the [[Saxon Shore]], and is the best-preserved Roman fort north of the Alps.<ref>{{citation |last=Goodall |first=John |author-link=John Goodall (author) |title=Portchester Castle |publisher=English Heritage |year=2008 |orig-date=2003 |location=London |isbn=978-1-84802-007-8 |page=3}}</ref> Around an eighth of the fort has been excavated.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pearson |first=Andrew |title=The Roman Shore Forts: Coastal Defences of Southern Britain |year=2002 |publisher=Tempus |location=Stroud |isbn=0-7524-1949-8 |page=146}}</ref> A Norman keep was added in the [[Middle Ages]], now known as [[Portchester Castle]]. The Romans withdrew from Britain in 410.<ref name="CunliffeWessex">Cunliffe, B, 1991, ''Wessex to AD 1000''</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=de la Bédoyère |first=Guy |date=2006 |title=Roman Britain: A New History |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=9780500051405}}</ref><ref name="Pryor">Pryor, F, 2004, ''Britain AD''{{full citation needed|date=December 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Roman Road plaque.jpg|thumb|Plaque on Freemantle Common marking the route of the Roman Road from Chichester to Bitterne]]
Two major Roman roads, [[Ermin Way]] and [[Port Way]], cross the north of the county connecting Calleva Atrebatum with [[Corinium Dobunnorum]], modern [[Cirencester]], and [[Old Sarum]] respectively. Other roads connected Venta Belgarum with Old Sarum, [[Wickham, Hampshire|Wickham]] and Clausentum. A road presumed to diverge from the [[Chichester to Silchester Way]] at Wickham connected [[Noviomagus Reginorum]], modern [[Chichester]], with Clausentum.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Hugh |title=Roads in Roman Britain |date=2002 |publisher=Tempus |location=Stroud |isbn=0-7524-2503-X |pages=168–183}}</ref>