Oram's Arbour was an enclosed settlement (

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

) during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

, in what is now

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Limited dating evidence suggests the enclosure was dug in the early-mid first century BC.Biddle, M. 1975. 'Excavations at Winchester, 1971 - Tenth and Final Interim Report: part I', ''The Antiquaries Journal'' 55:1, 96-126. The town wall of the Roman

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on th ...

capital of

Venta Belgarum Venta Belgarum, or Venta Bulgarum, was a town in the Roman province of Britannia Superior, the civitas capital of the local tribe, the Belgae, and which later became the city of Winchester. Etymology The name is Proto-Celtic in origin: ''Venta'' ...

which succeeded the Iron Age settlement cut across its eastern end. Today it is a small grassy park in Winchester, and was formerly used for the annual Winchester Hat Fair both as a picnic site and to stage outdoor theatre and acrobatics.

References

Hill forts in Hampshire {{UK-hist-stub