Oram's Arbour was an enclosed settlement (

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

) during the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, 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 N ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. 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 Roman law, law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilitie ...

capital of Venta Belgarum 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