Viking Raid on Hamwic (Southampton)
Who Fought
History & Significance
Southampton is a city in Hampshire, England. The area has been settled since the Stone Age. Its history has been affected by its geographical location, on a major estuary on the English Channel coast with an unusual double high tide, and by its proximity to Winchester and London; the ancient and modern capitals of England. Having been an important regional centre for centuries, Southampton was awarded city status by Queen Elizabeth II in 1964.
Southampton became an important port in medieval times, experiencing several hundred years of fluctuating fortunes until it was expanded by the Victorians.
As a centre of commerce, an industrial town and an important military embarkation point, Southampton was a strategic target for the Luftwaffe and was severely damaged in World War II.
Post-war redevelopment and the need to accommodate 20th-century innovations such as the motor car have significantly altered the character of Southampton.
Numerous gravel pits have been dug in the Southampton area, many of which have yielded Stone Age tools. Evidence of a Stone Age settlement has been found at Priory Avenue, St Denys.
Bronze Age objects have been found on Southampton Common, particularly by grave-diggers working in the cemetery and during the construction of the reservoir. Further Bronze Age finds have been made near Cobden Bridge.
Iron Age earthworks have been found at Lordswood and Aldermoor and evidence of Iron Age buildings has been found in the City Centre.
Antonine Itinerary VII documents the Roman settlement of Clausentum in Roman Britain as being 20 miles (32 km) west of Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester) and 10 miles (16 km) from Venta Belgarum (Winchester).
In about 1770 John Speed claimed that Clausentum was in the area that is now known as Bitterne Manor. In 1792 the Rev. Richard Warner investigated those claims and found a ditch, a bank and some Roman coins. Since then this site has been investigated further and is generally accepted as the site of Clausentum, but there is no universal agreement. Reference to modern maps show Bitterne Manor to be 25 miles (40 km) from Chichester. Wickham is at the junction of two Roman Roads and is a better fit to the distances documented in Antonine Itinerary VII. The case for Clausentum being situated at Bitterne Manor is based on archaeological evidence and the geography of the site (inside a sharp bend in the River Itchen), which clearly allowed it to be turned into a good defensive position.
But the fact that there was a Roman settlement at what is now Bitterne Manor is not disputed. Archaeological finds at what is believed to be Clausentum show the site to have been an important trading port with some significant buildings. Traces of a Roman Road on a line running from Bitterne Manor to Wickham have also been found. Elsewhere possible evidence of Roman-era farming was found on the site of what is now St Mary's Stadium.
The ground they fought on
The site of Viking Raid on Hamwic (Southampton) lies on Bracklesham Group And Barton Group (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is sand, silt and clay.
The wealth and connectivity of Hamwic made it an obvious target for Viking raiders. A flourishing port that traded with the continent, sent slaves to the market at Rouen and despatched pilgrims to Rome, the settlement offered plunder and disruption in equal measure. The raids proved so damaging that the industries built up over generations were physically uprooted and relocated to the new fortifications at Winchester, leaving Hamwic to decline and a new, defended enclosure to take shape in its place, the embryo of the medieval walled town that would follow.
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Everything a full report reveals about Viking Raid on Hamwic (Southampton)
This page covers Viking Raid on Hamwic (Southampton). A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
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Scheduled Monuments near Viking Raid on Hamwic (Southampton)
Other Early Medieval Battles
Battles near Viking Raid on Hamwic (Southampton)
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- History of Southampton · Wikipedia