The Romans

About 70 AD the Romans built a town on a bend in the River Itchen, where Bitterne now stands. The Roman town near Southampton was called Clausentum. The streets were laid out in a grid pattern and they were graveled.

All the buildings in the Roman town were, at first, built of wood but in the 2nd century, wealthy people re-built their houses in stone. They had panes of glass in the windows, painted murals on the walls, and mosaic floors. Of course, poor people could afford none of these things. They lived in wood and plaster huts.