Roman Activity at Wickham

200

Evidence of Roman occupation has been found in the Wickham area, including traces of a villa site. The Meon Valley lay within the Roman road network connecting the coast at Portchester to the interior of Hampshire, and the fertile farmland attracted Roman settlement. The villa would have been the centre of a working agricultural estate, producing grain and livestock for the local population and potentially for the Roman military garrison at Portchester. The Roman period established Wickham's position within a connected landscape of farmsteads and routes.