The site of the town of Winchester was a natural place for a settlement at the point where a river cut through the chalk of the southern hillsides. A simple camp at St Catherine's Hill was the ear{{U}} (71) {{/U}} known use of the site. This was followed by an Iron Age hill-fort, but this was left uninhabited by 100 BC. It was the Romans who finally established the town and sur{{U}} (72) {{/U}} it with a defensive wall for the protection of their people and trade.
With the bu{{U}} (73) {{/U}} of its first cathedral in the seventh century, the town became an important religious centre. Later, King Alfred, who had sue{{U}} (74) {{/U}} pushed back the invading Danes, moved his palace to Winchester. The town then experienced rapid dev{{U}} (75) {{/U}} and its central role in English history was underlined in 1066, when the conquering Normans, under King Alfred the great, made Winchester their capital.