The Saxons arrived during the end of the Roman Period, at around 300AD. When the Romans left Britain in 410AD, it left the doors open for large numbers of Saxons to migrate from the Germanic areas, into Southern and Eastern Britain. In the South of England in particular, there would have been areas almost abandoned, with very few localsl left. Many of them would have left with the Romans, preferring to live in a style they had been familiar with. The incoming Saxons were pagan, and highly superstitious, and stayed clear of Roman towns and cities. It would not be until the second migration phase in the 6th/7th century, when the Christian Saxons arrived, that the towns were rebuilt and occupied again.

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