Introducing Roman (and Saxon) London ...
What's new in Roman London?
Actually, quite a lot, for the recent building boom has given
archaeologists a splendid opportunity to excavate - an opportunity
which the Museum of London's Archaeological
Service has taken with open arms.
For instance, one of the big problems of Roman London is the
date of its foundation. Here you can
read about the latest results where tree-ring dating can tie down
at least one of the dates to the exact year.
Then there is the question of the destruction by Boudica,
recorded by Tacitus as taking place in AD 60/61. We now have new
evidence for this - including the actual layers of burning - not
only in London itself, but also in the suburb of
Southwark, on the other side of the
River Thames.
Meanwhile, in London itself, development continued apace, and at
Number 1, Poultry, in the heart of the
Roman (and modern) city, a major development revealed a typical
area of the Roman town.
The biggest surprise was the discovery of the Roman amphitheatre. This was quite unexpected - it just turned up on a site - but it was nevertheless wholly logical.
However the most important discovery in London in recent years
has not been to do with Roman London at all, but with Saxon
London. Where was Saxon London? Everyone assumed that the Saxons
set up their town within the Roman walls, but we now have a very
different answer. Read all about it in the first major excavation
within Saxon 'Lundenwic' - the Old Wych.
And what happened when the Saxons eventually moved
back within the Roman walls? Here
again, we have the first hints of the development of the city we
know today- but with some grisly ritual first.
And where did
this all take place? Well, click here for
maps of Roman (and Saxon) London
Finally we take a look at MOLAS - the Museum of London Archaeological Service, who carried out all this work.
This cyber tour is based on articles on Roman London in Current
Archaeology. If you want to read more - now is the time to
take out a subscription.
The Current Archaeology pages
Created: 27th February 1999 |