A Short Tour of Roman London

Welcome to London. Londinium, the capital and largest city of Roman Britain, was founded soon after Claudius began his conquest of the island at the first convenient crossing of the Thames. Despite being burned during Boudicca's revolt and another major fire in the reign of Hadrian, Londinium flourished, its population swelling to something like 30,000. It was abandoned after the Romans evacuated Britain, and most of its ruins are now 20 feet underground. But if you know where to look, there are still traces of the ancient city visible in the modern one. The most conspicuous relics of Londinium are the walls that protected both the ancient city and its medieval successor. Constructed at the end of the second century, when the province of Britain was at peace, they were originally more for ornament than defense. That changed during the turbulent third century, when riverside defenses were added to ward off pirate attacks from the Thames. The walls were about 20 feet high and 8 feet thick at the base. They were built primarily of Kentish ragstone bonded with courses of brick. An earthen rampart braced the wall from behind. The walls enclosed about 330 acres, giving Londinium the fourth largest circuit north of the Alps. This part of the wall clearly shows the courses of ragstone and brick. Like most parts of the walls, it was restored and raised during the Middle Ages, as you can see from the less tidy stonework of the upper courses. St. Magnus the Martyr, one of the many medieval churches reconstructed by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of 1666, stands near the site of the original London Bridge, which was located about 200 feet downstream of the current one. Since the river was much wider then, the bank was close to this spot. Beneath the church tower is this oak piling found nearby in 1931. It belonged to a Roman key on the Thames and was cut from a tree that sprouted during the reign of Augustus. The monument to the Great Fire of London is not Roman, but it sure wants to be. A collaboration between Wren and Hooke, it is as richly neoclassical as any of Wren's churches. The ultimate model, though much more elaborate, is Trajan's Column in Rome. The Latin inscription is in the finest imperial manner, and the relief shows King Charles in the garb of a Roman emperor. A quick detour to the famous London Stone, which may have been one of the doorposts of the Roman governor's palace. No one's quite sure. Leadenhall Market, built in the 1880s, is an impressive space inspired by the famous Galleria of Milan. Beneath this fine Victorian arcade is the Forum of Londinium. Londinium's original forum, built under the Flavians, was replaced only a generation later by an enormous monumental plaza. The basilica, enclosed hall, that dominated one side, was longer than St. Paul's Cathedral. The new basilica may have been the largest enclosed Roman building north of the Alps, perhaps too big to be comfortably maintained. Along with the rest of the forum, the basilica was demolished in the 4th century. One of the that supported its south aisle, however, can still be seen in the basement of this empanada shop. In 1954, a small temple of Mithras came to light during construction work near the Walbrook, the long buried stream between the two hills on which Roman London was built. The find was widely reported, and tens of thousands of people came to view the remains. It was decided to preserve the temple by moving it to a small park nearby. There it remained, mostly ignored, for a half century, until Bloomberg built their new headquarters on the original site of the Mithraeum. Making the most of this opportunity, the ruins were moved into a specially built museum beneath the new building. The descent among the Mithraeum was typical in its design, long and narrow, but not actually subterranean, it felt like it. It was focused, as all such sanctuaries were, on the image of Mithras killing the celestial bull. I'll show a short excerpt from the recreation of a ceremony here. The Bank of England building, the Lady of Threadneedle Street, was designed by Sir John Soane and radically rebuilt in the early 20th century. There are Roman remains beneath it. You can still see a few patches of mosaic inside, but more interesting, I think, is how classical architecture is quoted by the building's exterior. Pilasters and columns and pediments anywhere you care to look. Londinium was abandoned more than a millennium and a half ago, but its medieval and modern successors have returned continually to the architectural legacy of Rome, for reasons ranging from fashion to careful statement. The Guildhall Amphitheatre may be the most surprising Roman ruin in London. Built in timber around the year 70, it was later reconstructed in stone and finally abandoned in the fourth century, after which it became a dump. Rediscovered in 1988, it was incorporated into the Guildhall Art Gallery. The arena's outline is visible in Guildhall Yard, which was originally shaped by its contours. Visible today in the Guildhall Art Gallery are the stone foundations of the arena wall and part of an entrance. Sections of the wooden sewers are also preserved underfoot here. The seats were timber over banks of earth. The capacity was about 8,000. Because the amphitheater was located near the military camp at one corner of Londinium, it may have been built at least partly for the use of soldiers. This is 30 St. Mary Axe, better known as the Gherkin. When the building was under construction, the tomb of a Roman girl came to light. She was reburied in the same place when the building was done, with this lepnepotaph. Dismonibus Puella Incognita Londinianensis Hic Sepolta Est. A fitting close to our tour of Roman London.