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(Redirected from Londinium)
:''Londinium redirects here, for other uses see Londinium (disambiguation)''
This article covers the history of 'London' during the 'Roman period' from around 47 AD when the Roman city of 'Londinium' was founded, to its abandonment during the 5th century.
Londinium was established as a town by the Romans after the invasion of AD 43 led by the Emperor Claudius. Archaeologists now believe that Londinium was founded as a civilian settlement by 50 AD. A wooden drain by the side of the main Roman road excavated at No 1 Poultry has been dated to 47 which is likely to be the foundation date.
Prior to the arrival of the Romans, the area was almost certainly open countryside. Londinium was established at the point where the Thames was narrow enough to build a bridge, but deep enough to handle marine vessels. Remains of a massive Roman pier base for a bridge were found in 1981, close to the modern London Bridge.
It was traditionally thought that Londinium started as a fort to defend the crossing, and later developed into a civilian settlement. However, archaeological excavation (undertaken by the Department of Urban Archaeology of the Museum of London, now called MOLAS) since the 1970s has failed to unearth any convincing traces of military occupation on the site, so many archeologists now believe that Londinium was the product of private enterprise. Its site on a busy crossing made it a perfect place for traders from across the Empire to set up business.
The name ''Londinium'' is thought to be pre-Roman (and possibly pre-Celtic) in origin although there has been no consensus on what it means. It was common practice for Romans to adopt native names for new settlements. A common theory is that it derives from the Celtic name ''Londinion'', which was probably derived from the personal name ''Londinos'', from the word ''lond'' meaning 'wild'.
Another theory which does not have widespread acceptance, proposed by Richard Coates, suggests that the name derives from pre-Celtic Old European — ''Plowonida'' — from two roots, ''plew'' and ''nejd'', meaning something like "the flowing river" or "the wide flowing river". Londinium would therefore mean "the settlement on the wide river". He suggests that the river was called the Thames upriver where it was narrower, and ''Plowonida'' downriver where it was too wide to ford. For a discussion on the legends of London and Plowonida see [1]. Many other suggestions have been made in the past. For example, see BBC History website.
Inscriptions and graffiti found by archaeologists show that Latin was the official language. It has been implied that many of the local people spoke Brythonic (a Celtic dialect similar to Welsh) although Stephen Oppenheimer in ''The Origins of Britain: A Genetic Detective Story'' (Constable and Robinson, London 2006) controversially claims that it is possible that an early version of English was already being spoken in the South at the time of Londinium's foundation.
The status of Londinium is uncertain. However, in the beginning it was more likely to have had the status of a Roman municipum rather than a colonia, although this has not been stated in any known written documents. Londinium was also not a capital of a civitas, unlike most other large towns in Roman Britain, instead existing as an important trading post between Britain and the Roman provinces on the continent. In the years after the uprising of Boudica, the provincial administration of Britain moved from Camulodunum to Londinium. The time of the move is again not recorded and Londinium is not recorded as being called the capital of Britain, but there are several strong indications for this position, such as the building of a governor's palace, the building of a military camp and several tomb stones belonging to members of a governor's staff. In the fourth century AD Londinium changed its name to ''Augusta''. It has been assumed that the city became a colonia.
Following its foundation in the mid 1st century, early Roman London occupied a relatively small area, roughly equivalent in size to Hyde Park. The nineteenth century antiquarian Roach Smith estimates its length from the Tower to Ludgate (east to west) at about a mile; and from London Wall to the Thames (north to south) around half a mile. Archeologists have uncovered numerous imported goods from this period from across the Roman Empire, suggesting that early Roman London was a highly cosmopolitan community of merchants from across the Empire.
In around AD 60, little more than ten years after ''Londinium'' was founded, it was sacked by the Iceni led by the their queen Boudica. Excavation has revealed extensive evidence of destruction by fire in the form of a layer of red ash beneath the City at this date.
Boudica's forces, rebelling against Roman rule, first destroyed Camulodunum (Colchester) and then defeated the Roman Legion sent from Lindum (Lincoln) to retrieve it. They then turned their attention towards Londinium. The Roman General Gaius Suetonius Paulinus managed to send some troops to London before Boudica's much larger forces forces arrived. What happened next was recorded by the Roman historian Tacitus, in what was the first written record of London.
Tacitus then states that the Romans responded to Boudica's attack by slaughtering as many as 70,000 Britons. There is a longstanding folklore belief that this battle took place at King’s Cross (earlier known as Battle Bridge), after which Boudica is said to have committed suicide by taking poison.
However, after this, the city was quickly rebuilt as a planned Roman town and recovered after perhaps 10 years. During the late decades of the 1st century Londinium expanded rapidly, and quickly became Roman Britain's largest city. By the end of the century, Londinium had replaced Colchester as the capital of Roman Britain (Britannia).
During the 2nd century Londinium was at its height. Emperor Hadrian visited in AD 122, and probably as one result a number of impressive public buildings were constructed. At some point soon afterward, a major fire is thought to have destroyed a much of the city. Archeologists have discovered significant amounts of burnt debris from this period, although there is no mention of a fire by any classical writers.
London appears to have recovered, however, and by 140 Londinium had reached its population height of around 45,000 to 60,000 inhabitants. By the middle of the century Londinium boasted major public buildings, including the largest basilica north of the Alps, a governor's palace, temples, bath houses and a large fort for the city garrison.
Excavations during the 1980s uncovered a large Roman port complex near the present-day London Bridge as well as on the other side of the river at Southwark, confirming that, during this period, Londinium would have been an important commercial and trading centre.
In the second half of the second century, after about 150, Londinium appears to have shrunk in both size and population. The cause is unknown, but plague is considered a likely culprit, as it is known that between AD 165 and 190 the disease severely affected Western Europe. Another explanation put forward is that Emperor Hadrian's decision not to extend the empire any further may have caused London merchants to lose valuable contracts, causing the economy to slump.
Although Londinium remained important for the rest of the Roman period, it appears to have never fully recovered from this slump, as archeologists have found that much of the city after this date was covered in dark earth, which remained undisturbed for centuries.
Main articles: London Wall
At around the same time, the Romans built the London Wall, a defensive wall around the landward side of the city. Along with Hadrian's Wall and the road network, the London Wall was one of the largest construction projects carried out in Roman Britain. The wall was about 3 kilometres (2 miles) long, 6 metres (20 feet) high, and 2.5 metres (8 feet) thick. The wall was built some time between 190 and 225 AD.
Although the exact reason for the wall's construction is unknown, it may have been connected to the invasion of northern Britain by Scots who overran Hadrian's Wall in the 180s [1]. Alternatively, many historians link it with the political crisis that had emerged in the 190s when two men—Septimius Severus, and the governor of Britain (and usurper) Clodius Albinus—both claimed the right to succession as Emperor. The wall may have been constructed on the orders of Albinus in the 190s, who, in a power struggle with his rival, may have felt the need to protect his capital. Septimius eventually defeated his rival in 197.
The economic stimulus provided by the wall and Septimius's campaigns of conquest in Scotland appear to have revived Londinium's fortunes somewhat in the early third century. Archeological evidence points to renewed construction activity from this period.
One of the reforms introduced by Severus in around 200 AD was the division of Roman Britain into two provinces: Britannia Superior (Upper Britain) and Britannia Inferior (Lower Britain). London remained capital of Upper Britain, whilst Eboracum (York) became capital of Lower Britain.
The wall would survive for another 1,600 years and define London's perimeters for centuries to come. The perimeters of the present City of London are roughly the same as those defined by the wall.
In the late third century, Londinium was raided on several occasions by Saxon pirates. This led, from around 255 onwards, to the construction of an additional riverside wall.
Main articles: Carausian Revolt
In 286 the usurper Carausius rebelled against Rome's rule and declared himself the Emperor of Roman Britain. His rule lasted for seven years before he was murdered by his treasurer Allectus, who assumed his position.
In 296 the general Constantius Chlorus invaded Britain to reclaim Britain for Rome. At this point, Frankish mercenaries employed by Allectus started to sack Londinium. They were interrupted in this task when a flotilla of Roman warships sailed up the Thames. According to the 4th century writer Eumenius "the ships reached London, found survivors of the barbarian mercenaries plundering the city, and, when these began to seek flight, landed and slew them in the street".
The event was commemorated (see picture) by a gold medallion known as the ''Trier medallion'' which showed Constantius Chlorus on one side and on the other side a woman kneeling at the city wall welcoming a Roman soldier on horseback.
The early half of the 4th century appears to have been a prosperous time for Britain. The villa estates surrounding London appear to have flourished during this period. It is certain that a Christian metropolitan bishop was seated in the city by this time. The recorded antiquity of the see of London dates back to ancient times where sixteen named archbishops are listed by Jocelyne of Furness in his work ''Bishops''. It has been noted that this is the sole available source of these names, however, the earlier of the two bishops named Restitutus is known to have existed as he is named as attending the Council of Arles in 314.
By the middle of the century, however, the Roman Empire became increasingly troubled. Britain, by the mid 4th century, had become increasingly troubled by incursions by barbarian invaders. From 340 onwards, northern Britain was attacked by Picts and Scots. In 360 a large-scale attack forced the Emperor Julian the Apostate to send troops to deal with the problem.
In London at about this time, large efforts were made to improve the city's defences. At least twenty bastions were added to the city walls.
In 367 the "Great Conspiracy" - another large scale invasion by Picts, Scots and Saxons - occurred. This time the commander Count Theodosius was sent to deal with the problem and restore order, using Londinium as his base.
In around 368 Londinium was renamed as 'Augusta' [2]. In the same century, Roman Britain was divided again and Londinium became the capital of the province of Maxima Caesariensis.
However, the troubles in the empire continued, and in 382 British troops rebelled and elected their own "emperor" Magnus Maximus. He soon gathered all of the British-based troops he could and crossed the channel. He gained control of the western part of the empire before being defeated by Theodosius I in 388. Unfortunately this left few troops remaining to defend Britain.
By the end of the 4th century, many Romano-British towns, including London, were in decline. Evidence shows that many of London's public buildings had fallen into disrepair by this point.
During the early 5th century the Roman Empire continued its decline. Between 407 and 409 large numbers of barbarians had penetrated Gaul and Spain and had seriously weakened communication between Rome and Britain. British troops elected their own leaders - the last of these, Constantine III, declared himself to be emperor of the Western Empire - and took an expeditionary force across the Channel leaving Britain short of troops. In 410, the Romano-British authorities dropped their alliegance to Constantine and appealed to Emperor Honorius for help. He told them that the Britons would have to look after their own defences, meaning effectively that the Roman occupation of Britain officially came to an end.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Britain became increasingly vulnerable to attack by Germanic invaders, namely Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians.
There is very little evidence - either historical or archaeological - of what happened to London in this period. However, chaos in the collapsing Roman Empire and in the British Isles meant that trade broke down, wages of Imperial officials were not paid, and London declined drastically.
According to early historians such as the Venerable Bede and Gildas, whose writings were later brought together in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; in 449 Angles, Saxons and Jutes were invited to Britain by King Vortigern as mercenaries to help defend Britain against Picts and Scots. Bede, writing in the 8th century, stated that Jutes settled in Kent, and in 457, led by brothers Hengist and Horsa, turned against the Britons who had invited them and defeated them at the Battle of Crecganford (Crecganford is thought to be modern Crayford) and the Britons fled to London in terror. After this, it is very unclear as to what happened to London, as the historical records are very patchy.
Archeologists have found evidence that a small number of wealthy families managed to maintain a Roman lifestyle until the middle of the 5th century, inhabiting villas in the south-eastern corner of the city. By the end of the century however, the city was largely an uninhabited ruin[3].
The area of the Roman city remained largely uninhabited for the next 400 years, until being resettled by Anglo-Saxons (see Anglo-Saxon London).
In around the area of modern day Cannon Street station, the remains of a large building have been found, often seen as the palace of the governor (praetorium). It had a garden, water pools and several large halls, some of them decorated with mosaics. The plan of the building is only partly preserved. The building was erected in the second part of the first century and was in use till around AD 300. It was several times rebuilt and renovated. [4]
In the middle of the Roman town was the Forum (marketplace). It was the largest building of its type north of the Alps measuring 168 x 167 m. Two main building phases have been distinguished. The early Forum, built after the time of the rebellion of Boudicca, had an open courtyard and several shops around it. The identification of the building as a Forum has been disputed, and it has been argued that these were large warehouses. At the beginning of the Second Century AD the complex was significantly enlarged. The Forum still had an open courtyard with shops around, but also a large Basilica. The Forum was in use till around 300 AD. [5]
In the north of the city there were found the remains of the amphitheatre. Some of its remains are still visible under the modern Guildhall. Roman London had several bathhouses, although it is in detail often not clear whether the remains found belonged to public bathes or to private houses. A well preserved public bath was excavated at Huggin Hill (near the Thames). It dates into the second part of the first century, but was already around AD 200 demolished.
The city certainly had several important temples. The restoration of a Jupiter temple is mentioned in an inscription, although this buidling has not yet been identified. Inscriptions mentioning a temple of Isis were found in Southwark. Temple buildings were excavated near the oldest forum, a round temple west of the city and perhaps at Peter's Hill strong foundations were found often assigned to a temple building. The name of a god did not survive in any of these buildings. The only exception is the Temple of Mithras found in 1954 and still containing many high quality sculptures.
In the first century AD most houses of the city were build of wood, only in the second century AD they were partly replaced by stone buildings. In the second century the city reached is highpoint, parts of Roman London were packed with dwellings. At the end of the second century, when many of them were build of stone the building density became lower, instead of many small wooden houses, there were at least in parts of the city big well equipped stone buildings. Excavations have shown that many of the buildings were richly adornend with wall paintings, mosaics and hypocausts, demonstrating the wealth of at least some people.
★ Anglo-Saxon London
★ History of London
★ Temple of Mithras
★ Museum of London Archaeology Service
★ Billings, Malcolm (1994), ''London: a companion to its history and archaeology'', ISBN 1 85626 153 0
★ Inwood, Stephen. ''A History of London'' (1998) ISBN 0333671538
★ John Wacher: ''The Towns of Roman Britain'', London/New York 1997, p. 88-111. ISBN 0-415-17041-9
★ Roman London - From Britannia.com
★ Article about Roman London from channel4.com
★ Reassessing what we collect website – Roman London History of Roman London with objects and images
:''Londinium redirects here, for other uses see Londinium (disambiguation)''
This article covers the history of 'London' during the 'Roman period' from around 47 AD when the Roman city of 'Londinium' was founded, to its abandonment during the 5th century.
Origins and language
Carausius coin from Londinium mint.
Londinium was established as a town by the Romans after the invasion of AD 43 led by the Emperor Claudius. Archaeologists now believe that Londinium was founded as a civilian settlement by 50 AD. A wooden drain by the side of the main Roman road excavated at No 1 Poultry has been dated to 47 which is likely to be the foundation date.
Prior to the arrival of the Romans, the area was almost certainly open countryside. Londinium was established at the point where the Thames was narrow enough to build a bridge, but deep enough to handle marine vessels. Remains of a massive Roman pier base for a bridge were found in 1981, close to the modern London Bridge.
It was traditionally thought that Londinium started as a fort to defend the crossing, and later developed into a civilian settlement. However, archaeological excavation (undertaken by the Department of Urban Archaeology of the Museum of London, now called MOLAS) since the 1970s has failed to unearth any convincing traces of military occupation on the site, so many archeologists now believe that Londinium was the product of private enterprise. Its site on a busy crossing made it a perfect place for traders from across the Empire to set up business.
The name ''Londinium'' is thought to be pre-Roman (and possibly pre-Celtic) in origin although there has been no consensus on what it means. It was common practice for Romans to adopt native names for new settlements. A common theory is that it derives from the Celtic name ''Londinion'', which was probably derived from the personal name ''Londinos'', from the word ''lond'' meaning 'wild'.
Another theory which does not have widespread acceptance, proposed by Richard Coates, suggests that the name derives from pre-Celtic Old European — ''Plowonida'' — from two roots, ''plew'' and ''nejd'', meaning something like "the flowing river" or "the wide flowing river". Londinium would therefore mean "the settlement on the wide river". He suggests that the river was called the Thames upriver where it was narrower, and ''Plowonida'' downriver where it was too wide to ford. For a discussion on the legends of London and Plowonida see [1]. Many other suggestions have been made in the past. For example, see BBC History website.
Inscriptions and graffiti found by archaeologists show that Latin was the official language. It has been implied that many of the local people spoke Brythonic (a Celtic dialect similar to Welsh) although Stephen Oppenheimer in ''The Origins of Britain: A Genetic Detective Story'' (Constable and Robinson, London 2006) controversially claims that it is possible that an early version of English was already being spoken in the South at the time of Londinium's foundation.
Status of Londinium
The status of Londinium is uncertain. However, in the beginning it was more likely to have had the status of a Roman municipum rather than a colonia, although this has not been stated in any known written documents. Londinium was also not a capital of a civitas, unlike most other large towns in Roman Britain, instead existing as an important trading post between Britain and the Roman provinces on the continent. In the years after the uprising of Boudica, the provincial administration of Britain moved from Camulodunum to Londinium. The time of the move is again not recorded and Londinium is not recorded as being called the capital of Britain, but there are several strong indications for this position, such as the building of a governor's palace, the building of a military camp and several tomb stones belonging to members of a governor's staff. In the fourth century AD Londinium changed its name to ''Augusta''. It has been assumed that the city became a colonia.
History and development
1st Century
Following its foundation in the mid 1st century, early Roman London occupied a relatively small area, roughly equivalent in size to Hyde Park. The nineteenth century antiquarian Roach Smith estimates its length from the Tower to Ludgate (east to west) at about a mile; and from London Wall to the Thames (north to south) around half a mile. Archeologists have uncovered numerous imported goods from this period from across the Roman Empire, suggesting that early Roman London was a highly cosmopolitan community of merchants from across the Empire.
Boudica's uprising
In around AD 60, little more than ten years after ''Londinium'' was founded, it was sacked by the Iceni led by the their queen Boudica. Excavation has revealed extensive evidence of destruction by fire in the form of a layer of red ash beneath the City at this date.
Boudica's forces, rebelling against Roman rule, first destroyed Camulodunum (Colchester) and then defeated the Roman Legion sent from Lindum (Lincoln) to retrieve it. They then turned their attention towards Londinium. The Roman General Gaius Suetonius Paulinus managed to send some troops to London before Boudica's much larger forces forces arrived. What happened next was recorded by the Roman historian Tacitus, in what was the first written record of London.
At first, he [Gaius Suetonius Paulinus] hesitated as to whether to stand and fight there [Londinium]. Eventually, his numerical inferiority - and the price only too clearly paid by the divisional commander's rashness - decided him to sacrifice the single city of Londinium to save the province as a whole. Unmoved by lamentations and appeals, Suetonius gave the signal for departure. The inhabitants were allowed to acompany him. But those who stayed because they were women, or old, or attached to the place, were slaughtered by the enemy.
Tacitus then states that the Romans responded to Boudica's attack by slaughtering as many as 70,000 Britons. There is a longstanding folklore belief that this battle took place at King’s Cross (earlier known as Battle Bridge), after which Boudica is said to have committed suicide by taking poison.
However, after this, the city was quickly rebuilt as a planned Roman town and recovered after perhaps 10 years. During the late decades of the 1st century Londinium expanded rapidly, and quickly became Roman Britain's largest city. By the end of the century, Londinium had replaced Colchester as the capital of Roman Britain (Britannia).
2nd and 3rd Centuries
Bronze head of Hadrian, found in London
During the 2nd century Londinium was at its height. Emperor Hadrian visited in AD 122, and probably as one result a number of impressive public buildings were constructed. At some point soon afterward, a major fire is thought to have destroyed a much of the city. Archeologists have discovered significant amounts of burnt debris from this period, although there is no mention of a fire by any classical writers.
London appears to have recovered, however, and by 140 Londinium had reached its population height of around 45,000 to 60,000 inhabitants. By the middle of the century Londinium boasted major public buildings, including the largest basilica north of the Alps, a governor's palace, temples, bath houses and a large fort for the city garrison.
Excavations during the 1980s uncovered a large Roman port complex near the present-day London Bridge as well as on the other side of the river at Southwark, confirming that, during this period, Londinium would have been an important commercial and trading centre.
In the second half of the second century, after about 150, Londinium appears to have shrunk in both size and population. The cause is unknown, but plague is considered a likely culprit, as it is known that between AD 165 and 190 the disease severely affected Western Europe. Another explanation put forward is that Emperor Hadrian's decision not to extend the empire any further may have caused London merchants to lose valuable contracts, causing the economy to slump.
Although Londinium remained important for the rest of the Roman period, it appears to have never fully recovered from this slump, as archeologists have found that much of the city after this date was covered in dark earth, which remained undisturbed for centuries.
London Wall
Main articles: London Wall
At around the same time, the Romans built the London Wall, a defensive wall around the landward side of the city. Along with Hadrian's Wall and the road network, the London Wall was one of the largest construction projects carried out in Roman Britain. The wall was about 3 kilometres (2 miles) long, 6 metres (20 feet) high, and 2.5 metres (8 feet) thick. The wall was built some time between 190 and 225 AD.
Although the exact reason for the wall's construction is unknown, it may have been connected to the invasion of northern Britain by Scots who overran Hadrian's Wall in the 180s [1]. Alternatively, many historians link it with the political crisis that had emerged in the 190s when two men—Septimius Severus, and the governor of Britain (and usurper) Clodius Albinus—both claimed the right to succession as Emperor. The wall may have been constructed on the orders of Albinus in the 190s, who, in a power struggle with his rival, may have felt the need to protect his capital. Septimius eventually defeated his rival in 197.
The economic stimulus provided by the wall and Septimius's campaigns of conquest in Scotland appear to have revived Londinium's fortunes somewhat in the early third century. Archeological evidence points to renewed construction activity from this period.
One of the reforms introduced by Severus in around 200 AD was the division of Roman Britain into two provinces: Britannia Superior (Upper Britain) and Britannia Inferior (Lower Britain). London remained capital of Upper Britain, whilst Eboracum (York) became capital of Lower Britain.
The wall would survive for another 1,600 years and define London's perimeters for centuries to come. The perimeters of the present City of London are roughly the same as those defined by the wall.
In the late third century, Londinium was raided on several occasions by Saxon pirates. This led, from around 255 onwards, to the construction of an additional riverside wall.
Carausian Revolt
Main articles: Carausian Revolt
The "''Trier medallion''" showing a woman kneeling in front of a Roman soldier at the city walls, to thank him for bringing Allectus' rule to an end
In 286 the usurper Carausius rebelled against Rome's rule and declared himself the Emperor of Roman Britain. His rule lasted for seven years before he was murdered by his treasurer Allectus, who assumed his position.
In 296 the general Constantius Chlorus invaded Britain to reclaim Britain for Rome. At this point, Frankish mercenaries employed by Allectus started to sack Londinium. They were interrupted in this task when a flotilla of Roman warships sailed up the Thames. According to the 4th century writer Eumenius "the ships reached London, found survivors of the barbarian mercenaries plundering the city, and, when these began to seek flight, landed and slew them in the street".
The event was commemorated (see picture) by a gold medallion known as the ''Trier medallion'' which showed Constantius Chlorus on one side and on the other side a woman kneeling at the city wall welcoming a Roman soldier on horseback.
4th century
The early half of the 4th century appears to have been a prosperous time for Britain. The villa estates surrounding London appear to have flourished during this period. It is certain that a Christian metropolitan bishop was seated in the city by this time. The recorded antiquity of the see of London dates back to ancient times where sixteen named archbishops are listed by Jocelyne of Furness in his work ''Bishops''. It has been noted that this is the sole available source of these names, however, the earlier of the two bishops named Restitutus is known to have existed as he is named as attending the Council of Arles in 314.
By the middle of the century, however, the Roman Empire became increasingly troubled. Britain, by the mid 4th century, had become increasingly troubled by incursions by barbarian invaders. From 340 onwards, northern Britain was attacked by Picts and Scots. In 360 a large-scale attack forced the Emperor Julian the Apostate to send troops to deal with the problem.
In London at about this time, large efforts were made to improve the city's defences. At least twenty bastions were added to the city walls.
In 367 the "Great Conspiracy" - another large scale invasion by Picts, Scots and Saxons - occurred. This time the commander Count Theodosius was sent to deal with the problem and restore order, using Londinium as his base.
In around 368 Londinium was renamed as 'Augusta' [2]. In the same century, Roman Britain was divided again and Londinium became the capital of the province of Maxima Caesariensis.
However, the troubles in the empire continued, and in 382 British troops rebelled and elected their own "emperor" Magnus Maximus. He soon gathered all of the British-based troops he could and crossed the channel. He gained control of the western part of the empire before being defeated by Theodosius I in 388. Unfortunately this left few troops remaining to defend Britain.
By the end of the 4th century, many Romano-British towns, including London, were in decline. Evidence shows that many of London's public buildings had fallen into disrepair by this point.
Decline and abandonment
During the early 5th century the Roman Empire continued its decline. Between 407 and 409 large numbers of barbarians had penetrated Gaul and Spain and had seriously weakened communication between Rome and Britain. British troops elected their own leaders - the last of these, Constantine III, declared himself to be emperor of the Western Empire - and took an expeditionary force across the Channel leaving Britain short of troops. In 410, the Romano-British authorities dropped their alliegance to Constantine and appealed to Emperor Honorius for help. He told them that the Britons would have to look after their own defences, meaning effectively that the Roman occupation of Britain officially came to an end.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Britain became increasingly vulnerable to attack by Germanic invaders, namely Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians.
There is very little evidence - either historical or archaeological - of what happened to London in this period. However, chaos in the collapsing Roman Empire and in the British Isles meant that trade broke down, wages of Imperial officials were not paid, and London declined drastically.
According to early historians such as the Venerable Bede and Gildas, whose writings were later brought together in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; in 449 Angles, Saxons and Jutes were invited to Britain by King Vortigern as mercenaries to help defend Britain against Picts and Scots. Bede, writing in the 8th century, stated that Jutes settled in Kent, and in 457, led by brothers Hengist and Horsa, turned against the Britons who had invited them and defeated them at the Battle of Crecganford (Crecganford is thought to be modern Crayford) and the Britons fled to London in terror. After this, it is very unclear as to what happened to London, as the historical records are very patchy.
Archeologists have found evidence that a small number of wealthy families managed to maintain a Roman lifestyle until the middle of the 5th century, inhabiting villas in the south-eastern corner of the city. By the end of the century however, the city was largely an uninhabited ruin[3].
The area of the Roman city remained largely uninhabited for the next 400 years, until being resettled by Anglo-Saxons (see Anglo-Saxon London).
Important buildings
In around the area of modern day Cannon Street station, the remains of a large building have been found, often seen as the palace of the governor (praetorium). It had a garden, water pools and several large halls, some of them decorated with mosaics. The plan of the building is only partly preserved. The building was erected in the second part of the first century and was in use till around AD 300. It was several times rebuilt and renovated. [4]
In the middle of the Roman town was the Forum (marketplace). It was the largest building of its type north of the Alps measuring 168 x 167 m. Two main building phases have been distinguished. The early Forum, built after the time of the rebellion of Boudicca, had an open courtyard and several shops around it. The identification of the building as a Forum has been disputed, and it has been argued that these were large warehouses. At the beginning of the Second Century AD the complex was significantly enlarged. The Forum still had an open courtyard with shops around, but also a large Basilica. The Forum was in use till around 300 AD. [5]
In the north of the city there were found the remains of the amphitheatre. Some of its remains are still visible under the modern Guildhall. Roman London had several bathhouses, although it is in detail often not clear whether the remains found belonged to public bathes or to private houses. A well preserved public bath was excavated at Huggin Hill (near the Thames). It dates into the second part of the first century, but was already around AD 200 demolished.
Temples
Remains of the Mithras temple
The city certainly had several important temples. The restoration of a Jupiter temple is mentioned in an inscription, although this buidling has not yet been identified. Inscriptions mentioning a temple of Isis were found in Southwark. Temple buildings were excavated near the oldest forum, a round temple west of the city and perhaps at Peter's Hill strong foundations were found often assigned to a temple building. The name of a god did not survive in any of these buildings. The only exception is the Temple of Mithras found in 1954 and still containing many high quality sculptures.
Living quarters
Mosaic floor from a house in Roman London
In the first century AD most houses of the city were build of wood, only in the second century AD they were partly replaced by stone buildings. In the second century the city reached is highpoint, parts of Roman London were packed with dwellings. At the end of the second century, when many of them were build of stone the building density became lower, instead of many small wooden houses, there were at least in parts of the city big well equipped stone buildings. Excavations have shown that many of the buildings were richly adornend with wall paintings, mosaics and hypocausts, demonstrating the wealth of at least some people.
See also
★ Anglo-Saxon London
★ History of London
★ Temple of Mithras
★ Museum of London Archaeology Service
Notes
References
★ Billings, Malcolm (1994), ''London: a companion to its history and archaeology'', ISBN 1 85626 153 0
★ Inwood, Stephen. ''A History of London'' (1998) ISBN 0333671538
★ John Wacher: ''The Towns of Roman Britain'', London/New York 1997, p. 88-111. ISBN 0-415-17041-9
External links
★ Roman London - From Britannia.com
★ Article about Roman London from channel4.com
★ Reassessing what we collect website – Roman London History of Roman London with objects and images
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