Londinium

For the modern city and capital of the United Kingdom, see London. For other uses, see Londinium (disambiguation).

Londinium
A general outline of Roman London in late antiquity, with the modern banks of the Thames.[1] Discovered roads drawn as double lines; conjectural roads, single lines.
Londinium is located in England
Londinium
Location within England
LocationLondon, United Kingdom
Coordinates51°30′45″N 0°05′26″W / 51.51250°N 0.09056°W / 51.51250; -0.09056
TypeRoman city
History
Founded43 – 50 AD[2][3]
PeriodsRoman Empire

Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. Most twenty-first century historians think that it was originally a settlement established shortly after the Claudian invasion of Britain, on the current site of the City of London around 47–50 AD,[4][5][3] but some defend an older view that the city originated in a defensive enclosure constructed during the Claudian invasion in 43 AD.[6] Its earliest securely-dated structure is a timber drain of 47 AD.[7] It sat at a key ford at the River Thames which turned the city into a road nexus and major port (which was built between 49 and 52 AD[3]), serving as a major commercial centre in Roman Britain until its abandonment during the 5th century.

Following the foundation of the town in the mid-1st century, early Londinium occupied the relatively small area of 1.4 km2 (0.5 sq mi), roughly half the area of the modern City of London and equivalent to the size of present-day Hyde Park. In 60 or 61 AD, the rebellion of the Iceni under their queen, Boudica, compelled the Roman forces to abandon the settlement, which was then razed. Following the defeat of Boudica by the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus a military installation was established,[8] and the city was rebuilt. It had probably largely recovered within about a decade. During the later decades of the 1st century, Londinium expanded rapidly, becoming Britannia's largest city, and it was provided with large public buildings such as a forum[9] and amphitheatre.[10] By the 2nd century, Londinium had grown to perhaps 30,000 or 60,000 people, almost certainly replacing Camulodunum (Colchester) as the provincial capital, and by the mid-2nd century Londinium was at its height. Its forum basilica was one of the largest structures north of the Alps when Emperor Hadrian visited Londinium in 122. Excavations have discovered evidence of a major fire that destroyed much of the city shortly thereafter, but the city was again rebuilt. By the second half of the 2nd century, Londinium appears to have shrunk in both size and population.

Although Londinium remained important for the rest of the Roman period, no further expansion resulted.[citation needed] Londinium supported a smaller but stable settlement population as archaeologists have found that much of the city after this date was covered in dark earth—the by-product of urban household waste, manure, ceramic tile, and non-farm debris of settlement occupation, which accumulated relatively undisturbed for centuries. Some time between 190 and 225, the Romans built a defensive wall around the landward side of the city. The London Wall survived for another 1,600 years and broadly defined the perimeter of the old City of London.

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  1. ^ Note that this image includes both the garrison fort, which was demolished in the 3rd century, and the Mithraeum, which was abandoned around the same time. The identification of the "governor's palace" remains conjectural.
  2. ^ Hingley, Richard (9 August 2018). Londinium : a biography : Roman London from its origins to the fifth century. London. pp. 27–32. ISBN 978-1-350-04730-3. OCLC 1042078915.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ a b c Wallace, Lacey M. (8 January 2015). The Origin of Roman London. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-19483-6.
  4. ^ Hingley, Richard (9 August 2018). Londinium : a biography : Roman London from its origins to the fifth century. London. pp. 27–32. ISBN 978-1-350-04730-3. OCLC 1042078915.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Hill, Julian. and Rowsome, Peter (2011). Roman London and the Walbrook stream crossing: excavations at 1 Poultry and vicinity, City of London. Rowsome, Peter., Museum of London Archaeology. London: Museum of London Archaeology. pp. 251–62. ISBN 978-1-907586-04-0. OCLC 778916833.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Perring, London in the Roman World, pp. 51-63
  7. ^ Number 1 Poultry (ONE 94), Museum of London Archaeology, 2013. Archaeology Data Service, The University of York.
  8. ^ Dunwoodie, Lesley. (2015). An early Roman fort and urban development on Londinium's eastern hill : excavations at Plantation Place, City of London, 1997-2003. Harward, Chiz., Pitt, Ken. London: MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology). ISBN 978-1-907586-32-3. OCLC 920542650.
  9. ^ Marsden, Peter Richard Valentine. (1987). The Roman Forum Site in London: discoveries before 1985. Museum of London. London: H.M.S.O. ISBN 0-11-290442-4. OCLC 16415134.
  10. ^ Bateman, Nick. (2008). London's Roman amphitheatre : Guildhall Yard, City of London. Cowan, Carrie., Wroe-Brown, Robin., Museum of London. Archaeology Service. [London]: Museum of London Archaeology Service. ISBN 978-1-901992-71-7. OCLC 276334521.