London in the Roman World

Description

An original, authoritative survey of the archaeology and history of Roman London. London in the Roman World draws on the results of latest archaeological discoveries to describe London’s Roman origins. It presents a wealth of new information from one of the world’s richest and most intensively studied archaeological sites, and a host of original ideas concerning its economic and political history. This original study follows a narrative approach, setting archaeological data firmly within its historical context. London was perhaps converted from a fort built at the time of the Roman conquest, where the emperor Claudius arrived to celebrate his victory in AD 43, to become the commanding city from which Rome supported its military occupation of Britain. London grew to support Rome’s campaigning forces, and the book makes a close study of the political and economic consequences of London’s role as a supply base. Rapid growth generated a new urban landscape, and this study provides a comprehensive guide to the industry and architecture of the city. The story, traced from new archaeological research, shows how the city was twice destroyed in war, and suffered more lastingly from plagues of the second and third centuries. These events had a critical bearing on the reforms of late antiquity, from which London emerged as defended administrative enclave only to be deserted when Rome failed to maintain political control. This ground-breaking study brings new information and arguments to our study of the way in which Rome ruled, and how the empire failed. Cover London in the Roman World Copyright Preface Acknowledgements Navigating Londinium Contents List of Illustrations List of Tables Part 1: Approaches To Roman London 1: Introduction Points of departure Some arguments The narrative in brief 2: Recovering Roman London Antiquarian beginnings Victorian rebuilding Roman studies come of age Professional archaeology 3: Understanding Roman London Questioning fieldwork Studying change The relevance of ‘Romanization’ An alien city 4: Before London Landscapes of origin Southern Britain before Rome Late Iron Age London Why London was Roman Part 2: Making London 5: The Roman invasion (c. ad 43) Debating London’s Roman origins London’s Claudian defences The Thames crossing 6: A supply-base (c. ad 43–52) After the conquest The streets of London At the gates Who built London and why? London in the geography of Roman Britain 7: Shaping the city (c. ad 52–60) New streets for old Around the forum Baths and temples South of the river Other suburbs The new west-end 8: The Boudican revolt (c. ad 60–1) On the eve of rebellion London destroyed The status of London in ad 60 The government of London 9: Post-war reconstruction (c. ad 61–70) Military reoccupation Building the port The town restored The first cemeteries Irregular burials Late Neronian London Part 3: Monuments Of Rome 10: Bread and circuses (c. ad 70–80) The amphitheatre An administrative complex in Southwark Improvements to port and city Mills and bakeries City limits and defences Vespasian and London 11: Britain’s capital? (c. ad 80–90) The Flavian forum Public architecture in the forum district The procurator as patron The Huggin Hill baths and town houses On the south-bank 12: Episodes of renewal (c. ad 90–110) Later Flavian London Waterfront renewal under Nerva and Trajan Other public works Extending the city Cemeteries and tombs 13: The great forum (c. ad 110–25) Hadrian and the forum Dating the forum Before the Hadrianic fire Part 4: The Working City 14: The urban hinterland Roads and roadside settlements Suburban sites Villas and elite settlement 15: The region and its resources The estuary Woodlands Wealden iron Were there imperial estates? The role of London 16: Economy and supply Roman economies Military demand Long-distance supply Monetary transactions London and the Roman economy 17: London at work At the port The construction industry The labour market The working year Shops and workshops Shipbuilding Other industry The productive periphery 18: People and society Written Londoners Soldiers and officials Elite society Immigration Fashion and identity Pervasive ritual Part 5: Destruction And Recovery 19: The Hadrianic fire (c. ad 125–35) The burning of London Accident or arson? The Cripplegate fort Post-fire rebuilding The upper Walbrook ‘vicus’ 20: The Walbrook skulls The new north road Wayside human remains Heads of the dead Other irregular burials 21: Antonine sophistication (c. ad 135–65) Ostentatious town houses Changing traffic Housing the gods Tiberinius Celerianus Funerary architecture Marking boundaries Part 6: London Diminished 22: Antonine contraction (c. ad 165–80) The puzzle of London’s missing late Roman stratigraphy The problem of dark earth Continuities and discontinuities The scale of change What happened? Plague and its consequences 23: Severan revival (c. ad 180–225) London in the late second century The late second-century waterfront The later Severan waterfront Riverside buildings The town wall London renewed 24: Britannia Superior (c. ad 225–50) Shadwell and suburban villas Renewed domestic luxury Mithras and other cults Public infrastructure In death 25: The third-century ‘crisis’ (c. ad 250–70) The destruction of the port The atrophy of long-distance supply A slump in regional productivity? Signs of urban stress Reassessing London at a time of crisis Part 7: The Late Antique City 26: Restoration (c. ad 270–85) The riverside wall New patterns of procurement Property redevelopment Later Roman cemeteries and people 27: City of emperors (c. ad 285–350) The ‘British empire’ Within the city Redundancies Southwark The countryside 28: Augusta (c. ad 350–80) Reinforcing the urban defences London and the Roman administration Wealth within and beyond the walls London’s first Christian communities The restoration of London in context 29: Endings (c. ad 380–400) Debating ‘decline’ Continuities and discontinuities Burial intra urbem Termination rituals London’s last Roman fortification Part 8: Beyond Rome 30: Fifth-century landscapes The desertion of the city Rural continuities Early Saxon settlement London after Londinium 31: Afterword Describing a city of empire Tracing exogenous shock Resilience, persistence, and failure Appendix: Excavation Sites Referred To In The Text Notes Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Bibliography Ancient and medieval sources Modern Sources Index Of Sites General Index