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Fortress Londinium: Tracing London’s Roman defences
This summer, a museum displaying a portion of the wall that once encircled Roman London has opened, and three sections of the settlement’s riverside defences have been granted scheduled status. Carly Hilts visited the museum and spoke to Jane Sidell to learn more about Londonium’s fortifications.
Founded soon after Claudius’ conquest of AD 43, Roman London – Londinium to its inhabitants –quickly flourished into a commercial powerhouse: a Thames-side trade centre so resilient that (a writing tablet of AD 62 attests; see CA 317) it was up and running again just a year or two after the devastation of the Boudican revolt. Having risen from the ashes, the settlement continued to thrive, and in around AD 195-225 its status was literally set in stone, thanks to the construction of towering walls that not only enhanced its defences but also made a triumphant and highly visible statement of civic pride.
Over recent decades, excavations within the City of London have uncovered surviv
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