Roman London

This was an important settlement during the Roman occupation, but little can be seen from that period today

Roman Britain’s first urban settlement was Colchester, which is today an Essex market town with a population in excess of 100,000 people. However, it was not long before London began to assume a major role and eventually became the capital of the new province.

London, which may have existed as a Celtic settlement before the Romans arrived, was a favoured site for merchants as it was at the lowest possible crossing point on the Thames and an important port.

The revolt by the Iceni under Boudicca in 60 A.D. led to the deaths of thousands of Romanised traders and their families in London, thus demonstrating its importance as a commercial centre at an early date. By around 100 A.D. London had acquired a governor’s palace, a military fort covering 11 acres, and a bridge across the Thames.

When Britannia was subdivided in around 200 A.D. London retained its role as the capital of Britannia Superior. In the fourth century A.D. London’s high status was recognised by being given the title Augusta.

London’s basilica, beneath modern Gracechurch St, was the largest in the Empire north of the Alps. Built on the site of an earlier basilica erected under…