Museum of London archaeologists excavating the mosaic floor of a large townhouse from Roman Londinium, in the shadow of The Shard skyscraper.
Museum of London archaeologists excavating the mosaic floor of a large townhouse from Roman Londinium, in the shadow of The Shard skyscraper.
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History literally beneath our feet. Imagine traveling back in time on even one spot and seeing all the people living their lives and the events that took place there.
Old vs new.
Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50.
It sat at a key ford at the River Thames which turned the city into a road nexus and major port, 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.
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.