The Lost Port of Londinium
By Alistair Douglas, Senior Archaeologist, Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd.
Graphics by Josephine Brown
All photos by Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd
The remains of a bath-house preserved in-situ and now buried beneath a residential development at Shadwell, were probably part of the environs to a late Roman port. Recent excavations in the Eastend of London, undertaken by Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd in 2002 and 2003 are radically altering our perception of the eastern suburbs and their relationship with Londinium in the late Roman period. The decline of the port of Londinium in the mid 3rd century has long been recognised by archaeologists, but many questions remained unanswered. Did the settlement become a back-water? Did the port move downstream? Where did the mercantile community go? The discoveries at Shadwell are helping us to answer some of these questions and suggest a planned relocation of the port and a boom in extra mural settlement.
In the winter of 2002/2003 a 'rescue' excavation unearthed the important remains of a substantial Roman bath-house at 172 - 176 The Highway, London E1. The site lies west of, and adjacent to, the Shadwell 'tower' site, at Queen Anne and King Henry Terraces, excavated in the 1970s and opposite Tobacco Dock where extensive late Roman deposits were excavated by PCA during the spring of 2002.
Located on the north bank of the River Thames, some 0.65km north of the present day waterfront, it occupies a bluff separating the gravel terrace from the floodplain. The site is circa 1.5km east of the City, lying beyond the eastern Roman cemetery and 100m to the south of a Roman road, presumed to have run east from the City to the Thames at Ratcliffe.
The earliest Roman features in the vicinity date to the 2nd century and suggest a dispersed and sporadic pattern of settlement. At 172-176 The Highway the land was exploited for brickearth and gravel extraction. To the east the 'tower' site was used for quarrying and as a cemetery. The 'tower', possibly built in the 2nd century, probably represents a mausoleum and appears to have been a focus for cremations. At Tobacco Dock a timber-framed building with earth-fast foundations and two large rubbish pits constitutes evidence for habitation.
However, most of the features on these Shadwell sites post-date AD 250 and suggest a dramatic intensification of settlement in the middle of the 3rd century. Post built structures, clay-and-timber buildings, gullies, ditches, and wells were identified at Tobacco Dock and at Queen Anne and King Henry Terraces. At 172-176 The Highway the most dramatic discovery was the unearthing of a large bath-house complex. Clay-and-timber buildings and an open yard area were also revealed, all enclosed by a ditch to the north. This combination of features suggests a mansio or inn type establishment.
Read about the Bath-house on Page 2
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