THE bloody revenge wrought by Queen Boudicca nearly 2000 years ago on Roman London may not have been halted by the River Thames. Archaeologists excavating a site just south of London Bridge have found the first evidence that Boudicca鈥檚 army attacked south London. They also suggest that this area, which was originally thought to be an insignificant suburb of Londinium, was later graced by lavish Roman architecture.
鈥淒own south of the river, we鈥檙e still trying to find out what it was like,鈥� says Mike Hutchinson, archaeology project manager at the Museum of London Archaeology Service. The MoLAS is in charge of excavating more than 25 sites in south London that are likely to be destroyed to make way for London Underground鈥檚 Jubilee Line. The site near London Bridge has turned out to be next to a major Roman road. 鈥淭his is probably the best one we鈥檝e ever done in south London,鈥� says Hutchinson.
Pottery and coins found in different layers of the remains have allowed the archaeologists to date various phases of development. They believe that the road was built around AD 50, and was lined by houses and workshops made of clay and timber.
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Not long after the settlement was built, however, it was burnt to the ground leaving a blanket of ash and burnt timber. The archaeologists are still poring over the data, but the date for the burnt layer appears to be AD 60 鈥� about the time that Boudicca went on the rampage, slaughtering around 70 000 Romans and burning Londinium.
The burnt layer has been found at a number of sites north of the River Thames, but this is the first evidence that Boudicca鈥檚 army crossed the Roman bridge to burn the southern suburb.
A few decades after these murderous events, a new southern settlement rose from the ashes, this time on a much grander scale. Large stone foundations dotted along the eastern side of the road suggest that some monumental structure 鈥� probably an extravagant line of columns or statues 鈥� was constructed shortly before AD 120, when the Emperor Hadrian made a grand tour of Britain. 鈥淲e know that about this time the forum and the basilica complex right in the middle of the city was also getting revamped,鈥� says Hutchinson. 鈥淭hey were obviously tarting London up ready for the emperor coming. (see Diagram)
