• DOI:10.1017/S1047759400003378
• Corpus ID: 160758496

Two studies on Roman London. A: London's military origins. B: Population decline and ritual landscapes in Antonine London.

@article{Perring2011TwoSO,
  title={Two studies on Roman London. A: London's military origins. B: Population decline and ritual landscapes in Antonine London.},
  author={Dominic Perring},
  journal={Journal of Roman Archaeology},
  year={2011},
  volume={24},
  pages={249 - 282}
}

• D. Perring
• Published 2011
• History
• Journal of Roman Archaeology

My intent is to advance some new suggestions (or rather, to revive some long unfashionable ones) concerning the origins and early development of the Roman town. Two under-reported discoveries of military-style ditches allow it to be suggested that London originated as a fort where the armies of Plautius awaited the emperor Claudius before marching on Colchester in the summer of A.D. 43. The alternative and prevailing view, that the city was a civilian foundation of c.A.D. 50, must be questioned. This in turn suggests a re-assessment of the rôle of London in the political infrastructure of the newly-created Roman province. It seems likely that London remained firmly under the control of the provincial government, and a major centre of operations for both army and administration. This finds confirmation in the recently-discovered evidence of fortifications and engineering works associated with extensive reconstruction in the aftermath of the Boudican revolt of A.D. 60/61.