Ghost of Roman Britain to rise up

Press, 29 January 1986, Page 17

Ghost of Roman Britain to rise up

It was Britain’s first Whitehall, Stock Exchange and Old Bailey combined, PAUL LASHMAR of the London “Observer” uncovers the search for Rome’s buried powerhouse.

Beneath the high-tech tubes and gleaming metal-work of London’s most spectacular new building — the Lloyd’s headquarters — another monument, every bit as important in its day, is about to emerge. Archaeologists have announced plans for the largest and most important excavation undertaken in Europe: the Roman Basilica which stood 2000 years ago on what is now Gracechurch Street in the heart of the City- It was London’s first town hall, the political headquarters of Roman Britain.

The excavation will not only produce a treasure-trove of spectacular relics over the next few months. It could answer the crucial question why the Romans should have chosen to build such

a vast basilica in London — the largest north of the Alps and one of the biggest in the Roman Empire. Although Londinium was a provincial centre, Britain was just a distant outpost of the empire, described by the historian Tacitus as “a centre for busines men and merchandise.”

Brian Hobley, chief urban archaeologist at the Museum of London, says: "The archaeological and historical potential of this site makes it of international importance. The development of this building in the heart of the City should closely mirror the development of London itself as the capital of Roman Britain.” The basilica project is also an example of a new spirit of cooperation between property de-

velopers and archaeologists which offers the last chance of rescue for many other threatened ancient treasures throughout Britain.

The museum’s archaeologists are to get access to the site thanks to their relationship with Legal and General Assurance, which is about to redevelop it. Things have changed greatly since London’s Temple of Mithras affair in 1954, when the archaeologist, Professor William Grimes, had to rely on public pressure to win time on a site and remove the temple before it could be destroyed. Delay can cost developers enormous sums of money. Mr Hobley, a former businessman, has evolved a successful working relationship with developers over several years. “What we have done is persuade the developers that we realise they have an important job to do,” he says. “A city with no redevelopment is a dead city. Equally, we try to persuade them that we are now a highly professional operation that is a valid

part of the redevelopment process. To that effect we should be given the time and money to do the job properly.” Legal and General agreed not only to give six months grace for the excavation but much work in kind, providing men and machines for shoring up the excavation and removing the soil. The company has installed a large plastic roof to cover the dig' to protect the archaeologists from the worst of the weather.

Legal and General has also made a substantial financial contribution to top up sums already provided by the Museum of London, English Heritage and the City of London archaeological trust. At nearly $1.4 million, the excavation will be the most expensive in British archaeological history. But $360,000 is still needed and the Museum is launching a public appeal. The excavation is a unique opportunity as over 50 per cent of the archaeology of the basilica was destroyed by the Victorians to make way for bank buildings, and no other part is due for

redevelopment in the foreseeable future.

The potential of the site was shown by test trenches dug a year ago which indicted that the archaeological remains on the site were an astonishing three metres thick. They show the site was in use from about 10 years after the Roman invasion in 43 A.D. From 60 to 100 A.D. a series of wooden residential and industrial buildings were constructed. About 71 A.D., the Roman town of Londinium appears to have been given the right of selfgovernment and the first basilica was built slightly to the west of the redevelopment site. Around 100 A.D. this was demolished and a second basilica and forum, five times bigger, was built. The basilica itself was a large building on the north side and would have been, in effect, the town hall, law courts, treasury, and prison. The forum was a colonnaded portico on three sides of the square enclosing the courtyard or meeting place in which trade would take place

under the eye of the local authorities.

Little is known of what happened to the basilica in late Roman or early Saxon times. But by late Saxon times the area seems to have been unoccupied because the Roman remains were covered in a thick layer of earth, showing that it had been cleared of buildings. In 1296, there is a reference to it being occupied by a substantial private house known as Leadenhall. During the recent demolition work a surviving wall from the original Leadenhall was found incorporated into later building work and was still standing 12 metres high. By 1321 the site was in use as a general market. In 1411, it was conveyed to the City Corporation, and, as a public market of international standing in the wool trade, it became a civic building almost as significant as the Guildhall. All the buildings were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. In 1881 the great glass and metal Leadenhall Market was built nearby.