Old Roman Gate Found in Cellar of London House

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 64, 17 March 1936, Page 10

Old Roman Gate Found in Cellar of London House

LONDON.—In the cellar of a house on Tower Hill stands, half uncovered and a little crumbled, what is believed to be tho ancient postern gate of itornan Londinium through which passed the east and west traliic of the fortress city. This gate has been unearthed during excavations by the Tower Hill Ini provement Trust during an investigation into the state of preservation of the Roman wall round London. The gate stands under No. 20, Tower Hill. But the excavators had to reach it through the cellar of No. ID. As the wall in tho cellar was uncovered the ancient gate was revealed. It is at least 1300 years old, experts say. The gate is 17 feet wide, and tho excavators declare that it must be the postern gate, the ninth gate of Londinium in the wail built during the second century A. D. The eight gates of London are named as Aldgate, Bishopsgate, Moorgate, Crippiegate, Aldergate, Newgate, Ludgate and Billingsgate. These eight gates have handed down their names to fame in the modern London, ail well known to Londoners and many by repute to citizens of other lands. Billingsgate is known, for instance, for its Jisk market, and Ludgate Circus as the place where Fleet Street, newspaper land, ends and the road to St. Paul’s and the city of London's commerce begins. The postern gate apparently fell some centuries ago. On its site was built a row of houses known as Postern Row. But new roads for modern London wiped out even that remainder of Roman London —until the hammers rang in the cellar of No. 19, Tower Hill.