The Late Roman Waterfront in London

The Roman waterfront in London has been discussed several times, most recently in The Port of Roman London (Milne, 1985) and The Roman Quay at St Magnus House, London (Miller, Schofield and Rhodes, 1986). The former dealt largely with the late-first-century waterfront and associated buildings recorded on sites excavated to the north of Thames Street, on either side of the Roman London Bridge, including Pudding Lane, Peninsular House and Miles Lane (FIG. I). The subsequent redevelopment of existing properties, and the construction of new buildings relating to succeeding waterfronts further to the south, were also covered in detail, although the later quays themselves (of early-second to mid-third-century date) lay beyond the site boundaries, and were only briefly discussed. The second report, however, dealt with the mid-second- to early-third-century waterfronts and the section of riverside wall recorded between 1974–78 at New Fresh Wharf (St Magnus House), adjacent to the more recent (1982) Billingsgate Lorry Park site. Both works discussed evidence for trade, as represented by finds from the various sites involved, in some depth.