The Romans who occupied London in the 3rd century were so fearful of attacks from unruly local tribesmen that they surrounded the city with protective walls, including one separating the provincial capital from its bustling docks.
While sections of the inner wall are well studied and remain visible in today’s London, the waterfront portion had been largely forgotten. Building on archaeological work in the 1970s, the Museum of London Archeology (MOLA) carried out excavations between 2006 and 2016 and uncovered three large tracts.
These newly excavated sections measure a total of 330 feet and are located near Riverbank House on Upper Thames Street, and Sugar Quay and Three Quays on Lower Thames Street. They provide insight into period stonework and the wider architecture of Roman London.
These 2,000-year-old riverside walls now enjoy England’s highest level of heritage protection Department of Culture, Media and Sport and join the only other uncovered section of the waterfront wall, located at the Tower of London.
Saving the Roman wall by the river at Riverbank House. Photo: MOLA.
MOLA archaeologists clean the monumental masonry of the Roman wall by the river at Sugar Quay. Photo: MOLA
Additionally, the well-preserved wooden docks and dock structures that were uncovered during the excavation of the walls were included in the new protection. Roman wooden docks were used to load and unload ships and finds included a coffered dock from 133 CE Together they demonstrate the considerable investment that went into the Roman port of London.
The wall, built from Kentish ragstone, reached up to 20 feet in height, was two miles in circumference, and was unmatched by any other town at the time. The wall not only demonstrated Roman practicality, prioritizing defense over commerce, but was a status symbol of Londinium, the epicenter of Roman Britain.
MOLA archaeologists clean the top of the Roman wall by the river at Sugar Quay. Photo: MOLA
“We are extremely pleased that the Roman Riverside Wall is getting the recognition and protection it deserves,” MOLA’s Sadie Watson said in a statement. “This is particularly fitting as it marks nearly 50 years since MOLA’s predecessor, the Department of Urban Archeology, first identified the Roman riverside wall in one of the first professional excavations in London.”
Excavation of a riverside Roman wall at Riverbank House. Image: MOLA
All three sections of wall remain in situ beneath the modern Upper and Lower Thames Street buildings, formerly the northern edge of the River Thames.
“Even in a very dense city like London, built over more than 2,000 years, there are still mysteries to be revealed beneath our feet,” said Duncan Wilson, chief executive of historic england. “The waterfront wall remains an intriguing feature of Roman London that raises almost as many questions as it answers.”
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