The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-05-10
ANCIENT LONDON.
What Lies Beneath The PaVemenB Of the Modern
CITY.
Il. Il,

To form true conception of the Roman
city we must sweep away all the accumu-
lated results of modern art and industry.
We must create taDula rasa, and remove,
as the mere fgments of fancy, the Cathe-
dral, the Abbey, the Tower, the swarming
throngs of Cheapside, and the endless
squares of brick buildings that shelter the
millions of the London of to-day; dissolve
the splendid vision, and think only of the
past Confined within the narrow limits of
these walls, its greatest length the river
front, its greatest breadth between Cripple
gate and the Thames, we see the Roman
city. 1t Is inelosed by wall of stone work
and cement from twenty to thirty feet high.
Towers or caSteila appear at intervals. 1t
was built upon the plan OF all other Roman
cities, and resembled Pompei or Lndum
Its four chief streets, at least forty feet
wide, met in its forum; they were perfectly
straight and led directly to the gates. At
their side were narrower llmlteS or lanes, all
equally straight and free from sinuosities.
The Roman engineers laid out their strata
with unchanging regularity. Every street
was paved with smooth stone, like those Of
P0mpeii Beneath the streets ran the sew
erS and the water plpes-we may assume
so invariably found in every Roman city.
1t is impossible to determine exactly the
site of the London forum; it is only prob
may, however. infer, from evidence too de-
tailed anu minute to enter upon here, that
the forum stood upon the oldest part of
Roman London, viz. south of Cornhill and
east of the Mansion House. It is by no
means certain that there was forum. but
an inscribed tile seems TO show that the
seat of government OF the province was at
London. Those, however, who consider the
later Importance Of Roman London can
hardly believe that it had no public build
ings. At first an Insignificant town, al
though port Of some trade, for more than
two centuries it controlled the exports and
imports of the entire island. Its wharves
were filled with animation, its harbor with
ships of burden. All the authOris ies point
to London as a center or commercial ac-
Iivity
So complete was the security in which
South Britain remained for centuries, under
the protection of Hadrian's wall and the
fortified cities of the west, that London was
left without any other defense than strong
castle on the banks of the river until the
age of Constantine. Unlike nearly all the
other Roman cities it had no walls, was
unprotected even by ditch, and lay open
on all sides to attack. AT last, however,
at some unknown period, but between the
years $50 and 500, by some unknown hand,
the Roman wall was built Its extent may
easily be traced fragments of it still remain;
and recently, at an excavation made by
the railway company, party OF antiquari-
ans were enabled TO study and explore more
than 100 feet in length of these ancient de-
lenses Saxon and Dane, Norman and En-
glishmap, have in the long course of fifteen
centuries altered, overthrown or rebuilt
them; but their course and circuit were
never changed. The Roman wall fixed the
limit of the city, and its venerable fragments
still recall the days when the last Roman
legions marched down the Dover street,
when Alfred restored the wall, or when
Ppm and Hampden found within its shelter
the citadel of modern freedom. ''Ro-
man London" by Eugene Lawrence, in
Harper's Magazine for May.