Surrey Archaeological Collections
Surrey Archaeological Society, 2003. (updated 2023) https://doi.org/10.5284/1000221. How to cite using this DOI
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- ADS Collection: 379
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000221
- How to cite using this DOI
SURREY ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS
Roads, Bridges and the Origin of Roman London
G J DAWSON
The discovery of the stretch of Roman road in Montague Close in 1969 led to an immediate reconsideration of the road pattern in Southwark and the position of Roman London Bridge. It has long been recognized that a number of major Roman roads in the London area are not aligned on the City of London but ignore its existence. For example, the northern and southern stretches of Watling Street seem to be aligned on some point at Westminster while the Silchester road is aligned to run north of the Roman city. It has been suggested that the line of Watling Street is controlled by the existence of an (assumed) pre-Roman trackway to Verulamium, but since this does not explain the alignment of the Silchester Road, it seems more likely that the same factor is operating in both cases. This, it has been suggested, is the military campaign for the conquest of Britain in the 40s of the first century.
