No sooner than the site of Londinium has been chosen, people are moving in. Local entrepreneurs seeing the potential, are quick to acquire land but what they are building is a shanty town - wooden houses all tightly packed in together. No fine and fancy houses, just very basic accommodation thrown up in a hurry.
Some upwardly mobile settlers know what to expect, others, commissioned to work in the new province, are having quite a culture shock.
Publius Cicereius Felix, a junior provincial administrator, fresh from his posting in Trier…
What a disappointment! My previous postings had been in far grander towns than this hovel. In Trier, so many society parties! Here, it’s dull as ditchwater with few people of our social standing, if you know what I mean! This is my first posting to such a new town – it’s just open land!
Accommodation notwithstanding, however, we do get all the foods and luxuries from home. They’re shipped in and you can pop down to the waterfront and see what’s come off the latest ship. My wife is a good homemaker and makes the best of a bad job. So although the living accommodation is below par, cook serves up everything with wine, fish sauce and olive oil - those essential ingredients to make us feel at home.
I’m hoping my next posting will be back to Germany.
Alba, a young British girl in her early teens, recently arrived with her family from the country…
It’s like a home from home – lovely buildings, wood and clay as we’re used to but rectangular not round! My father is busy making knives for the townspeople – there’s quite a demand! He has set up his workshop at the front of the house and people come and buy direct.
I really like the life here in the town and don’t want to ever go back to live in the countryside. I hope one day to marry one of the Roman immigrants and stay living here in Londinium.
