Roman Shadwell revealed

On the north of the site were a range of timber and plaster buildings with evidence of wall paintings. These have produced large quantities of finds.

On the south of the site, cut into the gravel terrace are the remains of a massive Roman stone building, comprising approximately ten rooms with hypocaust underfloor heating. The floors of the building appear to have been made of concrete covered by marble slabs. The building is over 10m wide, north to south. The building continues beyond the site boundary east and west, and has an excavated length of 20m. The scale of the building and the quality of its construction suggests that it was very important.

The location of the building is noteworthy, being a mile and a half east of the Roman city of Londinium, close by one of the major Roman roads eastwards out of the city (now represented by the Highway). Excavations on the western side of Wapping Lane in 2002 revealed a large complex of Roman timber buildings including several interpreted as warehouses or granaries. The juxtaposition of all these buildings indicates there may be a Roman 'port' at Shadwell, possibly utilising a now lost subsidiary side channel of the Thames.

During the Roman period it is known that the level of the Thames dropped relative to the land and the tidal head moved downstream from the city of Londinium. Consequently some of the port functions of the city may have shifted downstream as well. By the end of the fourth century AD the city of Londinium's riverfront was enclosed by a defensive wall and the city was clearly no longer serving as a port. Possibly by this date the Shadwell settlement had taken over all Londinium's port functions. If this interpretation is correct, then the Shadwell discoveries will literally rewrite the history of Roman London.

The stone building, probably built in the 2nd century AD, continued in use (with numerous alterations) until around 400 AD when it was demolished. The building's mosaic floors, lead work and worked stone were largely robbed out (stolen or removed), leaving the bases of the walls (up to 1.5m high) and the hypocaust 'pila' stacks. These will all be preserved in situ beneath the new development.

The excavations are being carried out by Pre-Construct Archaeology (site supervisor: Alistair Douglas) under the direction of CGMS (archaeological consultant: Duncan Hawkins).

Duncan Hawkins, Pre-Construct Archaeology
Photographs PCA/CGMS
January 2003
Reproduced with permission of the author

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Lakin, David The Roman tower at Shadwell, London: a reappraisal (Museum of London Archaeology Service, 2002)