The London that was Rome The Imperial City Recreated by the New Archaeology

First published in 1971 The London that was Rome is both a detective story and a tale of buried treasure. Some years ago, Michael Harrison set out to discover the truth about Roman London. Did it survive the Saxon onslaught in the fifth century or (as many historians have claimed) did it lie sacked, ruined, and abandoned for about a century and a half? Searching for an answer, Harrison forged himself a new ‘truth detecting’ method of discovery; but even he could not anticipate the immense success of this method. With ‘New Archaeology’ he has not only recovered the street plan of Roman London, but also replaced the buildings-temples, barracks, banks, baths, picture-galleries, treasuries and so on – which lined those streets. In many cases he has been able to name the streets and at the same time vividly describe for us the social and economic life of a London, which under the Caesars, ranked among the principal cities of the Empire. This book is an interesting read for students of archaeology, history, and for general readers interested to know about London.

Acknowledgements Author’s Foreword Introduction 1. The Problem of London’s ‘Disappearance’ 2. The Birth of a Theory 3. The Convincing Proof – "St Botolph of Icanhoh’ 4. The Five or Six? – Londons 5. The Gods of Roman London 6. The Cult of Artemis, the Bear Goddess- London’s Patron Deity 7. Hotels, Picture Galleries, Restaurants and Baths 8. The Defences of Londinium Augusta 9. Food and Finance in Londinium 10. A Walk through Roman London Appendices Bibliography Index

Michael Harrison