Roman Londinium

The history of London begins with the Romans. A Roman army first invaded the island of Britannia in 55 B.C. led by their general Julius Caesar. The soldiers landed on the south coast and moved north until they came to a large river. The people who lived there were Celts. They were organised in tribes. The Roman soldiers marched along the river until they found a shallow crossing place. The Celts called this place Londinos, perhaps named after a strong Celtic chief who lived there. Nobody really knows the origin of the name. The Romans crossed the river at Londinos and made a camp. A few months later, the Romans left Britannia and Celtic life was normal again. But Roman ships came and went and traded with the Celts. They took “corn, cattle, gold, silver, and iron. Also hides, slaves and clever hunting-dogs.”

One hundred years later, in AD 43, another army under the Emperor Claudius started the occupation of the island. They built a bridge and a camp at Londinium, their version of the Celtic name. The Romans stayed for 350 years and built cities and 6,000 miles of roads. Londinium became a large city with 45,000 inhabitants and was the 6^th  largest in the Roman Empire.

The Romans also fought many battles with the Celts. The most important battle was in AD 61 with a Celtic Queen called Boudicca, or Boadicea. There is a statue to her in front of Parliament.

In AD 200 the London Romans built a wall around the city to protect it from barbarian attack. Rome started to withdraw its legions from Britannia in AD 408. By AD 430 they were all gone. Without the protection of the Roman army, the island was invaded by Saxons and Angles from continental Europe. People left Londinium and it became a ruin for hundreds of years.

In the first century AD Londinium had an amphitheatre which held 7,000 spectators. They could watch gladiators fighting or chariot racing, plays and people fighting wild animals. One of the gladiators’ skeletons found in 2001 belonged to a woman.

Terry Moston: London, capital city; AOL Verlag, Lichtenau; 2. Auflage 2006, Seite 28

a) Find when the Romans a) first and b) next came to Britain. What happened then?

b) Find the Roman names for a) Britain and b) London.

c) Find the names of two Roman invaders.

d) Extra: What happened when the Romans left Britain?

e) Internet task: Find the name of the Roman temple discovered in London in 1954.