Londinium: London In The Roman Empire (Phoenix Giants) [Paperback]

The limitation is particularly evident in John Morris' history of Roman London. A longtime historian of the Roman Empire and its aftermath in Britain, Morris draws upon the range of available archaeological and historical evidence to describe the first centuries of London's existence. With chapters on the development of the town, its governance, and the everyday habits of its inhabitants, he provides a good examination of life in Londinium and the role the city played in Rome's rule over Britain.

Yet Morris' command of the material cannot mask its thinness. Most of the first part of the book is devoted to providing a history of pre-Roman and Roman Britain, which, while useful, often loses relevancy and can feel a little like padding. Moreover, the absence of detailed evidence often forces Morris to resort to supposition, or inference from other Roman cities. This does not make it a bad book, but the age of the text (originally written in the early 1970s and revised after Morris' death) does beg for updating as new archaeological and historical evidence emerges which allows us to improve and refine our understanding of London's earliest inhabitants. Until then, we have Morris' fine, if dated study.

Morris organises the book in three sections: The Making of London, Roman London, and The Survival of London. Apart from these three primary sections is an Introduction, notes, bibliography, and an index.

Morris correctly identifies that prior to Rome, there was no London, and after Rome, not much is known about/heard of from London for hundreds of years. Therefore, to understand London, one must have at the very least a basic understanding of Rome -- Roman architecture, Roman social structures and hierarchy, Roman military and economic institutions, and Roman concerns.

There are two primary sources for history that Morris uses, and uses well: archaeological and documentary. Acclaimed as a master of both types, as well as an innovative thinker and careful interpreter, Morris uses archaeology and documentary evidence in connection with each other in a more-or-less equal weighting. The drawback here is that there is precious little documentary evidence of London during the Roman period, as London was almost as far from the centre of the Empire as one could get while still being part of the Empire (a somewhat ironic position for London to be in, considering its position as the centre of another worldwide empire many centuries later).

In looking at The Making of London, goes back to the very beginnings, looking not only at Rome, but even before Rome. Morris does a brief survey of pre-historic Britain, not great in detail, but important in giving a grounding of the ground on which London was built. London was not a 'natural' settlement -- it was placed by deliberate decision on the part of the powerful of Rome; like other major Roman provincial capitals (Paris, Vienna, Belgrade, Cologne), it grew to major proportions later in history; unlike these, it dominated the country it served much more completely. Morris continues his survey by looking at Rome before Caesar and then Flavian Rome, Britain of the Belgae and the Roman conquest, and the consolidation of Roman power under the Flavians.

In the second section, Roman London, Morris examines the development of a mature Roman city. This includes important structures such as Government House, City Hall, the Forum, the baths and other public works, so that the people could pursue typical Roman pursuits such as education, economy, sporting events, and typical work any provincial trading centre would host. Locations for theatres and racecourse/stadiums in London are not known (unlike other towns such as Canterbury). To a certain extent, therefore, Roman life in London is based on an extrapolation of typical Roman life in any like-sized city in the northern Roman empire.

In the third major section, The Survival of London, Morris looks at the 'fall' of Roman through the lens of London, showing increasing insularity of the remaining Romans in Britain, but ironically showing an increase in trade for London rather than a decrease at certain times. However, as the stable borders of the Empire crumbled, so too did London's trade with certain areas (such as the Rhine area in Germany). As the Romans retreated to more central, and then more eastern, concentrations of power, little if anything was recorded as documentary evidence of London, as it became just too distant to be of any concern. Morris writes that London and Roman Britain didn't suffer from a systematic withdraw of Roman imperium as much as it fell victim to neglect and unfulfilled promises, like much of the Western Empire would eventually suffer.

London continued in the post-Roman environment to be a link to the past, to Europe, and to the future of organisation and stability, and in this role it flourished, although not without periods of stagnation and occasional neglect.

The maps, illustrations, and photographs complement the narrative history well, and the overall organisation is very logical. This is a fascinating look at the ancient European world through the lens of a single city, both looking within and without the walls. Professor Morris of University College, London, passed away before the completion of this text; the finishing touches were done by Sarah Macready of the Institute of Archaeology, London University.

A truly excellent snapshot of the past, this book will please those interested in archaeology, Roman history, British history, the history of London, or even the casual reader interested in a good, true story.