London’s first Roman basilica found under office basement

Alison Francis

Senior Science Journalist

Tony Jolliffe/ BBC Archaeologist Sophie Jackson in a yellow high vis vest and white hard hat crouching next to a large piece of Roman wall about one metre hight made up of several layers of large grey stones. — The wall is 2,000 years old and was part of Roman London’s first basilica

A discovery underneath the basement of an office block has been described as one of the most important pieces of Roman history unearthed in the city of London.

Archaeologists have found a substantial piece of the ancient city’s first basilica – a 2,000 year old public building where major political, economic and administrative decisions were made.

The excavation has so far revealed sections of stone wall that formed the base of the basilica, which would have been two-and-half storeys high.

The site, which will eventually be opened to the public, sheds light on the city’s beginnings.

Archaeologists found the Roman masonry under the concrete floor of the office

Tony Jolliffe/BBC A section of stone wall about three metres in length is clearly visible at the bottom of a trench dug in the basement of a building next to a row of filing cabinets and shelves. The Roman wall has about seven or eight layers of stones, is about one metre wide and is vey well preserved. — Archaeologists found the Roman masonry under the concrete floor of the office

“This is so significant – this is the heart of Roman London,” said Sophie Jackson, from the Museum of London Archaeology (Mola), who revealed the new find exclusively to BBC News.

“This building will tell us so much about the origins of London, why London grew and why it was chosen as the capital of Britain. It’s just amazing.”

Tony Jolliffe/ BBC News A close up picture of a the side of a well preserved piece of the 2,000 year old Roman wall made of limestone. The individual stones can be seen as well as the mortar in between them. — The wall is made of limestone from Kent

The site was discovered at 85 Gracechurch Street, an office building that’s about to be demolished and redeveloped.

Earlier archaeological investigations revealed the ancient basilica’s approximate location, so the team created several small test pits to see what was hidden beneath the concrete floor.

On the third attempt, digging between the filing cabinets, they struck lucky.

“You can see a huge chunk of Roman masonry, and it’s incredible that it survives this well. We’re absolutely thrilled that there’s so much of it here,” said Sophie Jackson.

A tile is stamped and the three lines next to it are the finger marks of the tile maker

Tony Jolliffe/BBC A red roof tile has a stamp made up of three letters on its surface showing that it was a public building and belonged to the procurator of London. It also has a series of curved grooves made by the tile maker dragging his fingers across it when it was being produced. — A tile is stamped and the three lines next to it are the finger marks of the tile maker

The wall is made from a type of limestone from Kent, and formed an imposing building – the basilica would have been about 40m long, 20m wide and 12m high.

Other artefacts have been found too, including a roof tile imprinted with the stamp of an official from the ancient city.

Aerial map showing the location of 85 Leadenhall Street and the first Roman forum and basilica

The basilica was part of London’s forum, a social and commercial hub with a courtyard that was about the size of a football pitch.

“The basilica is the town hall, and then in front of it was a big open market square with a range of shops and offices around the outside,” explained Ms Jackson.

“It’s the place you came to do business, to get your court case sorted out, it’s where laws were made, and it’s where decisions were made about London, but also about the rest of the country.”

It was built around 80 AD, just a few decades after the Romans invaded Britain and founded Londinium – the Roman name for the city.

But the first basilica and forum were only in use for about 20 years. They were replaced by a much larger second forum, perhaps reflecting how quickly the city was growing in size and importance.

The basilica sits at the back of the Roman forum, which had an open courtyard

Peter Marsden A black and white line drawing of the basilica and forum. There's a double storey building at the back, which was the basilica, an open courtyard in the middle and colonnaded, covered walkways on either side of the courtyard that together made up the forum. At the front is another covered walkway with ten columns that make up the entrance. — The basilica sits at the back of the Roman forum, which had an open courtyard

The discovery has meant a change of plans for the building’s owners, Hertshten Properties.

The Roman remains, which will now be fully excavated, are to be incorporated into the new offices – pending planning approval – and opened up to the public.

For the architects, redesigning a building around an archaeological site has had some technical challenges.

“The scheme has been comprehensively adjusted,” explained James Taylor from architecture firm Woods Bagot.

“Simple things like the columns have had to literally move position, so you’re not destroying all these special stones that we found in the ground.”

And so as not to disturb what’s there, fewer lifts can now be installed – and this has meant that the team has had to reduce the height of the building.

But Mr Taylor said the effort will be worth it.

“To actually see people using and enjoying the space, moving through the public hall and down to see the remains, will be absolutely incredible.”

An artist’s impression of what the public will eventually be able to see

Woods Bagot An artist's impression showing what the exhibition might look like in the finished building. It is a dimly lit large room with a glass floor looking down onto the exposed Roman walls and artworks on each wall showing what the building would have looked like with large columns at its entrance. — An artist’s impression of what the public will eventually be able to see

This is the latest piece of Roman history to be discovered lying beneath the streets of London’s Square Mile. And there’s a growing effort to find innovative ways to show these sites to the public.

Parts of an amphitheatre are on display under a glass floor at the Guildhall Art Gallery, and at Bloomberg’s offices, people can visit the Temple of Mithras, which has been brought to life with an immersive sound and light installation.

Chris Hayward from the City of London Corporation says he wants more people to experience the link between the past and the present.

“The fact that Roman London is beneath your feet is, frankly, quite a remarkable emotion to experience,” he said.

“You can actually see and visualise how Roman London would have been in those times. And then you can walk outside and you can say, ‘now look at the skyscrapers, now look at the office blocks’, this is progress, but at the same time, progress combined with preservation.”

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