A Reassessment of the Second Basilica in London, A. D. 100-400: Excavations at Leadenhall Court, 1984-86

Abstract

The site of the Forum-Basilica of Londinium was uncovered in the late nineteenth century, when demolition of a block of buildings to make way for the new Leadenhall Market revealed the remains of massive Roman walls. The function of the building was not, however, recognised until 1923, despite its central position in the Roman town (FIG. 1). Superimposed on the Roman remains were structures of later date, mainly associated with the fifteenth-century garner, a late medieval municipal market and storehouse. The remains of both Roman and medieval buildings were recorded by William Miller in 1880–1 and by the architect Henry Hodge in 1881–2. Subsequent discoveries revealed further details of the plan of the Basilica, and of the great Forum which lay to the south. Additionally, the walls of a smaller first-century civic centre were recorded beneath the Forum, demonstrating continuity in the status of the site.