History of London
Legendary foundations and prehistoric London Of Paul Lombardo and Kevin Fodor
The Mediæval mythology of Geoffrey of Monmouth tells that London was founded by Brutus the Trojan in the Bronze Age, and was known as Troia Nova, or New Troy, which was corrupted to Trinovantum. (The Trinovantes were the tribe who inhabited the area prior to the Romans). King Lud renamed the town CaerLudein, from which London is derived. Geoffrey provides prehistoric London with a rich array of legendary kings and interesting stories.
However, despite intensive excavations, archaeologists have found no evidence of a prehistoric or major settlement in the area. There have been scattered prehistoric finds, evidence of farming, burial and traces of habitation, but nothing more substantial. It is now considered unlikely that a pre-Roman city existed, but as much of the Roman city remains unexcavated, it is still possible that some settlement may yet be discovered.
So, during the prehistoric times, London was most likely a rural area with scattered settlement. Rich finds such as the Battersea Shield, found in the Thames near Chelsea, suggest the area was important; there may have been important settlements at Egham and Brentford, and there was a hillfort at Uppall, but no City in the area of the Roman London, the present day City of London.
Roman London
Londinium was established as a town by the Romans after the invasion of 43 led by the Emperor Claudius. Archaeological excavation (undertaken by the Department of Urban Archaeology of the Museum of London now called MOLAS) since the 1970s has also failed to unearth any convincing traces of major settlement before c. 50 – so ideas about Londinium being a military foundation around the Fort that protected London Bridge are now largely discounted.
The name Londinium is thought to be pre-Roman in origin although no consensus on what it means. One suggestion is that it derived from a personal name meaning ‘fierce’. However, Recent research by Richard Coates has suggested that the name derives from pre-Celtic Old European – Plowonida – from 2 roots, „plew“ and „nejd“, meaning something like „the flowing river“ or „the wide flowing river“. Londinium therefore means „the settlement on the wide river“. He suggests that the river was called the Thames upriver where it was narrower, and Plowonida down river where it was too wide to ford. For a discussion on the legends of London and Plowonida see [1] (http://chr.org.uk/legends.htm). The story of the settlement being named after Lud is considered unlikely.
Archaeologists now believe that London was founded as a civilian settlement by 50. A wooden drain by the side of the main roman road excavated at No 1 Poultry has been dated to 47 which is likely to be the foundation date.
Ten years later, the British queen Boudicca, leading the Iceni, sacked Londinium (c. 60). Excavation has revealed extensive evidence of destruction by fire at this date, and recently a military compound has been discovered in the City of London which may have been the headquarters of the Roman fight back against the British uprising.
The city recovered after perhaps 10 years, and reached its population height by about 140, thereafter began a slow decline. However habitation and associated building work did not cease. By 375 London was a small wealthy community protected by completed defences. By 410 Roman occupation officially came to an end, with the citizens being ordered to look after their own defenses. By the middle of the 5th Century the Roman city was practically abandoned.
Saxon London
After being abandoned for perhaps 150 years, its strategic position on the Thames meant that by 600 AD Anglo-Saxons had revived settlement in the area. These Saxon settlements were not in the ancient walled City of London, but to the west, naming this area Lundenwic which meant „London Port“. Recent excavations in the Covent Garden area have uncovered extensive Anglo-Saxon settlement dating back into the 6th Century. This has extended the known settlement area which was presumed to be based around Aldwych. From „Ald“ meaning „Old“ and „wych“ „port“, Aldwych reflects the fact that some time, in the late 9th or early 10th Century the focus of settlement shifted from the ‘Old Port’ back to the old City of London. This may have been due to administrative changes introduced by Alfred the Great after his defeat of Guthrum and the Danes. Alfred appointed his son-in-law Earl Aethelred of Mercia, who was the heir to the destroyed Kingdom of Mercia, as Governor of London and established two defended Boroughs to defend the bridge which was probably rebuilt at this time. London became known as Lundenburgh, and the southern end of the Bridge was established as the Borough of Southwark or Suthringa Geworc (defensive work of the men of Surrey) as it was originally known.