This stretch of London's Roman defences runs along the north-eastern circuit of Londinium between Bevis Marks and India Street, encompassing the site of Aldgate, one of the principal eastern gates of the Roman city. The landward wall was constructed c. AD 200, standing roughly 6m high and 2.5m thick, with semi-circular bastions added in the later 4th century as part of upgraded defences. Aldgate carried the road to Camulodunum (Colchester), making it a key arterial gateway throughout the Roman period.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
As part of the c. 3.2km circuit enclosing Londinium, this section defended the provincial capital and controlled traffic on the strategic London–Colchester road. The bastions added here reflect late Roman concerns over security, paralleling defensive upgrades seen at other major British civitas capitals.
Excavations along Duke's Place, Bevis Marks and Aldgate have recorded the Kentish ragstone wall with its characteristic tile bonding courses, sandstone plinth and internal earthen rampart, alongside fragments of solid-built eastern bastions containing reused monumental masonry. The Roman gate of Aldgate itself was largely destroyed by medieval and later rebuilding, though foundations and associated road metalling have been observed in watching briefs in the vicinity.
This stretch of London's Roman defences runs along the north-eastern circuit of Londinium between Bevis Marks and India Street, encompassing the site of Aldgate, one of the principal eastern gates of the Roman city. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a site site from the Roman period in Britain.
London Wall: remains of Roman wall, bastions and city gate of Aldgate from 17 Bevis Marks to India Street is classified as a Roman site — a civilian site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including London Wall: remains of Roman wall and bastion (4a) at Crutched Friars (0.2 km), London Wall: remains of Roman wall and bastion, Goring Street (0.2 km), London Wall: remains of Roman wall and bastion, Camomile Street (0.3 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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Research the area around London Wall: remains of Roman wall, bastions and city gate of Aldgate from 17 Bevis Marks to India Street