The Londinium project

Author: Roy Stephenson

The role of Roman London — Londinium — in production, consumption and distribution in relation to the London region, the rest of the Roman province and the Empire has been identified as a priority in the research framework for Greater London archaeology. It is known therefore that there is a huge resource of Roman artefacts and ecofacts from London, but the extent of the unpublished material is as yet unknown and the archival data are of varying quality. It is consequently proposed that an assessment should be carried out of the resources available for research, and those required to document and prepare relevant material in such a way as to make it accessible. This major assessment of resources is kindly underwritten by English Heritage.

The chief aim of the overall project, identified in the project design for the assessment, is the study of the wealth of artefactual material from Roman London in order to publish well-illustrated synthetic studies of life in the city and to improve public access to important aspects of the collections. It will draw upon excavated material in the Museum of London's London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre (the LAARC), the Museum of London's reserve collections and important London material in the British Museum. The work will take account of current research priorities, focusing in particular on the people of Roman London and the city's central role in the province, for example in the areas of manufacture and supply.

A primary aim of the project is the creation of an on-line database that will enable researchers to investigate further aspects of social and economic life in Londinium. It is hoped that this will address at least some of the problems concerning the difficulties of consulting an archive that is the product of changing excavation and publication strategies, most due to economic factors.

This site report is extracted from MoLAS 2004: annual review