Gresham Street / Milk Street
Work began on the site at 30 Gresham Street in December 2000 and went on for almost a year. The full 1 million pound cost of the excavation was borne by Land Securities who, as the developer were legally bound to have the site examined by a responsible archaeological agency.
Gresham Street is north of the site of the Roman baths in Cheapside, and two large timber-lined shafts were found here. The rings in the wood indicated a date of 63AD for the construction of the shafts.
The Museum of London Archaeological Service, which carried out the dig, also found a dozen 2 litre water containers and a copper cauldron, along with some wrought iron links which had buckled, perhaps in the Hadrianic fire of 125AD.
It looks rather like these were the wells which provided the water for the Cheapside baths. A working reconstruction of the pumping mechanism can be seen at the Museum of London
Cheapside Baths
The Cheapside baths appear to have been built along military lines, and they were also close to both the fort and the Temple of Mithras near the Walbrook stream, both sites frequented by soldiers. So it seems likely that these were the baths designed for use by the military residents of the city.
Bath houses seem to have been more popular in London than temples, with the large public baths at Huggin Hill remaining in use until the third century. The Romans in London apparently preferred cleanliness to godliness.
