Tower Hill - Roman Wall
The first surviving piece of the "Roman" fortifications of London in the east of the city is the remains of a medieval postern in the wall just north of the Tower of London.
The Tower itself, built some 800 years after the wall, is not technically inside the city, but in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area known historically as the Liberty of the Tower extends the distance of an arrows flight from the Tower itself, and is today marked by stones at the boundaries.
The first significant part of the wall itself is near Tower Hill Underground Station. Fine piece though it is, the upper part is clearly medieval rather than Roman, as can be seen from the irregular shapes in the stones used to face it.
The lower part, however is clearly Roman, as the stones are much more regular in shape and size, and layers of tiling can be seen clearly.
The Romans built the wall starting with an outside shell. Then they filled this with rubble and mortar. At regular intervals they laid tiles – to give a solid platform from the next layer of rubble to rest on.
In the northern corner of this section of wall the tomb to the Procurator Classicianus was found. The original tomb and inscription are now in the British Museum though a copy of the inscription is exhibited here (and a further copy in the Museum of London). The inscription commends Classicianus to the sacred spirits of the departed and was set up by his unhappy wife Julia Pacata. Gaius Julis Alpinus Classicianus died in London in 65AD, only four years after it had been destroyed by Boudicca. It was Classicianus who protested to the Emperor Nero that the heavy handed policies of Suetonius Paulinus would probably lead to further hostilities in the province. This led to Suetonius being replaced as governor by a more moderate individual.
The Roman statue which stands here is believed to be of the Emperor Trajan – but is a modern copy.
