Roman Ship Found Under County Hall, London

When County Hall in London was built in 1910, an ancient ship was found buried in the silt.

It was built of Roman design from English oak in around 300 AD, around 2,000 years ago.

The ancient vessel, a remarkable discovery, is believed to have sunk in the battle between Allectus and Constantius.

Construction of County Hall in London began in January 1909.

Work then began on excavation of the ground, ready for laying a concrete raft on which County Hall would be built.

During the excavation, the significant discovery was made - and to commemorate the event, a booklet was published, providing some history of the construction of County Hall.

The booklet provides a description of how the boat was found:

“The discovery was primarily due to Mr. F.L. Dove, the present chairman of the Establishment Committee.

”While inspecting in January 1910, he noticed a dark curved line in the face of the excavation immediately above the virgin soil, and some distance beneath the silt and the Thames mud.

”The workmen engaged suggested that it was a sunken barge, but Mr. Dove realised from its position that it must be of considerable antiquity, and accordingly requested the Council’s official architect to have the soil carefully removed.”

When excavated, it was found to be a Roman boat, constructed out of carved oak.

It was lying 19 feet, 6 inches below high water, and 21 feet 6 inches below the nearby Belvedere Road.

The size of the boat was about 38 feet in length, and 18 feet across.

Within the boat were found four bronze coins, in date ranging from A.D. 268 to 296, portions of leather footwear studded with iron nails, and a quantity of pottery.

There were signs that the boat had been damaged as several rounded stones were found, one of which was embedded in the wood, and there was indication that some of the upper parts of the boat had been burnt.

After excavation, the boat was offered to the Trustees of the London Museum, who accepted, and the boat was removed from site, with the following photo showing the transport of the boat from the excavation site.

It is within a wooden frame to provide some protection.

The boat was put on display in Stafford House, then the home of the London Museum.

The boat was found beneath the silt and Thames mud in an area of damp ground - this created an oxygen free environment which preserved the boat’s timber.

As soon as the boat was exposed, it started to dry out, and over the year the timbers cracked and disintegrated.

Museum of London staff tried to patch up with fillers, but this was long before the chemical means of conservation that we have today were available.

When the Museum of London moved to its current site on London Wall, only a small section was displayed, and this was removed from display when the gallery was refurbished in the mid-1990s.

Some key features of the boat such as joints and main timbers have been preserved as well as they can be after so many years, and are stored in the Museum of London’s remote storage facility, so not available for public display.

The age of the boat seems to be around 300 AD, which is confirmed by the coins discovered in the boat all being earlier.

It is difficult to confirm exactly why the boat was lost on the future site of County Hall - but it was left to rot, until discovery in 1910.

There was much speculation at the time, including in the County Hall booklet, that the boat had been lost in battle in AD 297.

The battle was called ‘The Battle of the Medway’ - which between the forces of Allectus, a Roman-British usurper, and Constantius Chlorus, the Roman Emperor.

This battle was a pivotal event during the Roman occupation of Britain.

Allectus had seized power in Britain in AD 293 after assassinating Carausius, who had previously declared himself emperor of the breakaway Britannic Empire.

Allectus ruled as a usurper for several years, controlling the region and minting his own coins.

Constantius Chlorus, the Caesar of the Western Roman Empire, sought to reassert Roman authority over Britain and remove Allectus from power.

He launched a military campaign to retake the island in AD 296.

The Battle of the Medway was the climax of this campaign.

Constantius Chlorus led a Roman expeditionary force, which likely included both Roman legions and auxiliary troops.

The exact details of the battle are not well-documented, but it is believed to have taken place near the River Medway in southeastern England.

Despite fierce resistance from Allectus's forces, Constantius Chlorus emerged victorious.

Allectus was killed in the battle, and his regime collapsed. With the defeat of Allectus, Roman control over Britain was restored, and the island was reintegrated into the Roman Empire.

Following the Battle of the Medway, Constantius Chlorus continued to consolidate Roman authority in Britain, bringing stability to the region.

He later became Emperor of the Western Roman Empire and played a crucial role in the Tetrarchy, a system of government established by Emperor Diocletian to manage the vast Roman Empire.

The Battle of the Medway marked the end of the brief period of Britannic independence under Allectus and reaffirmed Roman control over Britain until the eventual withdrawal of Roman forces from the island in the early 5th century AD.

Roman London

Roman London, known as Londinium, was founded around 50 AD as a strategic settlement on the River Thames by the Romans during the conquest of Britain under Emperor Claudius.

It was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule.

It quickly grew into a significant urban centre and served as an important commercial and administrative hub for Roman Britain.

Following the foundation of the town in the mid-1st century, early Londinium occupied the relatively small area of 1.4 km2, equivalent to the size of present-day Hyde Park.

During the later decades of the 1st century, Londinium expanded rapidly, becoming Britannia's largest city, and it was provided with large public buildings such as a forum and amphitheatre.

By the 2nd century, Londinium had grown to perhaps 30,000 or 60,000 people, and by the mid-2nd century Londinium was at its height.

Its forum basilica was one of the largest structures north of the Alps when Emperor Hadrian visited Londinium in 122.

Excavations have discovered evidence of a major fire that destroyed much of the city shortly thereafter, but the city was again rebuilt.

By the second half of the 2nd century, Londinium appears to have shrunk in both size and population.

County Hall, London (where the ship was found)

Construction of County Hall began in 1911 and was completed in 1922 - and it was one of the largest civic buildings in London at the time of its completion.

County hall, London is on the South Bank of the Thames, in front of the London Eye.

For 64 years, County Hall served as the headquarters of local government for London.

During the 1980s, the then powerful Labour-controlled GLC was locked in conflict with the Conservative national government of Margaret Thatcher.

The façade of County Hall frequently served as a billboard for opposition slogans which could be seen from the Palace of Westminster.

When the government of Margaret Thatcher abolished the GLC in 1986, County Hall lost its role as the seat of London's government.

Since 1997, the historic building has been the site of the London Aquarium.

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