Londinium's Landward Wall: Material Acquisition, Supply and Construction

Abstract

The construction of a free-standing stone wall was a significant occasion in Londinium's history, remarkable for the quantity of masonry used and for the continuing additions to the defences over at least three identifiable phases. Since the local geology in the London Basin does not offer suitable building stone, Londinium's walls offer an exceptional example by which to examine the logistics of construction and the transportation of materials in the context of Romano-British building projects. We examine the sources of the materials used, their transport and the scale of labour and investment involved in the construction of the Landward Wall using an energetics-based methodology. Finally, we provide new insights into Londinium's Landward Wall and the socio-economic and practical implications of its construction. Supplementary material is available online (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X21000088) and comprises technical data related to the architectural energetics.