London’s first Roman basilica found under office block
Archaeologists hail discovery of near-2,000-year-old remains as among
most significant recent finds in the city
Esther Addley
Thu 13 Feb
2025 14.22 GMT
The remains of London’s earliest Roman basilica have been discovered
under an office block, in what archaeologists have described as one of the most
significant recent discoveries in the capital.
The almost 2,000-year-old structure was part of the forum, the Roman
capital’s social and administrative centre, and built around the late 70s or
early 80s CE, just a few decades after the Romans invaded Britain and 20 years after Boudicca sacked and burned the city in 60CE.
Situated on a high point in the city on a raised platform, the forum was a large open space about
the size of a football pitch, lined with shops and other buildings. The
basilica, at its heart, functioned as a kind of town hall, in which important political and judicial decisions were made.
Intriguingly, archaeologists
believe the excavated section
contains the tribunal, a designated part of the basilica where important
officials would have sat on a raised stage to
adjudicate on the main issues affecting the capital of the new Roman
outpost.
The structure was short-lived, however, being replaced in about AD100 by
a much bigger forum built on the same site.
Describing the find as “one
of the most significant discoveries made in the city in recent years”, Sophie
Jackson, the director of development at Mola, the Museum of London Archaeology,
said: “It’s like discovering the speaker’s chair and chamber of the House of
Commons, 2,000 years into the future. The levels of preservation of the
basilica have far exceeded our expectations, and we have possibly the most
important part of the building.
“Excitingly, we’ve only just scratched the surface of this site’s
potential through our initial investigations.”
The remains were discovered in 2023 as part of the redevelopment of an office building at 85 Gracechurch Street, next to the entrance to the historic Leadenhall market at the heart of the City of London.
Task 1. Comment on the
title of the article.
Task 2. Read and
translate the article paying attention to the words and phrases in bold.
Task 3. Find the English equivalents of the following words and phrases.
1)
разграбить и сжечь город
2) вторгаться в
3) зал для заседаний
4) археолог
5) находка
6) перепланировка
7) выносить решения по основным
вопросам
8) руины
9) принимать политические и судебные
решения
10) Римская базилика
11) раскопанный участок
Task 4. Make up some sentences of your own with the words and
phrases in bold.
Task 5. Act out a
dialogue using the new vocabulary.
Task 6. Read the
article a second time and be ready to discuss in the classroom:
-
what was the author’s intention to tell the general
public about
-
what is the main idea/ problem raised
-
speak on the logical devision
Task 7. Write a
rendering of the article. Mind the
rules of a rendering writing. (second lesson)
