Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 1.djvu/130

112 were made for the south wing of St. Thomas's Hospital, the foundations, walls, and pavements of a Roman house were discovered, which had been laid upon piles driven into the sand. On this side of the river there was evidence in the remains of buildings reaching almost close to its banks, that much ground had been reclaimed from subjection to periodical overflowings of the river when its banks were low, straggling, and undefined.

These remarks involve the question whether Londinium was confined to the north side of the river. Discoveries of tessellated pavements on and about the site of St. Saviour's church, and other remains of buildings, pottery, lamps, glass vessels, and various domestic utensils and implements throughout the line of High-street, nearly as far as St. George's church, demonstrate the claims of a portion of the Southwark side of the Thames to be comprised within the bounds of Roman London; and these claims are further supported by an ancient extensive burial-ground discovered on the site of that now attached to the dissenters' chapel in Deverill-street, New Kent Road. When the approaches to the new bridge were being cut, an excellent opportunity was afforded for ascertaining at what point the Roman road from Kent did, or did not, reach the river; but the persons in authority over the works made no provision either for the preservation of the antiquities brought to light, or for instituting or even countenancing investigations, which, without impeding the progress of the excavations, might have furnished additional facts to clear up disputed points.

It may, for the present, be sufficient to adduce some arguments in support of the belief that the two divisions of Londinium had a connecting medium somewhere about the site of Old London Bridge. The uninterrupted possession of this locality by a succession of bridges up to the time of the Anglo-Saxons is well authenticated, and is of itself presumptive evidence of a prior erection. Dion Cassius, who lived in the early part of the third century, when recording the invasion of Britain by Claudius, incidentally mentions a bridge over the Thames, and this notice, however indefinite as to locality, seems to determine the early existence of a bridge which the context may incline us to fix at or near London. Other considerations in favour of this opinion, are the extent, population,