London Wall
London Wall is the strategic city wall that the Romans built around Londinium, in order to protect the city, which had the important port on the River Thames. Until the late Middle Ages, this city wall formed the boundaries of London. Today London Wall is also the name of a street that runs along a remaining section of the city wall.
Construction of the Roman wall
The wall was built in the late second or early third century, probably 190-225, probably between 200 and 220 It came thus about eighty years after the companies in the year 120 construction of the fortress, reinforced its northern and western walls and in the height were doubled to form part of the new city walls. The plant was expanded until at least the end of the fourth century. It is one of the last major construction projects of the Romans before their withdrawal from Britain in 410
The exact reason for the construction of the wall is not known, but is likely related to the incidence of Picts are in the north of Britain, who had overrun Hadrian's Wall in 180 years. However, some historians connect the building with a political crisis that emerged in the 190 years when two men - Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus - raised both entitled to the right of the ruler. The wall could therefore have been built on the orders of Albinus, who might have viewed the protection of their capital as a necessity because of the power struggle with his rival. Septimius defeated his rival in the year 197
In addition to the Hadrian's Wall and the road network, the wall was one of the largest construction projects during the presence of the Romans in Britain. The wall was largely built of stones that were brought by water from the area of today's Maidstone to Londinium. It has been calculated that more than 1,300 ship carts were necessary to heranzuschaffen about 85,000 tons of these stones from Kent. The length of the wall was a little less than five kilometers, they included an area of 130 hectares. Its thickness was two to three meters and the height of about six feet. On the outside was a ditch that was two feet deep and between three and five meters wide. At least 22 bastions at intervals of about 65 meters each were located in the eastern part of the wall. In the western part of the wall, as the well-preserved example of the Barbican Estate, next to the church of St Giles - without- Cripplegate, the bastions were added in the 13th century.
The construction of the wall and Septimius ' campaign for the conquest of Scotland at the beginning of the 3rd century meant an economic revival for Londinium. In the second half of the 3rd century Londinium was repeatedly plundered by Saxony. To 280 began because of the construction of a city wall on the river side.
City gates
The city wall had to Londinium with other cities Britain joined a number of city gates, which allowed within the city walls of the access to the important Roman roads. From west to east clockwise followed Ludgate, Newgate, Cripplegate, Bishopsgate and Aldgate. Aldersgate between Newgate and Cripplegate was added to 350 and Moorgate between Cripplegate and Bishopsgate was built later, in the Middle Ages. Thus London later had seven gates. Some of these city gates, which no longer exist for a long time, are still through naming streets or neighborhoods currently. Because of the rapid growth of the city, the number of gates was increased in the Middle Ages to accommodate the increasing traffic. The walls were reinforced and partially built upon it.
The boundaries of the City of London ceased to coincide with the old city wall, as the city its jurisdiction in the Middle Ages expanded, especially westward over the River Fleet also - along what is now Fleet Street to Temple Bar City was also associated with the other settlements up to the local turnpikes outside the London Wall a, about Holborn, Aldersgate, Bishopsgate and Aldgate. These districts were to major access routes into the City and their control was necessary to maintain the special privileges of the city on certain commodities.