Editing Southwark (section)

===Rome===
[[File:Reconstruction drawing of Londinium in 120 AD, Museum of London (34881481351).jpg|thumb|London in 120 AD, showing the original high-tide waterline around Southwark, to the left (south)]]
[[File:Map Londinium 400 AD-en.svg|thumb|Londinium in 400 AD: A narrow strip of firm ground on the Southwark side, provided an opportunity to bridge the Thames. The bridge was central to the foundation of Londinium.]]
[[File:Stelalondon.jpg|thumb|Museum of London, inscription on a [[stele]] that mentions 'Londoners' for the first time]]
Recent excavation has revealed pre-Roman activity including evidence of early [[ploughing]], [[burial mounds]] and ritual activity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prehistoric Southwark {{!}} Southwark Council |url=https://www.southwark.gov.uk/planning-environment-and-building-control/planning/design-and-conservation/archaeology-and-2 |website=Southwark Council}}</ref>

The natural geography of Southwark (now much altered by human activity), was the principal determining factor for the location of London Bridge, and therefore London itself.

====Natural setting====
Until relatively recent times, the Thames in central London was much wider and shallower at high tide. The natural shoreline of the City Of London was a short distance further back than it is now, and the high tide shoreline on the Southwark side was much further back, except for the area around London Bridge.

Southwark was mostly made up of a series of often marshy tidal islands in the Thames, with some of the waterways between these island formed by branches of the [[River Neckinger]], a tributary of the Thames. A narrow strip of higher firmer ground ran on a N-S alignment and, even at high tide, provided a much narrower stretch of water, enabling the Romans to bridge the river.

As the lowest bridging point of the Thames in [[Roman Britain]], it determined the position of [[Londinium]]; without London Bridge there is unlikely to have been a settlement of any importance in the area; previously the main crossing had been a ford near [[Vauxhall Bridge]]. Because of the bridge and the establishment of London, the Romans routed two [[Roman road]]s into Southwark: [[Stane Street (Chichester)|Stane Street]] and [[Watling Street]] which met in what in what is now [[Borough High Street]].

For centuries London Bridge was the only Thames bridge in the area, until a bridge was built upstream more than {{convert|10|miles|km}} to the west.{{NoteTag|Namely [[Kingston Bridge, London]] from at least 1190s until the building of closer bridges since, starting with Putney Bridge in 1729.}}

====Archaeological finds====
In February 2022, archaeologists from the [[Museum of London Archaeology]] (MOLA) announced the discovery of a well-preserved massive Roman [[mosaic]] which is believed to date from A.D. 175–225. The dining room ([[triclinium]]) mosaic was patterned with knot patterns known as the [[Solomon's knot]] and dark red and blue floral and geometric shapes known as [[Guilloché|guilloche]].<ref>{{Cite web |first=Jeevan |last=Ravindran |title=London's largest Roman mosaic in 50 years discovered by archaeologists |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/roman-mosaic-london-discovery-scli-scn-intl-gbr/index.html |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=CNN |date=23 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharp |first=Sarah Rose |date=2022-02-24 |title=Large Roman Mosaic Discovered in Central London |url=http://hyperallergic.com/713581/large-roman-mosaic-discovered-in-central-london/ |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=Hyperallergic |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldstein |first=Caroline |date=2022-02-24 |title=Digging in the Shadows of London's Shard, Archaeologists Discovered a 'Once-in-a-Lifetime Find': a Shockingly Intact Roman Mosaic |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/roman-mosaic-unearthed-in-london-2077551 |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Solomon |first=Tessa |date=2022-02-24 |title=Archaeologists Uncover London's Largest Roman Mosaic in 50 Years |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/largest-roman-mosaic-london-found-50-years-1234620022/ |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Archaeological work at [[Tabard Street]] in 2004 discovered a plaque with the earliest reference to 'Londoners' from the Roman period on it.

====End of Roman Southwark====
Londinium was abandoned at the end of the Roman occupation in the early 5th century and both the city and its bridge collapsed in decay.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Medieval Southwark {{!}} Southwark Council |url=https://www.southwark.gov.uk/planning-environment-and-building-control/planning/design-and-conservation/archaeology-and/medieval |website=Southwark Council}}</ref> The settlement at Southwark, like the main settlement of London to the north of the bridge, had been more or less abandoned, a little earlier, by the end of the fourth century.<ref>Naismith, Rory, ''Citadel of the Saxons'', p. 35, 2019.</ref>