This is the first substantial synthesis of the archaeology of Roman London for nearly 30 years. It exploits a wealth of new evidence derived from decades of developer-funded work, drawing together results from hundreds of excavations into a new landscape history that is both scholarly and approachable.
The chapters have a simple chronological structure, outlining key developments and providing topographic surveys of the city alongside recurring thematic sections on boundaries, people, buildings, cemeteries, industry, etc. These allow Hingley to explore how the urban landscape was transformed over time and developed cultural significance through the experiences and ritual practices of its population (e.g. pp. 3, 242–8). This systematic treatment is one of the book's greatest strengths, and its densely referenced text, plentiful maps and large appendix of sites/publications will make it a valuable reference work, especially for those new to Londinium.
Hingley integrates significant new discoveries, such as the Bloomberg writing tablets, the Plantation Place fort and the Tabard Square temple complex, into his narrative, ensuring it is up to date. However, of equal importance is his synthetic treatment of more commonplace (and now very plentiful) classes of evidence. He maps and reintegrates different types of occupation, ritual behaviour and industrial activity back into the landscape, highlighting some striking spatial patterns/variations in urban character. The book also discusses Londinium's topography and the physical form of its dwellings, monuments and public spaces, as well as more intangible issues such as processional routes; it begins to move us beyond sterile plans comprised only of street grids and public buildings and towards an understanding of the city as a three-dimensional lived-in place. Efforts to consider the identities and everyday lives of the population usefully integrate recent work on epigraphy and aDNA/isotopes but are somewhat limited by the restricted use of other classes of artefactual and environmental evidence. These are crucial to understanding issues like demography, health, the economy, identity and lifestyle. Work on such material has begun to hint at differences in consumption across the city's neighbourhoods (e.g. L. Wallace, The Origins of Roman London, Cambridge 2014, 154–5), potentially complementing Hingley's landscape perspectives. It also helps to situate Londinium within its wider socio-economic context and bring out its distinctive character (e.g. D. Perring and M. Pitts, Alien Cities: Consumption and the Origins of Urbanism in Roman Britain, London 2013; surprisingly not cited here). Hingley rightly highlights the challenges involved in systematically engaging with such material, particularly the lack of recent syntheses for many classes of finds and the habit of consigning ‘specialist’ data to site archives (p. 260). However, large quantities of important and painstakingly collated evidence exist, and, if they are not being utilised by major synthetic projects such as this, then London's archaeologists need to revisit publication strategies and priorities in order to facilitate such work.
This book is a synthesis of previously published work and so much will already be familiar to those working on Roman London. Care is taken to present multiple perspectives on perennial debates and acknowledge their intellectual history, providing the reader with a useful overview and offering balance and nuance to some topics: for example questioning the unhelpful civilian/military dichotomy that dominates recent discussion of London's foundation (chapter 2). Occasionally this even-handedness left this reviewer a little uncertain exactly what Hingley himself believes and it slightly obscures the originality of his contributions. However, there are some refreshing shifts in emphasis here, such as the attention paid to boundaries and watercourses and to mortuary and ritual practices. Perhaps most novel is his treatment of the neglected pre-Roman landscape (chapter 1), which helps dispel the myth that it was a blank canvas and presents some plausible (though unproven) arguments about the funerary significance of the Thames. These are topics that clearly merit more work.
Londinium: A Biography is a substantial achievement and an excellent guide to the city's streets, buildings, cemeteries and watercourses. It highlights the value and scope of the hard work being done by the city's archaeologists and demonstrates both the feasibility and potential of ambitious synthetic work on the resulting data. Further work is needed to engage with the detail of urban life and to place Londinium in its wider context, but this book will be an invaluable aid to anyone approaching these tasks.
