Vehicle    From 200 

Roman boat

Categories: Romans

In 1958-60 a Roman boat was discovered in what is now almost five metres under the Guy's Cancer Centre. It is 15 metres long and is believed to have sunk, AD 190 - 225, in what is now known as the Guy's Channel - a tributary of the River Thames which existed from the prehistoric to medieval periods.

MOLA provide a summary of their Archaeological evaluation report: "In 1958 and 1960, two portions of a well-preserved carvel-built, Roman sailing barge were uncovered at Guy's Hospital. An unpublished excavation over the site of the southern part of the vessel in 1965, apparently revealed an ex-situ frame. This vessel was abandoned in the Guy's Channel in c AD 190-225, then preserved by burial under moist fluvial sediments (Ships of the Port of Roman London: 1st to 11th C, by Peter Marsden, 1994, p97). In 2010 more of the mid-ships section (part of 4 frames and hull planking) was uncovered, plus evidence of keel planking. This palaeochannel was cut into terrace gravel and originally was connected to the Thames. Over time the channel filled with standing water sediments and by 1746, it had became a series of landlocked pools (Great Maze Pond), which from the 17th C onward were infilled by dumping vast amounts of finds rich domestic rubbish. Maps show that by 1799, the pools had disappeared and that by 1875 Hop Warehouses (serving local breweries) had been constructed over the site; these were destroyed during the Blitz."

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Roman boat

Commemorated ati

Roman boat - Guys Cancer Centre

A boat or a particularly vicious knuckle-duster? We have assumed that the Bo...

Read More

Other Subjects

Horace

Horace

Quintus Horatius Flaccus (8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC) was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (aka Octavian). 

Person, Literature, Romans

3 memorials
Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Roman dictator, politician and general. Born Circa 100 BC. Ruled Rome in a triumvirate with Crassus and Pompey, eventually assuming sole control. Invaded Britain twice, in 55 and 54 BC. Famously as...

Person, Armed Forces, Politics & Administration, Romans, Italy

1 memorial
Roman warehouse

Roman warehouse

The picture source says "Near the Courage Brewery Site archaeologists found the complete wooden floor of a riverside warehouse. Nothing like this has been found anywhere else. The basement would ha...

Building, Commerce, Romans

1 memorial
London Stone

London Stone

Elizabeth I's occultist, John Dee, believed this stone had magic powers. Elsewhere you may read that it is connected to the Roman Brutus but that story was fabricated in 1862. The Museum of London ...

Building, Romans, Tourism / Traditions

2 memorials
Roman wharf - Fish Street Hill

Roman wharf - Fish Street Hill

A piling from the Roman river wall found in Fish Street Hill in 1931 is thought to date from AD 75 and to have been destroyed in the AD 120 fire that destroyed Roman London.  That's the second Grea...

Building, Romans

1 memorial