Today was a busy day and it's late here, so I apologize because this post is not going to be what it deserves.
This morning Ethan and I decided to go see St. Paul's Cathedral. We had decided not to go in because of the cost, but to walk around and see the exterior. We wandered around the massive cathedral, taking in the 365' dome. Outside the front entrance of the church, stands a statue of Queen Anne, the first Queen of Great Britain.
St. Paul's was an important image of British resilience in the face of the German attacks during World War II. The cathedral was struck with three bombs, two which detonated and caused damage, but not enough severely harm the building. The third bomb was successfully defused and removed. A famous image of St. Paul's surrounded by the smoke of London on fire became a rallying image for the British, and the world, against the German Blitz.
We then headed to Southwark Cathedral, where Ethan was meeting with dean of the cathedral. We also wanted to visit as the cathedral was where Ethan's priest and mentor had been ordained (plus the cathedral has plenty of history). The cathedral sits in the parish nearest to the Globe Theater, so it has strong connections to William Shakespeare and his troop. His brother is even buried there.
While we were in the church, Ethan attended a morning prayer service in the Harvard Chapel. The Harvard Chapel is named for John Harvard, the benefactor whose gift changed the name of New College to Harvard College in 1639. John Harvard was baptized in the Southwark Cathedral.
After lunch Ethan headed to his meeting and I started my tour of Roman London. I decided to walk to a wall section at Tower Hill from Southwark Cathedral. My route took me across Tower Bridge, which gave me a great view of two of London's newest buildings. The lower building is the City Hall of London, built in 2002 and known as the "Armadillo" (or some more vulgar options), and the taller is the Shard, built in 2012. They certainly add flair into the London skyline.
I then made my way back to the Tower of London and went up the hill behind it. It provided a new perspective of the fortress, and one I think that most tourists miss. I think from this angle it becomes more clear how over time pieces were added to the fortress.
Just above the Tower of London is a remnant of the Roman city walls. The walls would have stood over 20' high and had a sentry's walk. There's also evidence that they had tours built in intervals around the wall. The current remains were adapted in the medieval times, but the use of Roman bricks can still be seen lower down.
I tried to follow the London Wall Walk from the Tower of London to the Museum of London, which houses much of the Roman archaeology of the city, but failed. I think construction blocked the route, but I soon got lost and decided to head more directly to the museum. The one advantage of this is the route took me right by yet another of London's newest skyscrapers. 30 St. Mary Axe, better known as the Gherkin, was completed in 2003 and opened the following year. I tend to think it looks more like a pinecone than a pickle.
After a solid day of walking, I made it to the Museum of London. I began my tour in the earliest periods of London's history. One of the highlights of the collection is the skull of an aurochs, a wild ox that stood around 6' tall and thought to have inhabited Britain between 245,000-186,000 BCE.
Skipping ahead many thousands of years, these stone mace-heads from c. 2500 BCE were probably a marker of status and authority. The rare marbled stone would have made them rarer, therefore representing leadership.
These coins come from the Sunbury Hoard, which dates between 100 and 50 BCE. The image on the left depicts a "highly stylized" Apollo and a butting bull. This is particularly interesting as Julius Caesar first invaded Britain in 55/54 BCE. These coins, if interpreted correctly, show that Mediterranean powers had been trading with the British natives before Caesar's invasion.
I made my way into the Roman section, which followed the history of Londinium from beginning to end. A moment of London's Roman history that has always fascinated me is the destruction in the 60s CE at the hands of Boudicca. As the Roman governor was campaigning against the Druids in northern Wales, Boudicca, queen of the Icenii, ravaged southeastern England. She burned both London and St. Albans. Eventually, when he had hurried back, the Roman governor was able to subdue the uprising. The skull below, found in Walbrook Stream, is believed to be a victim of Boudicca's devastation.
A temple to Mithras, a Persian god beloved by the Roman army, was found in London in 1954. The site has had a deal of controversy, with all the remains being moved and then being rebuilt inaccurately. The Mithraeum is now currently being worked on and restored in a more accurate manner, which sadly makes it unaccessible. Luckily for me, some of the pieces of the Mithraeum are in the Museum of London.
There is evidence that around 350 BCE the Mithraeum was rededicated to Bacchus. Some sculptures, like the one below, were re-carved to depict Bacchus, when they had originally shown Mithras.
I could go on for a long time about what I saw in the Roman section of the Museum of London, but sadly, it is late and I'm still trying to process it all!
Ethan met me at the museum and managed to look at basically the whole collection in the time it took me to go through about half of the Roman section. After I finally finished, I had him show me some of his highlights from the other parts of the museum. One of the first ones he showed me as this century old model of the old St. Paul's. The St. Paul's depicted was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.
We also saw an early printed book containing the Naturalis Historia by Pliny the Elder. I think the illustrations certainly helped readers understand the massive tome, which covers topics ranging from astronomy to zoology to mining to painting.
Another favorite piece of mine was fragments of broken stained glass windows, smashed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. This has really become a theme of my trip, with all the churches I've seen. The fractured glass and bent metal really captured the destruction the Dissolution caused for me.
I'm sorry I can't capture this day to the fullest. It was really wonderful to explore Roman London in the Museum of London (although I did have questions about their collection and use of replication). Certainly showed me a lot about the Roman side of a wonderful city!
Fun Fact #32: Going of yesterday's sidetone, today I stumbled upon this list of plants that were introduced (or attempted to be introduced) to London by the Romans:
Cherry
Cucumber
Fig
Grape
Mulberry
Pea
Walnut
Apple
Pear
Hazel
Plum
Lentil
Quince
Olive
Stone Pine
Peach
Coriander
Rue
Dill
Summer Savory
Fennel
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