Roman City Wall exhibition at Vine Street reveals 2,000 years of London life

Walk through the glass and steel of the modern City and it is easy to miss what still lies beneath. At Vine Street, just a short turn off Aldgate, one of the best-preserved stretches of London’s Roman City wall has been uncovered, now displayed in a purpose-built subterranean gallery. It feels both unexpected and oddly fitting: a fragment of Londinium framed by skyscrapers, still holding its place after nearly two millennia.

The wall once encircled a settlement of around 25,000. Built in the late second century with Kentish ragstone carried upriver from Maidstone, it rose 14 feet high. To the Romans, it was more than a line of defence against Saxon raiders, it was a symbol of confidence and wealth, much as the Shard and Gherkin are to the skyline today.

Fragments remain scattered across the Square Mile. A stretch stands proud opposite the Tower of London; another on Cooper’s Row still shows the arrow slits from which medieval archers once fired. Perhaps the most surprising sits in a Barbican car park, a collision of brutalist concrete and Roman masonry. Vine Street brings those scattered traces together with context, carefully preserved alongside artefacts that chart daily life across the centuries.

Coins bearing the face of Emperor Vespasian, shards of pottery, combs, tankards and clay pipes all speak of ordinary existence at the wall’s edge. A German jug from the 1600s, engraved with the face of a bearded man, recalls convivial evenings of wine or beer. Some finds are more unsettling: vessels once filled with hair, blood and urine, buried outside homes to ward off witches.

And then there is the small, almost throwaway detail that catches everyone’s eye. In one section of masonry, paw prints cross the stone. A Roman cat walked across the fresh mortar, leaving its mark as the builders carried on with their work. Two thousand years later, that light-footed act survives, a reminder that London’s history is as much about everyday life as it is about kings, emperors and fire.

The wall has seen all of it. The Great Fire of London began close by on Pudding Lane, with Charles II himself rowing to Queenhithe to help fight the flames. Plague, siege, commerce and rebuilding all left their traces here. Later, the livery companies, Vintners, Grocers, Fishmongers, Merchant Taylors, took shape around it, embedding themselves into City life in ways still visible today.

For all the weight of its history, the Square Mile is now home to fewer than 10,000 residents, a smaller community than in Roman times. Weekdays see millions pour through its offices, bars and restaurants, while at weekends it empties almost completely. Standing beside the Roman City wall at Vine Street, it is hard not to think of those who built and lived alongside it, their daily routines, their rituals, their cats, and the echoes they left behind.

The City Wall, 12 Jewry Street, EC3N 2HT. Details at citywallvinestreet.org.

For more features exploring London’s history and cultural heritage, follow EyeOnLondon City for intelligent storytelling that goes beyond the obvious.

Follow us on:

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest videos and updates!

We value your thoughts! Share your feedback and help us make EyeOnLondon even better!