BACKSTORY THE SECRETS PAVED INTO LONDON'S ROMAN ROADS

In the British capital, a street can have many names—and surprises—if it’s been around for almost 2,000 years

- Ellen Himelfarb

The A10, one of London’s historic roads constructed back when the Romans set foot in the city, passes through London’s hip Shoreditch address (top), where it is locally known as Shoreditch High Street (previous page).

Roads are like people: You can never presume to know all the stories simmering beneath the surface. British historians tend not to shout about invaders marching up through the centre of London, but the street known on highway signs as the A10 is a route with Roman roots.

In a span of some 145 kilometres, the road stretches from London Bridge to Cambridge and beyond, linking everything from glassy skyscrapers to grassy pastures before branching out to ancient settlements in Norfolk and Yorkshire.

This road’s story begins almost 2,000 years ago, when the Romans marked their arrival in Londinium with a wooden bridge over a narrow stretch of the Thames River. Up the north bank, they built a colonnade, and before it, a lively wharf where they’d unload olive oil, wine, and fish sauce from the old country—anything to make the local food palatable.

The resulting road, referred to as Ermine Street in centuries past, terraced up a gentle hill and levelled off at a great forum, likely about half the size of Rome’s. The road then breached the defensive stone ramparts that surrounded Londinium, before taking a straight shot north.

A DESTINATION ITSELF