Does anyone know where I might find more detailed information about the London To Lewes Roman Road? There is a pathetic book on sale in the market for £14.99, which gives hardly any info at all--it should cost a fiver max! http://www.transportdiversions.com/publ ... pubid=6313
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK! It's the biggest pile of crap I've ever seen...
Here's some articles I found:
Where can I find out the exact supposed alignment from London to Lower Sydenham? Based on the article above I predict the alignment would carry on north through the "Castle-lands" area, otherwise known as Bellingham! But where would it have crossed the Pool River? Near the extinguished footbridge from Elm Lane?
Am I allowed to do some digging next to the footbridge??? I thought it would be 5 foot underneath ground, but it's only about 14 inches!?!? Why haven't more excavations been done?? The book above is from 1965! Nothing has happened since then? No info about this road online, like the site we have for the Croydon Canal etc.
Falkor wrote:Am I allowed to do some digging next to the footbridge??? I thought it would be 5 foot underneath ground, but it's only about 14 inches!?!? Why haven't more excavations been done??
I would say "no". The area is a designated site of archaeological interest. Unless you know what you are doing you could do more harm than good, possibly destroying for ever vital evidence.
There have been at least two attempts to find traces of the road in Lower Sydenham, the most recent in 2003. This involved a large trench in the Firhill Playing Fields (other side of railway line from Savacentre). Unfortunately they found no evidence of a Roman road and in fact one of the archaeologists suggested that it "may be a figment of our imagination".
The other dig was conducted by members of the Lewisham Local History Society in the 1960s, nearer to the bridge. You should be able to see reports of both of these digs at the local history centre.
I've uploaded pictures I took of the 2003 dig [here].
The main trench was dug parallel to the railway line, just after the supposed route had crossed the river and then the railway. The trench was roughly aligned with the words "Boro By" and extended north across the route, as it is marked on the map. The fact that little evidence of the road was found does not, of course, mean that it did not exist, only that so far the precise alignment in this area has not been discovered.
Nice one; that's more like it! Some excellent pictures there of the trench... good work, Steve! It would be interesting to plot it's length on the map above to see just how close it came to the supposed alignment hypothesised in that book.
Is that Roman pottery in the tray? If so then it must be the first artefacts ever found to indicate possible Roman settlement anywhere in the Lewisham borough?
But where would it have crossed the Pool River? Near the extinguished footbridge from Elm Lane?
I thought it would be 5 foot underneath ground, but it's only about 14 inches!?!? 
Why haven't more excavations been done?? The book above is from 1965! Nothing has happened since then? No info about this road online, like the site we have for the Croydon Canal etc. 
But the London-to-Lewes Roman Road theory is doomed anyhow...
