A prestigious Roman building complex on the Southwark waterfront : excavations at Winchester Palace, London, 1983-90

Excavations upstream of Roman London bridge in north Southwark uncovered evidence for mid 1st-century AD land reclamation and the establishment of a road and buildings.

The waterfront was extended northwards in c AD 80 and new buildings, including rectangular and circular masonry buildings associated with grain storage, were constructed around a newly aligned yard or roadway. In the early 2nd century a prestigious new building complex, established on a different alignment, may have had a military or administrative purpose.

Ranges of rooms, some plastered and elaborately painted, enclosed a courtyard bath suite.

Some of these buildings continued in use until the late 4th century.