![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() As they left, invaders from all over Europe filled their place, building settlements and forts along the river or taking advantage of the preexisting London settlement. Of course, nothing lasts forever, and by the 5th Century, the Empire was in decline and Roman London with it. They also discovered that the tides would carry their boats about 50 miles inland without the need for wind or muscle power. The Romans built the first man-made bridge across the river during this time. Under the Romans, the settlement was a major trading port and this success eventually made it the capital of Roman Britain at the end of the 1st Century. Eventually, the Romans landed in the area around 50 A.D. Staines and Runnymeade sites showed evidence of permanent settlements, and by the Bronze Age, people living along the Thames were using it to trade with continental Europe. Archaeologists suggest the area could have been inhabited 400,000 years ago. The Romans weren’t the first to settle the area of the Thames that became London. It wasn’t until about 3,000 years ago that the river took the form we would recognize. During this time, the river was approximately ten times the size it is now, due to melting ice sheets. Thirty million years ago, the Thames was actually a tributary of the Rhine, well before the landmass was transformed into an island following the Ice Age. The name of the river originates from the Celtic “Tamesas”, which meant “dark”, and was recorded in Latin as “Tamesis”. The River Thames runs for 205 miles and London is the largest city on its banks. In the most prosperous of these places, the world’s greatest cities formed. From the earliest times, human settlements formed in these places where fish could be found, crops could be irrigated, and goods could be sent or received. It’s no coincidence that many great cities can be found on rivers. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |