A Classical Tour Through Italy and Sicily

Travel writer, photographer and ancient history addict Ethel Davies chats to Heritage Key about her adventures in the Roman world.

Roman water wheels, bridges and churches, Anglo-Saxon graveyards and Bronze Age skeletons - they've all been found buried beneath Britain's venerable capital city. We select 20 of the most important and fascinating ancient world discoveries made in London.

The Romans didn't just set out to conquer - they aimed for integration, cultural influence and improvement. How did they do this and can echoes of their imperial strategies be seen in the history of the British Empire, or even in the military invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan?

The foundation of Roman Londinium in 47 AD is the starting point of the history of London as a city. But there’s lots of evidence to suggest that humans lived, farmed, fought, worshipped and died on the banks of the Thames for hundreds and even thousands of years before that.

From humble beginnings as little more than a bridge across a river, London was the city built by Romans, burnt by the Britons, then rebuilt many more times until becoming an uninhabited ruins by 500 AD.