Page - 136 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

136 AdamRogers parts of thewetlandswere reclaimedandasectionof the riverwas canalised,67makinga large impacton theway inwhich theareawouldhavebeenexperienced.The localpeople, especially perhaps the elite, need not necessarily have been against the town if it continued to develop andadd to the importanceof thesite. Thewatery context remainedan important componentof the identity of the inhabitants and the experienceof theplace. The townatWinchester, established in the lateAD60sorAD70s,was constructedwith its western half overlapping the earthworks of the Iron Age oppidum known as Oram’s Arbour alongside the River Itchen, probably dating to the 2nd century BC, but there are also traces of IronAgeactivitycloser to theriver itself.68Neither theOram’sArbournor theearlyRomantown haddefenceson the eastern side facing the river, suggesting that the floodplainand riverwere integral parts of the settlement plans and identities of the occupants. The public buildings of the Roman townwere constructed on a tufa islandwithin the floodplain of the Itchen,which demanded considerable land reclamation.69 The river itself was redirected around the new town, transforming this place through representations of power. There certainly seem to have beenmore considerations taken regarding the town locationhere than simply those relating to practicality or economic benefits. The process of town construction would have dramatically altered this area,which it is possible to see as adeliberate act of control anddemonstrationof power. Returning to London,we have seen how the landscapewas used and altered as the town developed, whichwill have had an impact on human agency and interactionwith the place. Studies of the development of Roman London have always focused on whether there was a military presence in the initial stages of settlement here orwhether the towndeveloped firstly as a commercial venture that then later gained prominence and importance. In fact, it seems likely that therewas bothmilitary and non-military input here during the course of the early stagesofdevelopmentof the town,sinceeven if therewasno immediateestablishmentofa fort or fortress, it does appear that therewas a small fort established early in the life of the settle- ment as identified through excavations at the Plantation Place site.70 Despite the uncertainty about the very early stages of settlement at London, it does seemclear that the landscape con- tinued to have an impact on the residents as the town developed and grew. Themany rivers and streams that formed part of the waterscape had an impact on human activity and this includes actions associatedwith religious belief and associatedwithmeanings attached to el- ements of thewaterscape. TheWalbrook stream,whichnow lies below street level, ran through the town, effectively creating an east andwest split. Excavations along the side ofwhere theWalbrookwouldhave flowed in theRomanperiod have, over the years, identified this zone as quite a focus for reli- gious activity, including a number of temples or shrines, including a mithraeum, and some activities indicatedbyunusualobjects found in thevicinity, includingcultpots.71 The low-lying andwatery nature of the locationmeant that themithraeumstructurewas subject to flooding andtherewereanumberofphasesof repairandreconstructing.72Thisconcentrationofactivity maysuggest that thisareawas religiously important, and this is indicated furtherby thecollec- tion of objects, especiallymetalwork, uncovered along the river. Much of thismaterial is well preservedbecause of thewet nature of the deposits. Thenature of the deposits suggested that someof it at leastwas theresultofdredgingor themovementofmaterial fromtheriverat some point in the past, indicating that the objectsmay oncehave beenwithin the river itself. Ralph 67 Jones 2002, 21–24. 68 Qualmannet al. 2004. 69 Zant 1993, 3. 70 Dunwoodie et al. 2015. 71 Bird 1996; Shepherd 1998;Hill –Rowsome2011;Wardle 2011. 72 Shepherd 1998.