Karma la's trip to London

”London Bridge is falling down Falling down, falling down London Bridge is falling down My fair lady.”

The River Thames was a very much wider river in the early days of London. When the Romans first saw it for the first time it was around five times as wide as we see today. Because of the width, it was also much shallower, with small islets forming when the tide was low. It is only man claiming the banks back over the centuries that has narrowed, and deepened the river. This explains why certain areas of London have such a high flood risk, being somewhat lower than the level of the water now. There is no doubt that the conquering Romans must have had a bridge crossing the river somewhere near today’s site. It may have started as a floating pontoon, then a more permanent wooden structure. Either way, they needed one for crossing, as well as defense purposes.