THE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES OF THE NEW ROMAN COLONISTS. This article by Hannah Osborne in the International Business Times and this article in the Daily Mail describe some of the newly found documents. The documents reflect every day life in what was a new Roman colony.
I am always pleased when evidence of Roman commercial activity is found. Among the tablets found, one document is a financial record of money owed which bears the date January 8, 57 AD, only fourteen years after the Romans conquered Britain. Another document is a contract from October 21, 62 AD, to bring “twenty loads of provisions” from modern day St Albans in Hertfordshire to London. The writings also include references to beer deliveries and evidence of an early beer baron whose empire stretched from London to Carlisle.
According to the Daily Mail article, the man who has translated the documents said “The documents showed the business activities of the ‘carpet-bagging community’ of early London. It was the new wild west frontier of the Roman Empire, with people streaming in behind the Roman army and exploiting the new province.”