Londinium Welsh or Old English names, as their original Roman names have been entirely lost due to the lack of written and inscribed sources. (It was customary elsewhere to name roads after the emperor during whose principate they were completed, but the number and vicinity of routes completed during the time of Claudius would seem to have made this impractical in Britain's case.) The road from the Kentish ports of Rutupiae (Richborough), Dubris (Dover), and Lemanis (Lympne) via Durovernum (Canterbury) seems to have first crossed the Thames at a natural ford near Westminster before being diverted north to the new bridge
Dubris site of the investiture of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. At its peak, Dubris was a major trading centre, taking over from Rutupiae as the main Roman cross-Channel port. With Rutupiae, it was one of the starting points for Watling Street, the Roman road to Canterbury and, ultimately, London. During the construction of the new A256/York Street bypass in the 1970s Roman remains were discovered and an eight-week excavation followed. The archaeologists discovered a Roman mansio now known as the "Roman Painted House". The mansio, a hostel for government officials, was built in c. 200. It was discovered