Roman roads in Britannia section of Watling Street was begun in the years following the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD, it may have been known to the Romano-Britons as the "Via Claudia" in honour of Emperor Claudius (r.41-54 AD) who led the military campaign. The only Anglo-Saxon name which might be etymologically linked to an original Roman name is the Fosse Way between Exeter and Lincoln. "Fosse" may derive from "fossa", the Latin word for "ditch". But this is likely to be attributable to a popular, rather than official, Roman name for the route. Generally the Roman roads in Britain have names
Roman Road, London whether the Romans marched along what is now the Roman Road, which runs more or less parallel to the Roman road which connected London to Colchester. Roman remains were found in an 1845 dig on the current site of Armagh Road, and there have been further Roman finds since, which seems to justify the name. Early maps show a 'Driftway', or footpath, where the Roman Road now runs in an area that was rural up to the middle of the 19th century (old maps show a windmill near the present Ford Close). Old Ford is the main road and a