The history of London – five historic objects

Koh-i-Noor Diamond

Some 300 years later during the reign of Queen Victoria, the British Empire was at its zenith, a trading and military power that covered the world. One of the best-known objects that arrived in the capital at the time was the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond, which today forms part of the Crown Jewels on display at the Tower of London, where it sits elegantly against the purple velvet of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother’s crown. The diamond is thought to have been found in southern India between 1100 and 1300, unearthed from a dry river bed, and came into British hands in the 19th-century. The 186-carat gem, whose name means ‘Mountain of Light’ in Persian, was the embodiment of the monarch as a global leader and London as the dominant world city of the time. The diamond has had a turbulent and contested history. It was acquired by different rulers of the Indian subcontinent and has left turmoil and bloodshed in its wake.

The Tower of London, EC3N 4AB

London Mithraeum

Fast forward over 2000 years and the arrival of the Romans in England saw some of the first settlements springing up along the River Thames. Around 7m/30ft below the city streets, under Bloomberg’s European headquarters, lies the Roman-era Temple of Mithras. Reached by steep, darkened stairs, the temple dates to around 240 AD and was built by the Romans to the god Mithras, roughly 200 years after London was founded. This bull-slaying deity was beloved of soldiers, merchants and imperial administrators, who met in underground temples by the light of flaring torches. The ruins were first uncovered in 1954 during the excavation of a Second World War bomb site, and it was identified as a ‘Mithraeum’ after the god’s carved head was discovered.

London Mithraeum, 12 Walbrook, EC4N 8AA

Hippopotamus vertebra

It’s hard to believe that London was once home to wolves, hippos, rhinos, and mammoths, but there’s proof of this at the Museum of London, where you’ll find a hippopotamus vertebra among other ancient native animal remains. This particular fossil, which takes us on a journey through time to London before it ever existed, was found in deposits at Waterloo Place, Lower Regent Street and dates to between 130,000 and 110,000 BC. You’ll also come across a hippo molar, which was found at Avenue Road in Brentford. Through their presence, we know the climate was temperate and as they lived by rivers, the winters were not cold enough for the waters to freeze.

Museum of London, 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN

© Museum of London