There is archaeological evidence for scattered Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement nearby, but until a bridge was built there, London did not exist. Both embankments, particularly the northern, would have offered stable beachheads for boat traffic up and downstream – the Thames and its estuary were a major inland and Continental trade route from at least the 9th century BC. Between the embankments, the River Thames could have been crossed by ford when the tide was low, or ferry when it was high. From the late Neolithic era the southern embankment formed a natural causeway above the surrounding swamp and marsh of the river's estuary the northern ascended to higher ground at the present site of Cornhill. The abutments of modern London Bridge rest several metres above natural embankments of gravel, sand and clay. The crossing also delineates an area along the southern bank of the River Thames, between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, that has been designated as a business improvement district. It carries the A3 road, which is maintained by the Greater London Authority. The modern bridge is owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates, an independent charity of medieval origin overseen by the City of London Corporation. London Bridge has been depicted in its several forms, in art, literature, and songs, including the nursery rhyme " London Bridge Is Falling Down", and the epic poem The Waste Land by T. Until Putney Bridge opened in 1729, London Bridge was the only road crossing of the Thames downstream of Kingston upon Thames. The approaches to the medieval bridge were marked by the church of St Magnus-the-Martyr on the northern bank and by Southwark Cathedral on the southern shore. The current bridge stands at the western end of the Pool of London and is positioned 30 metres (98 ft) upstream from previous alignments. This was preceded by a succession of timber bridges, the first of which was built by the Roman founders of London. It replaced a 19th-century stone-arched bridge, which in turn superseded a 600-year-old stone-built medieval structure. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It is the oldest road-crossing location on the river. Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Various wooden bridges (circa AD 50 – 1176).
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