<P> However, modern translations make it clear that Laing was using the nursery rhyme as a model for his very free translation, and the reference to London Bridge does not appear at the start of the verse and it is unlikely that this is an earlier version of the nursery rhyme . Some historians have raised the possibility that the attack never took place . However, the original document detailing the attack was written only about 100 years after what would be a famous event in a highly populated area, leading the majority of historians to conclude that the account is at least relatively accurate . While it might or might not be the origin of the rhyme, this would make King Olaf's victory the only historically recorded incidence of London Bridge "falling down ." </P> <P> The theory that the song refers to the burying, perhaps alive, of children in the foundations of the bridge was first advanced by Alice Bertha Gomme (later Lady Gomme) in The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland (1894--1898) and perpetuated by the usually sceptical Iona and Peter Opie . This was based around the idea that a bridge would collapse unless the body of a human sacrifice were buried in its foundations and that the watchman is actually a human sacrifice, who will then watch over the bridge . However, there is no archaeological evidence for any human remains in the foundations of London Bridge . </P> <P> Until the mid-eighteenth century the Old London Bridge was the only crossing on the Thames in London . It was damaged in a major fire in 1633, but in the fire of 1666 this damage acted as a fire break and prevented the flames from further damaging the bridge and crossing to the south side of the Thames . With its 19 narrow arches, it impeded river traffic and flow . Central piers were removed to create a wider navigational span . Widening and the removal of its houses was completed in 1763, but it remained relatively narrow and needed continual and expensive repairs . In the early nineteenth century it was decided to replace the bridge with a new construction . New London Bridge was opened in 1831 and survived until it was replaced in 1972 . It was then transported and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City, Arizona . </P> <P> Several attempts have been made to identify the' fair lady',' lady gay', or lady' lee / lea' of the rhyme . They include: </P>

Where did ring around the rosy come from