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Boudica
Click  bottom right to return to video page Student: Who lived in this area before the Romans came? Expert: Before the Romans came to Britain the Isles were occupied by a number of tribes. In this part of Britain the tribes were called the Trinovantes. Further north in Norfolk and Suffolk the tribes were called the Iceni and the Queen of the Iceni was Boudica. ------------------------------- Student: Can you tell us more about the Iceni? Expert: The Iceni were ruled by Kings and one of the Kings was called Prasutagus, and he was married to a woman called Boudica. The tribesmen were friendly to the Romans at first and they entered into a treaty arrangement whereby they were able to retain their lands and possessions in return for protection from Rome. At the same time the Romans made a big loan of money to the Iceni to enrich the aristocracy and the leaders of the tribe, so the Iceni in at least the period after the Roman Conquest felt that they were in a very privileged position. They had protection from the Roman military and they had money from the Roman Imperial Governerment, but they had been allowed to retain their own King and their own way of life. Things changed however on the death of Prasutagus. Prasutagus in his will attempted to maintain the same position as had existed during his life. He did this by making the Emperor Nero co-heir with his daughters. This meant that he was trying to ensure that the Roman Government had an equal but fair share in the kingdom. However the Romans decided that the time had come to invade the territory of the Iceni so they sent in troops, and indeed tax collectors, and began to take over the land. They took back some of the money that had been lent to the people and this of course caused great resentment. The real flashpoint for rebellion however were the assaults by Roman officials on Queen Boudica and her daughter. As a result of this the tribesmen rose and formed an army, and the army moved southwards towards Colchester. ------------------------------- Student: Why did Romans invade Briton in 43 AD? Expert: I think there are two main reasons why the Romans invaded Britain. One is the economic reason. The Romans were always on the lookout for new sources of raw materials and at this time Britain was a source of things like hunting dogs, and slaves, and metal ores; all products that the Roman Empire needed to sustain itself. The other reason is the political reason. The Roman Empire had a view of the world which saw it as all being controlled by Rome. As the Roman Empire expanded over Italy it came across new peoples and new lands, and so each time they reached what they thought was the final frontier there was yet another frontier beyond. The Romans had conquered France about a hundred or so years earlier and reached the English Channel – and across the English Channel they saw Britain, so Britain was clearly the next area that needed to be brought under Roman imperial control. ------------------------------- Student: How did the Romans conquer Britain? Expert: The Romans launched an invasion fleet from the northern coast of France. We are not exactly sure where they landed. They landed either in Kent or in Sussex. We do know where their prime objective lay. Their prime objective was Camulodunum, modern Colchester. The Romans crossed the Thames somewhere in the vicinity of London and then turned eastwards to arrive somewhere outside the settlement of Camulodunum. At that point the Roman army waited for the Emperor Claudius to leave Rome and travel across the empire to personally lead his troops into the British capital. This was the first and only time that Claudius ever left Rome and he brought with him with his army, some elephants. Camulodunum, or Colchester, was the prime objective because this was the place where the greatest King in south eastern Britain lived. This was a man called Cunoberlim. Cunoberlim died slightly before the Roman invasion but his power and influence continued, and his sons were very much the leading figures in Iron Age Britain. ------------------------------- Student: How did the Iceni attack Colchester when it had a big wall? Expert: The reason the Iceni were able to attack Colchester so successfully is that at this time there was no city wall. The city wall was not built until much later. So the Iceni arrived at an undefended city with only a very small garrison of troops. This garrison and the townspeople retreated rapidly into the great temple of Claudius, which stands on the site of the Norman Colchester Castle. The defenders of the city hoped that by going to this strongpoint they could hold out for long enough until reinforcements from the Roman army could arrive. Sadly this was not to happen and after two days the Iceni broke into the temple and massacred the defenders. ------------------------------- Student: What is the evidence for the destruction of Colchester? Expert: The main evidence for the destruction of Colchester comes from a layer of burning which is found throughout the modern town centre wherever there is an excavation. We call this the Boudican destruction horizon and this consists of the burnt remains of the building of the Roman city. It appears as a very dark black layer and it represents the remains of walls and roofs. Another particularly important discovery was made on the high street a few years ago where an archaeological excavation found evidence of a Samian pottery shop. This is a Samian bowl and this shop contained bowls, plates, and cups like this. One piece of evidence that we don’t have however relates to human remains. Although we believe that many of thousands died in the city in AD 61, we have never found, with one exception, any trace of their bodies. There is only one skeleton in Colchester which may be linked to the Boudican revolt. For the other two towns, London and St. Albans, there is no evidence of human remains whatsoever. ------------------------------- Student: Was Colchester the only place the Iceni attacked? Expert: Won’t load Student: Was Boudica a hero? Expert;: Won’t Load
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