Boudiccan Rebellion: Boudicca, Why It Occurred and What Happened | Early European History And Religion

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BOUDICCA, THE BRITISH WARRIOR QUEEN

Boudicca

Roman moneylenders forced peasants into debt. A violent uprising led by the Iceni and Trinovnates broke out. In 60 A.D., Boudicca, a "Warrior Queen" from the Iceni tribe with brilliant red hair, challenged Roman rule after she was flogged, her husband was killed and her daughter raped.

According to Listverse: Queen Boudicca ( A.D. 30–AD 61) was a Celtic queen of the Iceni tribe who took up arms against Roman rule in ancient Britain around AD 60. A fierce warrior and leader who fought for freedom, she was stripped of her land (after agreeing to a truce with the Roman Governor of Britain, Suetonius), publicly flogged, and had her daughters raped by Roman soldiers. Boudicca promised vengeance and began working on her comeback. While the Romans were fighting in Wales, the queen led a rebellion, defeating the Roman Ninth Legion. Her forces also destroyed Camulodunum, murdered a captain of the Roman forces, and massacred inhabitants. Then set her sights on London and Verulamium. In the end, Boudicca ended her own life with poison before someone else could, but not before killing some 70,000 Roman and Roman supporters. [Source Bullybeefed, Listverse, March 29, 2024]

After experiencing a vision in which she saw a theater that "echoed with shrieks," human copses floating in "a blood-red color in the sea" and "phantom settlement..in the ruins," Boudicca lead her daughters and chariot-mounted tribesman against a Roman settlement in present-day Colchester, shouting, "We British are used to women commanders in war." Boudicca's force was thoroughly annihilated by the disciplined Roman legions. A Roman force of 10,000 defeated the Britons, whose casualties were estimated by some at 100,000. According to the Roman historian Tacitus: "It was a glorious victory...According to one report almost 80,000 thousand Britons fell. Our own casualties were about 400 dead and a slightly larger number of wounded. Boudicca poisoned herself."

According to Archaeology magazine: “Though her moment in time was short, Boudicca is a towering figure of British history. As the leader of a large popular uprising in A.D. 60, she has been lauded for her defense of Britain from excessive taxation, property loss, and enslavement under the Roman Empire. And the ancient Roman historian Cassius Dio’s description of the Celtic queen has captured imaginations for millennia:In stature she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips, around her neck was a large golden necklace and she wore a tunic of many colors. [Source: Archaeology magazine, August/September 2013]

Boudiccan Rebellion

Sydney Combs wrote in National Geographic History: The rebellion when Boudica’s husband, the leader of the Iceni tribe in Britannia in current-day England, didn’t leave Roman officials his wealth when he died around 60 A.D., as was expected by the region’s then-rulers. Instead, he willed half of his estate to his wife and two daughters and the other half directly to Roman emperor Nero. As punishment, Roman officials publicly beat Boudica and raped her daughters. Boudica’s tribe, men and women alike, were outraged, and she channeled that fury into a rebellion that almost drove Rome from Britain. A huge contingent of rebels and neighboring tribes—as many as 120,000—followed Boudica, laying waste to several Roman settlements. According to Roman historian Tacitus, Boudica and her daughters circled the battlefield on a chariot to inspire some 80,000 tribal insurgents during the final battle—only to have the entire force wiped out by 10,000 Romans trained for combat. [Source Sydney Combs, National Geographic History, May 16, 2020]

Dr Mike Ibeji wrote for the BBC: “The best way to understand how Rome controlled her provinces is to look at why that control broke down in A.D. 60. The Boudiccan revolt was caused not because the Iceni were opposed to Roman rule, but because they had embraced it too whole-heartedly. Rome controlled its provinces by bribing the local elite. They were given power, wealth, office and status on condition that they kept the peace and adopted Roman ways. If you took a Roman name, spoke Latin and lived in a villa, you were assured of receiving priesthoods and positions of local power. The quid pro quo was that you were expected to spend your money and influence in providing Roman amenities for your people, newly civilised in the literal sense that Roman towns and cities were founded for them to live in. In Britain, physical evidence of this process can be seen in inscriptions at the colonia of Colchester and in the palace of the client king Cogidubnus at Fishbourne, with its spectacular mosaics. “However, new provinces brought with them new markets and unscrupulous speculators eager to fleece the unwary. It was like the introduction of the free market to the post-communist world, and the worst sharks were in the Imperial Household itself. Vast loans were granted at ruinous rates of interest to the British aristocracy, by the likes of Seneca, the emperor Nero's tutor and adviser. At the same time, those who had been made priests of the Imperial Cult at Colchester found it an expensive task. [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]

“It was at this point that Prasutagus, king of the Iceni, died. In his will, he left half of his kingdom to the emperor Nero, hoping in this way to secure the other half for his wife, Boudicca. However, the imperial procurator, Decianus Catus, was aware that Nero viewed a half-share of an estate as a personal snub, and moved to sequester the lot. At the same time, he sent in the bailiffs to act on the loans outstanding and allowed the local centurions to requisition provisions for the army. When the royal family resisted these moves, Boudicca was flogged and her daughters were raped. |::|

“There could be only one consequence. The humiliated Iceni rose up in revolt, joined by other East Anglian tribes who had similar grievances. They could not have picked a better time. The governor, Suetonius Paullinus, was in Anglesey, subduing the druids, with most of the army of the province. What remained of the Ninth Legion was massacred when it tried to stop the rebels, and Colchester, London and Verulamium were razed to the ground. The black earth of the destruction layer and mutilated tombstones attest to the ferocity of the British assault. With just 200 men to defend him, Decianus Catus fled to Gaul at their approach. |::|

“Paullinus rushed back from Anglesey to deal with the revolt. The site of the final battle is still disputed, but the form it took is well described (Tacitus provides a graphic depiction of the whole revolt). Boudicca was defeated and committed suicide shortly afterwards. The punitive expedition into Iceni territory was halted when it was feared that further reprisals would harm future imperial revenues. Meanwhile Catus was replaced by Classicianus, a Romanised Gaul from Trier, who took a softer approach. His tombstone can be found in London, which became the new provincial capital at this time. |::|

Attack on the Druids at Mona

Romans murdering Druids and burning their groves

Tacitus vividly described a battle in A.D. 61 at Mona, now Anglesey, an island off the coast of northwest Wales, where Celts had gathered in a Druid sanctuary for one last stand against the Romans. Tacitus wrote: "All around, the Druids, lifting up their hands to heaven and pouring forth dreadful imprecations, scared our soldiers, by the unfamiliar sight, so that, as if their limbs were paralyzed, they stood motionless, and exposed to wounds."

The Romans, led by Suetonius Paulinus, arrived on Mona in flat bottom boats and were welcomed by shouting Celtic soldiers and Druid men with long black beards and Druid women in black cloaks, who waved flaming torches and caste out curses. The Roman soldiers hesitated at first, never having been greeted by such as bizarre spectacle before, but were urged on by Paulinus. The Romans ended up slaughtering every Celt they could lay their hands on and chopped sacred trees in the Druid sanctuary.

Tacitus wrote in “The Annals” Book XIV (A.D. 110-120): “During the consulship of Lucius Caesennius Paetus and Publius Petronius Turpilianus [AD 60-61], a dreadful calamity befell the army in Britain. Aulus Didius, as has been mentioned, aimed at no extension of territory, content with maintaining the conquests already made. Veranius, who succeeded him, did little more: he made a few incursions into the country of the Silures, and was hindered by death from prosecuting the war with vigour. He had been respected, during his life, for the severity of his manners; in his end, the mark fell off, and his last will discovered the low ambition of a servile flatterer, who, in those moments, could offer incense to Nero, and add, with vain ostentation, that if he lived two years, it was his design to make the whole island obedient to the authority of the prince. [Source: Chapter 29: Military campaign in Wales, Tacitus: (b.56/57-after 117 A.D.): Boudicca, “The Annals 14: 29-37, translation from Latin is adapted from Arthur Murphy (“Works of Tacitus”, 1794)]

“Paulinus Suetonius succeeded to the command; an officer of distinguished merit. To be compared with Corbulo was his ambition. His military talents gave him pretensions, and the voice of the people, who never leave exalted merit without a rival, raised him to the highest eminence. By subduing the mutinous spirit of the Britons he hoped to equal the brilliant success of Corbulo in Armenia. With this view, he resolved to subdue the isle of Mona; a place in habited by a warlike people, and a common refuge for all the discontented Britons. In order to facilitate his approach to a difficult and deceitful shore, he ordered a number of flat-bottomed boats to be constructed. In these he wafted over the infantry, while the cavalry, partly by fording over the shallows, and partly by swimming their horses, advanced to gain a footing on the island.

“On the opposite shore stood the Britons, close embodied, and prepared for action. Women were seen running through the ranks in wild disorder; their apparel funeral; their hair loose to the wind, in their hands flaming torches, and their whole appearance resembling the frantic rage of the Furies. The Druids were ranged in order, with hands uplifted, invoking the gods, and pouring forth horrible imprecations. The novelty of the fight struck the Romans with awe and terror. They stood in stupid amazement, as if their limbs were benumbed, riveted to one spot, a mark for the enemy. The exhortations of the general diffused new vigour through the ranks, and the men, by mutual reproaches, inflamed each other to deeds of valour. They felt the disgrace of yielding to a troop of women, and a band of fanatic priests; they advanced their standards, and rushed on to the attack with impetuous fury. [Source: Chapter 30: The Druids at Mona Island, Tacitus: (b.56/57-after 117 A.D.): Boudicca, “The Annals 14: 29-37, translation from Latin is adapted from Arthur Murphy (“Works of Tacitus”, 1794)]

“The Britons perished in the flames, which they themselves had kindled. The island fell, and a garrison was established to retain it in subjection. The religious groves, dedicated to superstition and barbarous rites, were levelled to the ground. In those recesses, the natives [stained] their altars with the blood of their prisoners, and in the entrails of men explored the will of the gods. While Suetonius was employed in making his arrangements to secure the island, he received intelligence that Britain had revolted, and that the whole province was up in arms.”

Causes of Boudicca's Revolt

Roman slave shackles found in Britain

Tacitus wrote in “The Annals” Book XIV (A.D. 110-120): “Prasutagus, the late king of the Icenians, in the course of a long reign had amassed considerable wealth. By his will he left the whole to his two daughters and the emperor in equal shares, conceiving, by that stroke of policy, that he should provide at once for the tranquility of his kingdom and his family. [Source: Chapter 31: Causes of Boudicca's Revolt, Tacitus: (b.56/57-after 117 A.D.): Boudicca, “The Annals 14: 29-37, translation from Latin is adapted from Arthur Murphy (“Works of Tacitus”, 1794)]

“The event was otherwise. His dominions were ravaged by the centurions; the slaves pillaged his house, and his effects were seized as lawful plunder. His wife, Boudicca, was disgraced with cruel stripes; her daughters were ravished, and the most illustrious of the Icenians were, by force, deprived of the positions which had been transmitted to them by their ancestors. The whole country was considered as a legacy bequeathed to the plunderers. The relations of the deceased king were reduced to slavery.

“Exasperated by their acts of violence, and dreading worse calamities, the Icenians had recourse to arms. The Trinobantians joined in the revolt. The neighboring states, not as yet taught to crouch in bondage, pledged themselves, in secret councils, to stand forth in the cause of liberty. What chiefly fired their indignation was the conduct of the veterans, lately planted as a colony at Camulodunum. These men treated the Britons with cruelty and oppression; they drove the natives from their habitations, and calling them by the [shameful] names of slaves and captives, added insult to their tyranny. In these acts of oppression, the veterans were supported by the common soldiers; a set of men, by their habits of life, trained to licentiousness, and, in their turn, expecting to reap the same advantages. The temple built in honour of Claudius was another cause of discontent. In the eye of the Britons it seemed the citadel of eternal slavery. The priests, appointed to officiate at the altars, with a pretended zeal for religion, devoured the whole substance of the country. To over-run a colony, which lay quite naked and exposed, without a single fortification to defend it, did not appear to the incensed and angry Britons an enterprise that threatened either danger or difficulty. The fact was, the Roman generals attended to improvements to taste and elegance, but neglected the useful. They embellished the province, and took no care to defend it.”

Omens and Early Roman Setbacks at Camulodunum

Tacitus wrote in “The Annals” Book XIV (A.D. 110-120): “While the Britons were preparing to throw off the yoke, the statue of victory, erected at Camulodunum, fell from its base, without any apparent cause, and lay extended on the ground with its face averted, as if the goddess yielded to the enemies of Rome. Women in restless ecstasy rushed among the people, and with frantic screams denounced impending ruin. In the council-chamber of the Romans hideous clamours were heard in a foreign accent; savage howlings filled the theatre, and near the mouth of the Thames the image of a colony in ruins was seen in the transparent water; the sea was purpled with blood, and, at the tide of ebb, the figures of human bodies were traced in the sand. [Source: Chapter 32: Omens and Early Roman Setbacks at Camulodunum, Tacitus: (b.56/57-after 117 A.D.): Boudicca, “The Annals 14: 29-37, translation from Latin is adapted from Arthur Murphy (“Works of Tacitus”, 1794)] “By these appearances the Romans were sunk in despair, while the Britons anticipated a glorious victory. Suetonius, in the meantime, was detained in the isle of Mona. In this alarming crisis, the veterans sent to Catus Decianus, the procurator of the province, for a reinforcement. Two hundred men, and those not completely armed, were all that officer could spare. The colony had but a handful of soldiers. Their temple was strongly fortified, and there they hoped to make a stand. But even for the defense of that place no measures were concerted. Secret enemies mixed in all their deliberations. No fosse was made; no palisade thrown up; nor were the women, and such as were disabled by age or infirmity, sent out of the garrison. Unguarded and unprepared, they were taken by surprise, and, in the moment of profound peace, overpowered by the Barbarians in one general assault. The colony was laid waste with fire and sword.

“The temple held out, but, after a siege of two days, was taken by storm. Petilius Cerealis, who commanded the ninth legion, marched to the relief of the place. The Britons, flushed with success, advanced to give him battle. The legion was put to the rout, and the infantry cut to pieces. Cerealis escaped with the cavalry to his entrenchments. Catus Decianus, the procurator of the province, alarmed at the scene of carnage which he beheld on every side, and further dreading the indignation of a people, whom by rapine and oppression he had driven to despair, betook himself to flight, and crossed over into Gaul.”

Attack on Colchester

image on the Colchester Vase

Dr Mike Ibeji wrote for the BBC: “ At the time of the revolt, the Romans were so sure of their hold on East Anglia that the only troops in the area were 200 members of the procurator's guard. Even joined by the veteran colonists, these were woefully inadequate to stop the tribal tide that descended upon an undefended Colchester. Tacitus says that: 'It seemed easy to destroy the settlement; for it had no walls. That was a matter which Roman commanders, thinking of amenities rather than needs, had neglected.' (Annals xiv.30), and the archaeological record confirms that the walls of the legionary fortress had been filled in to make way for the temple precinct and other amenities. [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]

“It was to this precinct that the survivors of the attack retreated, barricading themselves into the inner sanctuary of the temple, which was burned to the ground with them in it. It is possible today to huddle inside the foundations of that temple and envisage those last hours: men, women and children crammed within a dark space like this, waiting in terror for relief that never came, as they listened to thousands of bloodthirsty Britons destroying their town outside. |::|

“Eventually they could smell the choking smoke and feel the crackling flames that spelled the end. The temple was burned to the ground. Only the foundations survive. The cult statue of Claudius that stood within it was smashed to pieces, and its head was discovered a few years ago in the River Alde a few miles from the town.” |::|

Suetonius Abandons London and Prepares to Counterattack

Tacitus wrote in “The Annals” Book XIV (A.D. 110-120): “Suetonius, undismayed by this disaster, marched through the heart of the country as far as London; a place not dignified with the name of a colony, but the chief residence of merchants, and the great mart of trade and commerce. At that place he meant to fix the feat of war; but reflecting on the scanty numbers of his little army, and the fatal rashness of Cerealis, he resolved to quit the station, and, by giving up one post, secure the rest of the province. Neither supplications, nor the tears of the inhabitants could induce him to change his plan. The signal for the march was given. All who chose to follow his banners were taken under his protection. Of all who, on account of their advanced age, the weakness of their sex, of the attractions of the situation, thought proper to remain behind, not one escaped the rage of the Barbarians. The inhabitants of Verulamium, a municipal town, were in like manner put to the sword. [Source: Chapter 33: Suetonius Abandons London to the Boudiccan Forces, Tacitus: (b.56/57-after 117 A.D.): Boudicca, “The Annals 14: 29-37, translation from Latin is adapted from Arthur Murphy (“Works of Tacitus”, 1794)]

” The genius of a savage people leads them always in quest of plunder; and, accordingly, the Britons left behind them all places of strength. Wherever they expected feeble resistance, and considerable booty, there they were sure to attack with the fiercest rage. Military skill was not the talent of Barbarians. The number massacred in the places which have been mentioned, amounted to no less than seventy thousand, all citizens or allies of Rome. To make prisoners, and reserve them for slavery, or to exchange them, was not in the idea of a people, who despised all the laws of war. The halter and the gibbet, slaughter and defoliation, fire and sword, were the marks of savage valour. Aware that vengeance would overtake them, they were resolved to make sure of their revenge, and glut themselves with the blood of their enemies.

“The fourteenth legion, with the veterans of the twentieth, and the auxiliaries from the adjacent stations, having joined Suetonius, his army amounted to little less than ten thousand men. Thus reinforced, he resolved, without loss of time, to bring on a decisive action. For this purpose he chose a spot encircled with woods, narrow at the entrance, and sheltered in the rear by a thick forest. In that situation he had no fear of an ambush. The enemy, he knew, had no approach but in front. An open plain lay before him. He drew up his men in the following order: the legions in close array formed the center; the light armed troops were stationed at hand to serve as occasion might require: the cavalry took post in the wings. The Britons brought into the field an incredible multitude. They formed no regular line of battle. Detached parties and loose battalions displayed their numbers, in frantic transport bounding with exultation, and so sure of victory, that they placed their wives in wagons at the extremity of the plain, where they might survey the scene of action, and behold the wonders of British valour.” [Source: Chapter 34: Suetonius Prepares to Counterattack]

Boudicca and Suetonius Address Their Her Armies

Boudicca haranges her troops

Tacitus wrote in “The Annals” Book XIV (A.D. 110-120): “Boudicca, in a [chariot], with her two daughters before her, drove through the ranks. She harangued the different nations in their turn: "This," she said, "is not the first time that the Britons have been led to battle by a woman. But now she did not come to boast the pride of a long line of ancestry, nor even to recover her kingdom and the plundered wealth of her family. She took the field, like the meanest among them, to assert the cause of public liberty, and to seek revenge for her body seamed with ignominious stripes, and her two daughters infamously ravished. From the pride and arrogance of the Romans nothing is sacred; all are subject to violation; the old endure the scourge, and the virgins are deflowered. But the vindictive gods are now at hand. A Roman legion dared to face the warlike Britons: with their lives they paid for their rashness; those who survived the carnage of that day, lie poorly hid behind their entrenchments, meditating nothing but how to save themselves by an ignominious flight. From the din of preparation, and the shouts of the British army, the Romans, even now, shrink back with terror. What will be their case when the assault begins? Look round, and view your numbers. Behold the proud display of warlike spirits, and consider the motives for which we draw the avenging sword. On this spot we must either conquer, or die with glory. There is no alternative. Though a woman, my resolution is fixed: the men, if they please, may survive with infamy, and live in bondage." [Source: Chapter 35: Boudicca Addresses Her Army, Tacitus: (b.56/57-after 117 A.D.): Boudicca, “The Annals 14: 29-37, translation from Latin is adapted from Arthur Murphy (“Works of Tacitus”, 1794)]

“Suetonius, in a moment of such importance, did not remain silent. He expected every thing from the valour of his men, and yet urged every topic that could inspire and animate them to the attack. "Despise," he said, "the savage uproar, the yells and shouts of undisciplined Barbarians. In that mixed multitude, the women out-number the men. Void of spirit, unprovided with arms, they are not soldiers who come to offer battle; they are bastards, runaways, the refuse of your swords, who have often fled before you, and will again betake themselves to flight when they see the conqueror flaming in the ranks of war. In all engagements it is the valour of a few that turns the fortune of the day. It will be your immortal glory, that with a scanty number you can equal the exploits of a great and powerful army. Keep your ranks; discharge your javelins; rush forward to a close attack; bear down all with your bucklers, and hew a passage with your swords. Pursue the vanquished, and never think of spoil and plunder. Conquer, and victory gives you everything." This speech was received with warlike acclamations. The soldiers burned with impatience for the onset, the veterans brandished their javelins, and the ranks displayed such an intrepid countenance, that Suetonius, anticipating the victory, gave the signal for the charge. [Source: Chapter 36: Suetonius Meanwhile Addresses His Army, Tacitus: (b.56/57-after 117 A.D.): Boudicca, “The Annals 14: 29-37, translation from Latin is adapted from Arthur Murphy (“Works of Tacitus”, 1794)]

Decisive Battles of the Boudicca Rebellion

Tacitus wrote in “The Annals” Book XIV (A.D. 110-120): “The engagement began. The Roman legion presented a close embodied line. The narrow defile gave them the shelter of a rampart. The Britons advanced with ferocity, and discharged their darts at random. In that instant, the Romans rushed forward in the form of a wedge. The auxiliaries followed with equal ardour. The cavalry, at the same time, bore down upon the enemy, and, with their pikes, overpowered all who dared to make a stand. [Source: Chapter 37: The Decisive Battle, Tacitus: (b.56/57-after 117 A.D.): Boudicca, “The Annals 14: 29-37, translation from Latin is adapted from Arthur Murphy (“Works of Tacitus”, 1794)]

“The Britons betook themselves to flight, but their waggons in the rear obstructed their passage. A dreadful slaughter followed. Neither sex nor age was spared. The cattle, falling in one promiscuous carnage, added to the heaps of slain. The glory of the day was equal to the most splendid victory of ancient times. According to some writers, not less than eighty thousand Britons were put to the sword. The Romans lost about four hundred men, and the wounded did not exceed that number.

:Boudicca, by a dose of poison, [ended] her life. Poenius Postumius, the Prefect in the camp of the second legion, as soon as he heard of the brave exploits of the fourteenth and twentieth legions, felt the disgrace of having, in disobedience to the orders of his general, robbed the soldiers under his command of their share in so complete a victory. Stung with remorse, he fell upon his sword, and expired on the spot.”

Archaeological Evidence of Boudiccan and Her Revolt?

Boudicca

On remains in Colchester possible linked to the Boudiccan Revolt, Dr Mike Ibeji wrote for the BBC: “There is evidence of this destruction throughout the town, though it can only be accessed through rostrum pics from the archaeological excavations and a few remains. The entire town was burned to the ground, leaving a black destruction layer and rubble in the soil. In some places, like Lion Walk, more tangible evidence of this destruction has survived. From a house in this site, the burned remains of a couch was recovered, its carbonised upholstery still intact. In the same house, a bowl of carbonised dates (and one plum) were also recovered. Each of these is a remarkable preservation of organic materials which do not usually survive. [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]

“Interestingly, with the single exception of a charred skeleton from North Hill, no human remains unequivocally linked to the Boudiccan Revolt have been recovered. This may be because the townsfolk fled or were taken elsewhere to be massacred (Dio paints a chilling picture of mass sacrifices in sacred groves: Dio LXXII), though in my opinion nobody ever takes into account the clean-up operation that must have occurred afterwards. |::|

“On a more speculative note, the skulls and incomplete remains of six men were found in the legionary ditch at the Balkerne gate. Two of the skulls show evidence of wounds inflicted to the back of the head, one of which was hit a couple of times by poorly-aimed blows intended to sever the neck. These are invariably interpreted as executions, and I would not argue with that. However, since other evidence shows an arm chopped off above the elbow, I wonder whether these might be remains from the revolt, rather than the judicial executions they are usually thought to be? |::|

According to Archaeology magazine: “It is thought that, fearing capture and torture, Boudicca fled home to her kingdom in southern Britain after the final battle, during which her forces were massacred. Although Dio describes a lavish burial, the locations of neither her death nor the battle are known.. Fantastic and unsubstantiated rumors profess that the queen is buried under platform 8, 9, or 10 at London’s King’s Cross railway station, yet no traces of her have been found in this or any other location. According to Mike Heyworth, director of the Council for British Archaeology, even if remains are found that might be Boudicca’s, it would be challenging to be certain because of the lack of physical evidence that would prove it conclusively. Further, says archaeologist Richard Hingley of Durham University, if the queen died in battle, the remains would probably have been cleared away along with weapons and debris, leaving little left to find. “It is unlikely that Boudicca would have had a burial monument,” says Hingley. “Most Iron Age people in this region were disposed of in ways that do not show up in the archaeological record.” However, he adds, that has not stopped “a variety of people actively looking for the site.” [Source: Archaeology magazine, August/September 2013]

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Rome sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Late Antiquity sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; “Outlines of Roman History” by William C. Morey, Ph.D., D.C.L. New York, American Book Company (1901) ; “The Private Life of the Romans” by Harold Whetstone Johnston, Revised by Mary Johnston, Scott, Foresman and Company (1903, 1932); BBC Ancient Rome bbc.co.uk/history/ ; Project Gutenberg gutenberg.org ; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Live Science, Discover magazine, Archaeology magazine, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, The New Yorker, Wikipedia, Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopedia.com and various other books, websites and publications.

Last updated October 2024