FA ST
FIGHTING
At the time of his
invasion in 55-54 B.C.,
Julius Caesar
reported the
Britons’ use of
chariots, as shown
on a Roman
denarius, minted
around 48 B.C.
(above), bearing a
Celtic warrior on a
chariot. Ashmolean
Museum, Oxford
BRIDGEMAN/ACI
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 ac-
tion, and behold the wonders of British valour.Apparently 80,000 Britons, including women,
were killed, while Roman casualties amount-
ed to around 400 dead and a few more wound-
ed. Following their victory, the Roman mili-
tary probably disposed of the British dead in
large pits or incinerated their bodies. The on-
ly trace of this battle might be large pits filled
with dismembered skeletons or broken weap-
ons. Perhaps one day this place will be found.Boudica’s Fate
What happened to Boudica is unknown. Tacitus
wrote that she poisoned herself. Dio Cassius’
account is very different. He wrote that Boudica
fell ill and died, and was given an elaborate burial.
From the 16th to the 19th century, generations
of antiquarians searched for the burial place of
the warrior queen, with targets including Stone-
henge and even Charing Cross Station in London.
There is, however, little information available
about Iceni funerary rituals. Some tribes in Iron
Age Britain placed their dead in special places to
be desiccated by the elements rather than cre-
mated or interred; if the Iceni followed this prac-
tice, then nothing would remain of the queen.
The Roman reprisals for the British rebellion
were severe, and Tacitus described how settle-
ments were ravaged by fire and sword. Although
archaeological evidence of Roman actions after
Boudica’s defeat has been difficult to find, re-
cent excavations in London have located a fort
in the city’s financial district. It was constructed
to serve as the base for troops brought in from
Germany to assist Suetonius Paulinus in his
campaign to restore order to the province.
Londinium recovered quickly. A letter from
A.D. 62, referring to a consignment of goods to
be transported from Verulamium to London,
indicates that the market at Londinium had been
swiftly rebuilt after its destruction by the rebels.by the Britons. When word reached
him of Boudica’s revolt in south-
ern Britain, the governor was then
compelled to withdraw and head
southeast. After deciding not to
engage with the rebels near Lond-
inium, Suetonius Paulinus prepared
to battle with Bou dica at another site.
He chose to deploy a force of around
10,000 men drawn from the 14th and
20th Legions, supplemented by auxiliary
soldiers, in a valley backed by woodland. The
Romans were outnumbered by the Britons, who
were so confident of victory that they had sta-
tioned their families overlooking the battle site.
The exact location of the final battle has been
the subject of speculation. It is likely that the
clash took place in the Midlands of modern-day
England, sometime after the Britons had sacked
Verulamium and were moving northwest along
the Roman highway known as Watling Street.
Tacitus wrote that Boudica and her daughters
drove around the battlefield in a chariot shout-
ing to her armies to rile them up: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 alterna-
tive. Though a woman, my resolution is fixed:
the men, if they please, may survive with infamy,
and live in bondage.The contest that followed was heated, as Dio
Cassius described: “They contended for a long
time, both parties being animated by the same
zeal and daring. But finally, late in the day, the
Romans prevailed.” Tacitus’s more detailed ac-
count gives the impression that Boudica’s pas-
sionate followers were effectively defeated by
Roman discipline:Boudica’s story may have been forgotten
were it not for the rediscovery of Tacitus’s
writings in the Renaissance, when she was
regarded as a parallel to Queen Elizabeth I.