• Ann

    Unique Iron Age Hoard goes on display at Ipswich Museum

    From May 3rd until June 10th, the Ipswich Museum is hosting a free sneak preview of 2,000-year-old Iron Age gold coins once belonging to Boudicca’s Iceni tribe. The 200 coins on display are part of the Wickham Market hoard, discovered in 2008. The Wickham Market hoard consists of 840 Iron Age gold coins which makes it the largest the largest hoard of its type found in Britain since 1849 (and is featured in our Top 10 Metal Detector Discoveries). Almost all of the coins belong to the Iceni tribe but five of them were ‘issued’ by a neighbouring tribe from…

  • nick-gilbert

    Is Boudicca a Poster Girl For Intolerance and British Nationalism?

    Re-invented by the Victorians, under the name of Boadicea, Boudicca (starring in this Ancient World in London video) was presented as an idol of nationalism, of British warrior tradition and, somewhat incongruently, as a figurehead of imperialism, even though this was the thing she had fought against. Her statue sits directly opposite Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, overlooking the River Thames at the very heart of London. There she stands in her chariot looking over the city like some kind of fierce guardian angel for the British. But what is she doing there? Should we really be touting…

  • sean-williams

    AWiL Video Series – Queen Boudicca: Celtic Fashion and the Battle of Watling Street

    Boudicca massacred 80,000 people on her way to infamy, as she left Colchester, London and St Albans little more than smouldering husks in 60AD. And it’s no surprise to learn that her appearance matched her bloodthirsty attitude. Boudicca was “a great big busty woman,” says expert Mark Hassall, “with a blonde mass of hair falling down to her shoulders. And she was wearing the torc, a symbol of virility.” (Our very own Boudicca also carries the stunning Battersea Shield – we know it’s a bit late but it’s a great example of Celtic ceremonial attire). Torc (exemplified perfectly in the…

  • nick-gilbert

    Boudicca – The Battle-axe of Britain

    The warrior Queen, the avenging mother, the woman scorned. Ask any English person who led ‘us’ in the fight against Rome and they will tell you about a woman whose fame outweighs her achievements. Called Boadicea, Boudicca or Boudica, she has a legendary status, like Vercingetorix in Gaul, as one of the leaders of the old world who fought with courage against Rome. Hopelessly outmatched in so many ways, they represented tradition, their religions and some would say freedom against foreign oppressors. The logistical capability and military precision of the Empire meant that resistance to Roman dominance was in the…

  • bija-knowles

    Pit-Buried Skeleton Found at Caistor was Murdered… or Murderer

    One of the ‘most important, but least understood, Roman sites in Britain’ is how the University of Nottingham has described the Roman town of Venta Icenorum at Caistor St Edmund in Norfolk. Excavation work began at the site at the end of August, as mentioned in this previous blog, but the archaeologists working there had little idea of the mysterious discovery they were about to make. In the past few days a highly unusual burial has come to light, with a Roman-era skeleton interred in a shallow grave and placed in an unconventional pose. It could be that they were…

  • bija-knowles

    Excavations at Caistor to Shed Light on Aftermath of Boudica’s Revolt

    Caistor St Edmund is a sleepy village in the Norfolk countryside with no more than 300 or so villagers. Not the kind of place you expect to find the provincial centre of some of the most aggressive and violent Celts to have fought the Romans in ancient Britain. But archaeologists are convinced that beneath the small village and its surrounding fields, to the south of Norwich, lie the ruins of the Roman town of Venta Icenorum, established in Iceni territory in the aftermath of Boudica‘s famous rebellion against the Roman governor in 60-61 AD. The Roman town was in fact…