The Romans hated her, the Celts fought for her and now she is immortalised with a statue in Westminster. But who was Boudicca? The latest video in the Ancient World in London series looks at how her name is often misspelt, how her bloodthirsty rage was caused by the death of her husband and raping of her daughters and how the Romans beat her to within an inch of her life. The story of how she sacked three Roman cities in Britain is uncovered, and how she fell at the Battle of Watling Street.
Drapers' Gardens is a site in the City of London occupied during Roman times then left unsettled for millenia - because of heavy waterlogging from tributaries of the River Walbrook - until 1967 when an eponymous skyscraper was erected there. When this skyscraper was demolished, ahead of a new building being erected, an archaeological survey was carried out at the site, revealing a wealth of highly-preserved Roman remains - effectively a microcosm of Roman Londinium.
The remains dated from 63 AD to 383 AD, and included 19 metal vessels - possibly hidden in a well by a wealthy family during a Saxon raid on the city - as well as hundreds of brooches, a wooden door with its original hinges, a ruler, various Roman roads and wooden bridges, and even the skull of a bear, which may have died in a nearby ampitheatre. The artefacts are now in the possession of the Museum of London.
Submitted by Meral Crifasi on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 12:43
London is home to a massive bronze statue of the legendary Queen Boudicca in her chariot, which was proudly erected in the Victorian era. Leading her chariot into battle, Boudicca – or Boudica, or Boadicea, as she’s sometimes known – looks capable of grabbing any victory for the city.
But rather than London's fierce defender, Boudicca was actually its enemy. This competition invites you to discover this controversial statue in London, and win points and prizes for sending us your photographs of the warrior queen.
The statue was made by the English artist Thomas Thornycroft from 1856 until 1885, and wasn’t erected in its current position until 1902. But where is it?
The scene depicts the 12 signs of sodiac surrounding mithras slaying a bull. Mithras was often depicted in this manner as it was thought that the blood of the bull would give eternal life. The sun and moon, solar and luner respectively, are also shown in the top corners, with the two gods of the wind in the bottom corners. The inscription on the statue reads 'Mithraic grade at Orange, France, paid his vow to Mithras'. It is believed that this vow was paid by building the Temple of Mithras in Walbrook, city of London.
Mithras was the god of a mystery religion which became popular among the military in the Roman Empire, from the 1st to the 4th centuries AD.
This marble head of Serapis dates back to the 2nd and early 3rd century. The god is depicted carrying a corn measurer on his head which is thought to be symbolic of the wealth and fertility of the earth. The Egyptian god Serapis is the god of the underworld. He was thought of as a human representation of Apis. His roles were being a god of fertility and of the dead mainly in the region of Tartarus which was thought by Egyptians to be the lowest region of the world, as far below earth as earth is from heaven.
The statue was buried in a shallow pit uder the 4th century floor of the Temple of Mithras in London.
This marble head of Minerva dating back to 130-90 AD. This early date suggests that the head may have stood else where before it was found in the Temple of Mithras, London. The head depicts the goddess with a crested metal helmet.
Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom who was often depicted with an owl, her sacred creature and, through this connection, a symbol of wisdom. The head was found buried in a hole close the the Head of Mithras.
This head of Mithras depicts the god as a handsome young man with an unusual Phrygian styled cap. The head is thought to have been part of a large bull slaying scene, where Mithras would kill the bull who's blood gave eternal life.
Mithras was the god of a mystery religion which became popular among the military in the Roman Empire, from the 1st to the 4th centuries AD.
Information on the cult is based mainly on interpretations of the many surviving monuments such as this head of Mithras. The head was discovered in the Temple of Mithras, in Walbrook London, standing in the aspe of the Temple.
