Jewellery discovered beneath Colchester hidden for almost 2,000 years.(Colchester Archaeological Trust)
The wealthy Roman woman was likely killed by Boudicca's army.(Colchester Archaeological Trust)
Posted on 09/04/2014 1:43:26 PM PDT by Red Badger
A hoard of Roman treasure believed to have been hidden from Boudicca in the first century has been discovered by archaeologists in Colchester.
The collection, including fine gold and silver jewellery, had been buried for safekeeping during the early stages of Boudicca's Revolt, Colchester Archaeological Trust said.
It represents the first hoard of precious metals ever found in Colchester town centre and is thought to have belonged to a wealthy Roman woman, who stashed the treasure under her house when she heard the vengeful queen's armies were approaching.
The archaeologists said the hoard was found under the floor of a house that was later burned to the ground. Burnt food was scattered around and human bones were found lying near the treasure in the debris. Two of the bones showed injuries, suggesting a fight or violent death took place.
In the collection, excavators found three gold armlets, a sliver chain necklace, two silver bracelets, a silver armlet a bag of coins and a jewellery box with two sets of gold earrings and four gold rings.
The team said they expect to uncover even more objects as they continue to dig.
Boudicca was queen of a British Celtic tribe. After her husband's death, instead of her taking over rule of the land, the Roman emperor took over, flogging Boudicca and raping her daughters.
She then launched a revolt against the Romans, destroying Roman towns as they went, killing thousands along the way until she was eventually defeated, with Boudicca either killing herself or dying.
Colchester Archaeological Trust said: "The find is a particularly poignant one because of its historical context. It seems likely that the owner or perhaps one of her slaves buried the jewellery inside her house for safe-keeping during the early stages of the Boudican Revolt, when prospects looked bleak.
"The writings of the ancient historians Tacitus and Dio Cassius record the main course of the revolt. Here we learn that Boudicca and her army destroyed three towns by fire and that the inhabitants of Colchester were not evacuated but suffered a two-day siege before defeat."
The trust said people living in Colchester knew an army was coming and that they were defenceless. The team believes the woman to whom the jewellery belonged may have been brutally killed by the army: "The noblest of the women were taken to sacred groves, mainly of their Goddess of Victory (called Andrate/Andate), where they were killed in a horrific way.
"The quality of the jewellery found at Williams & Griffin suggests that the owner would have been in this category, although there is no direct evidence to indicate that she ended up in a sacred grove."
Jewellery discovered beneath Colchester hidden for almost 2,000 years.(Colchester Archaeological Trust)
The wealthy Roman woman was likely killed by Boudicca's army.(Colchester Archaeological Trust)
PinGGG!.................
You can’t take it with you.
A favorite source of this immigration was what is now North Africa and what was then a roughly 300 year old part of the conquered Carthaginian Empire. It seems all the chariot dust and other man made stuff had turned a once thriving savanna/tropical climate into a semiarid desert and new homes had to be made for the immigrants elsewhere in the empire.
Colchester was near ground zero for this immigration wave.
Fast forward two centuries or so and the King of the Colchester area was Old King Cole of nursery rhyme fame. Supposedly, he got his name from the city and his skin color, so was most likely a North African Berber by ancestry.
Needless to say, the original natives of the area didn't have a great appreciation of the diversity imposed upon them by Rome.
Sounds oddly familiar to today...................
For those who might like more.
http://www.atomagazine.com/details.cfm?ProdID=109
I don’t work for them, I just buy.
Location, location, location (small front negates large numbers), discipline and tactics won the day (again). In this battle the Romans were outnumbered by at least 10:1 and still chewed up the opposition.
The vengeful queen? She was a patriot . . . and a grizzly mama.
Thanks Red Badger.
They love to make stuff up. They have no evidence someone hid this treasure from Boudicca’s advancing Armies. Perhaps a man pilfered the items from a wealthy trader and then hid them under the floorboards and before he could fence them for good Roman coin he had a stroke which left him paralyzed and unable to speak so he could not tell his blind children and hunched backed wife where he put them.
My ancestors came from the British Isles, I hereby claim my right to a percentage.
Fascinating stuff.
bookmark
Ed
No disrespect and I am a fan and student of Queen Boadicea and used to view the great Thornycroft statue near Westminster bridge back when I lived in Londontown
But that quote has been regenerated by fembots to their liking......she never said that ...
She was quite familiar with statecraft as queen while her Icenjan husband had peace with the Romans for years....she knew you didn’t antagonize those you wish to die for the cause.....and when she made that speech they all knew their chances were poor....
Taunting the men in that fashion
According to Tacitus....I think....she said.....”as for this woman....I intend to fight.....I ask all to follow me or feel the Roman yoke”
That’s my memory at 3am and paraphrased but the nuance makes a difference
Its disingenuous for feminazis to claim a wrath driven warrior like her as their idol given today how they as pillars of the Left detest war...at least in our defense
Fair enough. I know that she was able to stand against the Romans fairly well, where as so many before her had not been able to.
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