How Brutal was The Roman Invasion? [10:00]

Transcript
0:00 · okay right have a look have a look at
0:05 · this so so this is this is a paper published in the Oxford Journal of archaeology by Miles
0:14 · Russell it tells a fascinating story of misdirection misinformation all with a
0:22 · goal of publicity Now by and large talks about a character called Mortimer wheeler
0:29 · now mortim erwheeler and his wife Tessa did this 1943 this is just a quick snippet but
0:36 · it was 522 page archaeological report on that just there and it was indeed full of
0:44 · misinformation it was done deliberately and to be clear this wasn't based on lack
0:51 · of Education or understanding this was purely based on misdirection on a Monumental scale
1:04 · welcome to the story of the Hill Fort
1:07 · myth can't quite begin to explain how big this place is not just its size which is
1:17 · probably over 100 acres it's almost a kilometre from one end to the other but
1:23 · also the fortifications it's it's like a maze here is the Western entrance and
1:29 · um here I am in the year 2024 and I'm confused about the right way
1:34 · in and perhaps that is where the story starts Mortimer and Tessa wheeler came
1:43 · here and excavated between 1934 and 1937 each session they brought with them over a 100
1:50 · assistants all with the view of unearthing the secrets that this 2500 year old Fort had hidden
2:02 · okay made it into one of the two entrances to the western side of Maiden Castle now wheeler
2:08 · wanted archaeology to be held in the highest esteem but not only that he also wanted it to
2:15 · be popular cuz if it was popular well then all of a sudden there's funding options and
2:21 · opportunities there was no such thing as Government funding in the 1930s perhaps
2:27 · Maiden Castle here endorse it or perhaps that could be the solution to both of those desires
2:34 · ad43 saw the successful invasion of Britain by the Romans under Emperor Claudius from Kent they
2:40 · headed west and North sweeping across Britain barbarically destroying everything in their
2:46 · path Maiden Castle was no exception despite its size and clear fortifications the tribe
2:52 · here were clearly no match for the Roman army the sheer scale of this place is absolutely
2:59 · ridiculous can't quite begin to imagine the the work it took to build this it's just vast Tessa
3:06 · and mortimer wheeler came here they had two or three years to unearth some of the secrets of
3:11 · this place everything they found really backed the notion of the Roman Invasion the brutality
3:18 · the the organization of that Civilization ad. 43 really was a brutal time right
3:25 · here 1936 and sadly after the passing of Tessa when Mortimer found one of the most significant
3:37 · pieces to the puzzle here he found the grave site with 52 adult males in most of which had suffered
3:46 · significant injury it's a famous image of a uh a spine a human spine with a projectile embedded in
3:54 · it perhaps one of the most persuasive points that wheeler made was at the body bodies were seemingly
4:00 · buried in a hastily manner no real thought given to their position it was clearly done at a time
4:06 · of great stress a battle now further Evidence should you need it of the Roman brutality here
4:13 · in ad 43 well 74% of those bodies found in the grave well they had blows To The Head and the
4:23 · Torso but there was one more thing for that we're going to have to head over to the Eastern
4:32 · side to further understand the brutality of the Roman Invasion here so here now at the Eastern
4:40 · entrance the Eastern Gate just there there's two um Gates just like over on the western side and
4:46 · pretty much right here I'm stood very close to the war Graves that uh wheeler confirmed
4:52 · or here and to make matters worse just up on the hill there towards the Western entrance
4:58 · well there was a lot of round houses and Wheeler had found that they' been burnt to the ground if
5:03 · it wasn't enough that the Romans came here and brutally murdered but they also level the place
5:08 · too the wheelers at the time were making Leaps and Bounds in archaeology they had set up the
5:15 · Institute of archaeology in London and we're really bringing the discipline into the public
5:20 · eye the excavations really played so well into this agenda people flocked to the site to see
5:26 · with their own eyes to see the history come alive the brutality of the Romans upon their Landing
5:32 · here but what if I told you that absolutely none of what I've just told you is
5:44 · true the wheelers wanted the publicity and they got it it was almost as if they were 80 years
5:52 · ahead of their time with regards of modern use of social media he knew exactly what would bring
5:57 · in further funds but you have to find find something good you have to find something of
6:01 · substance for that wheel to continue in motion so this Eastern entrance is almost as much of a
6:09 · maze as the western side now for me this story is really fascinating because today the almost
6:15 · the the opposite is true with archaeology archaeology wants to protect itself protect
6:20 · the sites protect the information until it's known to be completely true and that takes a
6:25 · long time professionalism Reigns so what exactly was wrong with Wheeler's theories we seem to be
6:33 · on to the reasons why perhaps but how do we know that he was so wrong it took until the
6:40 · 1980s for this one event Theory to start being picked apart well in the first instance there
6:46 · was absolutely no evidence to suggest that the injuries and the trauma caused by those in the
6:52 · war grave were done so here absolutely none it was well known certainly here with the duo triers the
6:59 · tri that were here before the Romans that they practiced the use or the ReUse of graves over
7:04 · a long period of time excavations in 1991 niall sharpels detailed that instead of the bodies being
7:12 · placed here hastily and anxiously they were in fact placed in an ordered and careful manner some
7:18 · of the Grave Goods placed alongside them were even still there so you remember the stat that wheeler
7:24 · had they 74% of the male bodies found in there were uh consistent with injuries that were a Blow
7:31 · To The Head and the Torso well that stat is true however what's not true is it didn't happen all at
7:38 · once in one period of time it happened perhaps over centuries and that for me tells more of a
7:45 · uh a sadder tale that the the tribes living here well they were certainly um under more stress for
7:52 · a longer periods of time but what about the the bolt that uh bit of ballista that was found in
8:00 · the spine of that adult male well again there is no evidence whatsoever that that was Roman equally
8:07 · as much there has been the same Weaponry found in other areas on the island it could well have
8:13 · been and likely to have been a native object and finally what about the burning of the roundhouses
8:22 · the last Act of brutality by the Romans well no again sharpells 1991 concluded that the burning
8:29 · here derived largely from the workings here the non-war related iron workings in fact NE sharpells
8:37 · soon after his work in the 1980s described this place as one of the most significant prehistoric
8:45 · Iron Age production of artefacts on the British aisles now that in itself should tell for quite a
8:52 · story now as time goes on evidence suggest that this place was long abandoned before the Romans
9:02 · came here maybe 150 years and perhaps when the Romans did arrive it would have looked just like
9:07 · the landscape it does today wheeler certainly came here with an agenda he came here with a
9:13 · narrative and everything he found he wanted to fit into that narrative and it did for him it
9:19 · seemed a little bit rushed perhaps it's fair to say but you don't much away from wheelie
9:24 · because he did a lot of work for archaeology in those early days and moved it forward and
9:29 · Bounds and perhaps it did get that publicity it badly needed at the time who knows if there was
9:35 · a battle it probably wasn't here I've been puled I hope you've enjoyed this little production if
9:41 · you do you can click on all the good links below including our little patreon if you'd like to help
9:46 · support the channel and get some behind the scenes goodies see you this time next [Music]
9:54 · week

The Romans would build immense fortifications as a form of intimidation, probably the case here.

The Romans did not build it.

I’ll bump this for later. Thanks as always.

Interesting video for introduction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillforts_in_Britain

Current thinking is “we don’t know”? Always a proper answer.

I wonder if the Britons did in anticipation of a repeat of Julius’ invasion? If so, it failed.

The Roman’s property built it.

It was built before Julius's great grandfather was popped out so probably not.

So it failed twice then... I don’t recall Caesar mentioning any such fortifications in his Commentaries...

The Romans did not build it, use it, occupy it or anything else.

They had their own way of building forts.

They might, possibly have attacked it, this guy seems to doubt that. I am not so sure.

It is doubtful Julius made it that far in any case and Caesar's self aggrandizing books should be read as what they are. Not fiction but he did have a tendency to leave out anything that he found inconvenient.

Yes... they were meant for public consumption. Most historians give them a lot of credence... mostly because he was posing as a ‘plain spoken man of the people.’ He surely would have mentioned this obstacle if he had overcome it. Most likely he didn’t deem it important if he even knew of it.

The narrator should just lean against a fence and narrate, quickly hiking and being out of breath shouldn’t be seen as beneficial to the narration.

Or he never got there or he took one look at it and Noped right out.

Or it possibly was abandon before he got there.

Both would fit... he surely wouldn’t have left it in his rear without taking it down or occupying it.

Future emperor Vespasian rolled across Britain with Roman artillery (the various catapault doodads) and reduced places including Maiden Castle each in a matter of days. The Celtic tribes in his path had never seen anything like it, and the futility of resettling those spaces was obvious. Also obvious is that they really were built for security, not as symbols, ritual spaces, or (just) cattle pens.

Transcript
0:00	·	okay right have a look have a look at
0:05	·	this so so this is this is a paper published in the Oxford Journal of archaeology by Miles
0:14	·	Russell it tells a fascinating story of misdirection misinformation all with a
0:22	·	goal of publicity Now by and large talks about a character called Mortimer wheeler
0:29	·	now mortim erwheeler and his wife Tessa did this 1943 this is just a quick snippet but
0:36	·	it was 522 page archaeological report on that just there and it was indeed full of
0:44	·	misinformation it was done deliberately and to be clear this wasn't based on lack
0:51	·	of Education or understanding this was purely based on misdirection on a Monumental scale
1:04	·	welcome to the story of the Hill Fort
1:07	·	myth can't quite begin to explain how big this place is not just its size which is
1:17	·	probably over 100 acres it's almost a kilometre from one end to the other but
1:23	·	also the fortifications it's it's like a maze here is the Western entrance and
1:29	·	um here I am in the year 2024 and I'm confused about the right way
1:34	·	in and perhaps that is where the story starts Mortimer and Tessa wheeler came
1:43	·	here and excavated between 1934 and 1937 each session they brought with them over a 100
1:50	·	assistants all with the view of unearthing the secrets that this 2500 year old Fort had hidden
2:02	·	okay made it into one of the two entrances to the western side of Maiden Castle now wheeler
2:08	·	wanted archaeology to be held in the highest esteem but not only that he also wanted it to
2:15	·	be popular cuz if it was popular well then all of a sudden there's funding options and
2:21	·	opportunities there was no such thing as Government funding in the 1930s perhaps
2:27	·	Maiden Castle here endorse it or perhaps that could be the solution to both of those desires
2:34	·	ad43 saw the successful invasion of Britain by the Romans under Emperor Claudius from Kent they
2:40	·	headed west and North sweeping across Britain barbarically destroying everything in their
2:46	·	path Maiden Castle was no exception despite its size and clear fortifications the tribe
2:52	·	here were clearly no match for the Roman army the sheer scale of this place is absolutely
2:59	·	ridiculous can't quite begin to imagine the the work it took to build this it's just vast Tessa
3:06	·	and mortimer wheeler came here they had two or three years to unearth some of the secrets of
3:11	·	this place everything they found really backed the notion of the Roman Invasion the brutality
3:18	·	the the organization of that Civilization ad. 43 really was a brutal time right
3:25	·	here 1936 and sadly after the passing of Tessa when Mortimer found one of the most significant
3:37	·	pieces to the puzzle here he found the grave site with 52 adult males in most of which had suffered
3:46	·	significant injury it's a famous image of a uh a spine a human spine with a projectile embedded in
3:54	·	it perhaps one of the most persuasive points that wheeler made was at the body bodies were seemingly
4:00	·	buried in a hastily manner no real thought given to their position it was clearly done at a time
4:06	·	of great stress a battle now further Evidence should you need it of the Roman brutality here
4:13	·	in ad 43 well 74% of those bodies found in the grave well they had blows To The Head and the
4:23	·	Torso but there was one more thing for that we're going to have to head over to the Eastern
4:32	·	side to further understand the brutality of the Roman Invasion here so here now at the Eastern
4:40	·	entrance the Eastern Gate just there there's two um Gates just like over on the western side and
4:46	·	pretty much right here I'm stood very close to the war Graves that uh wheeler confirmed
4:52	·	or here and to make matters worse just up on the hill there towards the Western entrance
4:58	·	well there was a lot of round houses and Wheeler had found that they' been burnt to the ground if
5:03	·	it wasn't enough that the Romans came here and brutally murdered but they also level the place
5:08	·	too the wheelers at the time were making Leaps and Bounds in archaeology they had set up the
5:15	·	Institute of archaeology in London and we're really bringing the discipline into the public
5:20	·	eye the excavations really played so well into this agenda people flocked to the site to see
5:26	·	with their own eyes to see the history come alive the brutality of the Romans upon their Landing
5:32	·	here but what if I told you that absolutely none of what I've just told you is
5:44	·	true the wheelers wanted the publicity and they got it it was almost as if they were 80 years
5:52	·	ahead of their time with regards of modern use of social media he knew exactly what would bring
5:57	·	in further funds but you have to find find something good you have to find something of
6:01	·	substance for that wheel to continue in motion so this Eastern entrance is almost as much of a
6:09	·	maze as the western side now for me this story is really fascinating because today the almost
6:15	·	the the opposite is true with archaeology archaeology wants to protect itself protect
6:20	·	the sites protect the information until it's known to be completely true and that takes a
6:25	·	long time professionalism Reigns so what exactly was wrong with Wheeler's theories we seem to be
6:33	·	on to the reasons why perhaps but how do we know that he was so wrong it took until the
6:40	·	1980s for this one event Theory to start being picked apart well in the first instance there
6:46	·	was absolutely no evidence to suggest that the injuries and the trauma caused by those in the
6:52	·	war grave were done so here absolutely none it was well known certainly here with the duo triers the
6:59	·	tri that were here before the Romans that they practiced the use or the ReUse of graves over
7:04	·	a long period of time excavations in 1991 niall sharpels detailed that instead of the bodies being
7:12	·	placed here hastily and anxiously they were in fact placed in an ordered and careful manner some
7:18	·	of the Grave Goods placed alongside them were even still there so you remember the stat that wheeler
7:24	·	had they 74% of the male bodies found in there were uh consistent with injuries that were a Blow
7:31	·	To The Head and the Torso well that stat is true however what's not true is it didn't happen all at
7:38	·	once in one period of time it happened perhaps over centuries and that for me tells more of a
7:45	·	uh a sadder tale that the the tribes living here well they were certainly um under more stress for
7:52	·	a longer periods of time but what about the the bolt that uh bit of ballista that was found in
8:00	·	the spine of that adult male well again there is no evidence whatsoever that that was Roman equally
8:07	·	as much there has been the same Weaponry found in other areas on the island it could well have
8:13	·	been and likely to have been a native object and finally what about the burning of the roundhouses
8:22	·	the last Act of brutality by the Romans well no again sharpells 1991 concluded that the burning
8:29	·	here derived largely from the workings here the non-war related iron workings in fact NE sharpells
8:37	·	soon after his work in the 1980s described this place as one of the most significant prehistoric
8:45	·	Iron Age production of artefacts on the British aisles now that in itself should tell for quite a
8:52	·	story now as time goes on evidence suggest that this place was long abandoned before the Romans
9:02	·	came here maybe 150 years and perhaps when the Romans did arrive it would have looked just like
9:07	·	the landscape it does today wheeler certainly came here with an agenda he came here with a
9:13	·	narrative and everything he found he wanted to fit into that narrative and it did for him it
9:19	·	seemed a little bit rushed perhaps it's fair to say but you don't much away from wheelie
9:24	·	because he did a lot of work for archaeology in those early days and moved it forward and
9:29	·	Bounds and perhaps it did get that publicity it badly needed at the time who knows if there was
9:35	·	a battle it probably wasn't here I've been puled I hope you've enjoyed this little production if
9:41	·	you do you can click on all the good links below including our little patreon if you'd like to help
9:46	·	support the channel and get some behind the scenes goodies see you this time next [Music]
9:54	·	week