You may have wondered, at one time, how a pub got it's unusual name. In Colchester that's not a problem. This is what remains of the Balkerne Gate in the Roman west wall, the two passage ways on the right in the model.
Posted on 02/12/2005 8:48:49 PM PST by wagglebee
COLCHESTER, England (Reuters) - It is the home of Humpty Dumpty, Old King Cole and Camelot -- or so legend has it.
But archeologists raking over the past can now go one better for the English city of Colchester.
After painstaking excavation work they have proof of real heroes from the ancient world. Last month they revealed the remains of a Roman Circus or chariot racing track.
In the past 30 years archeologists in the city have unearthed evidence dating back to Roman rule over 2,000 years ago, rewriting British history along the way. The circus underlines the city's importance as a provincial Roman outpost.
In its heyday the track would have made an awesome sight with a straight measuring about 350 yards and stands for some 8,000 people, more than the population of the town itself.
Formerly Colonia Victricensis, meaning "City of the Victorious," Colchester is Britain's oldest recorded town and its first capital.
Famously Emperor Claudius made a trip to the city, complete with a cast of elephants and camels, to receive the surrender of the Celtic kings to found the Roman Province of Britannia.
The city is a living museum, complete with Roman wall and its Temple of Claudius. For archeologist Philip Crummy, who has directed excavations in the city since 1971, the discovery of the circus was one of the most exciting finds.
"Imagine when it was race day at the circus, and you had a full blown 12-chariot race, complete with 48 horses," he says. "It would have been quite a spectacle."
The track dates to around the second century, but Crummy says it is almost certain to be an upgrade of a circuit constructed years earlier.
"Perhaps some important official missed the action in Rome and had it built, or it was an attempt to emphasize the "Romanness" of the far-flung province of Britain," says Robert Kebric, history professor at the University of Louisville in the United States and author of "Roman People."
"I suspect it was mostly used for the entertainment of soldiers and locals and because of the expense involved, there is no way of knowing to what extent they could copy the Circus Maximus in Rome in terms of quality of charioteers, factions (teams) and schedule," he says, referring to the world's most famous circus in the Italian capital.
SPECTACULAR
Roman sports have been dramatically brought to life on the big screen, most memorably in the classic "Ben-Hur," with its thrilling chariot race.
"One guy would be aiming for the finishing line and the other two on his team would try to stop the others," says Crummy. "A lot of tactics were involved."
Usually, there were four teams of three chariots.
But Kebric says the win-at-all-costs mentality of the charioteers depicted in Ben-Hur, where they used blades on the wheels of their chariots, was exaggerated.
"In Rome, at least, chariot racing was closely regulated and since there was so much money (bets) riding on the races, fouls were not tolerated and races might even be rerun," he says.
But it was very dangerous. Kebric says the charioteers were professionals, rode for factions not as individuals, and usually died very young while racing.
"They were usually ex-slaves or low borns, who like many athletes today, used the playing field for social advancement. Some became chums of the emperors," he says.
"I would suspect in Britain, they'd have to take what they could get since there would be no incentive for the big time charioteers to come there. Perhaps even locals competed since the Celts had a tradition of chariots."
Chariot racing and the circus were a cornerstone of public life in Roman times. "As for the excitement, there was probably never anything like it, and the Circus Maximus in Rome was more than a racetrack," Kebric says.
"Astrologers even used its shape and the races to make their predictions, the emperors used it as a place to communicate with their subjects and every type of person under the sun -- coincidentally the patron of the races -- was there."
UNRULY CROWDS
Off the track, emotions would have run high too. "There was more chance of being hurt in clashes between supporters then there was on the track," says Robert Masefield, an archeologist in Colchester.
"As for the charioteers, they were a bit like gladiators ... but whether we had any heroes coming here we don't know."
For centuries Colchester residents have clung to nursery rhymes and legendary tales of their heroes.
Old King Cole is said to possibly refer to the Lord of Colchester, while Camelot -- the name of King Arthur's legendary court -- is claimed to derive from the city's Roman name.
Locals even boast their city was the home of Humpty Dumpty, which was in fact the name of large canon in the city.
Roll over Humpty Dumpty, Colchester has some new heroes.
GGG Ping!
Roman History buff, for later read....
Why would I want to read about some Crummy excavation?
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
Thanks for the additional info, I was unaware of this.
Scavenging the Empire
[how Medieval Christians viewed Roman ruins and used them to make monasteries]
The Rhine River blog [Landscape, Region and History.] | Feb 6, 2005 | Nathanael
Posted on 02/11/2005 6:42:45 AM PST by Mike Fieschko
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1341054/posts
Genealogy of Old King Coil (Cole):"Coel of Ayrshire (the third Coel aprox 400AD) should be separated from the second Coel/Cole (aprox 305 AD), who was the founder of Colchester and father of St. Helena, and from the first Cole (King Coilus, 95-154 AD), father of Lucius.[Old King Cole]
local tradition in Kyle, the district name derives from the ancient King, popularly known today as Old King Cole
"The Welsh leader was Gwendolew, who claimed descent from Coel Hen--Old King Cole. But there was still a Roman party among these northern Britons..."
Now there was a gal that would make even Hilliary and Pelozzi quake
I visited some Roman ruins approximately 20 km northeast of Paris France. Very nicely excavated - and dated back to approx. 100AD. The archaeologists had found a coliseum, a guard house, a bath house, and a temple.
One of the most interesting aspects of the Wall is Vindolanda, a restored Roman fort with lots of displays and information about life on the edge of the Empire, and how the Roman, Nordic and Celtic cultures met there. As someone of Italian, Swedish and Welsh descent, the place stirred me in ways no other historic site has before or since.
Is this as opposed to Nat King Cole?
(Couldn't resist.)
There are reports of a Hollywood movie in the works about her, possibly to be produced by Mel Gibson's Icon Productions.
There is a great story there, and it could be a great film, though I can easily imagine Hollywood ruining it by PCing it up. By that I mean it would have Boudicca taking part in the combat herself, striking down one inept legionnarie after another in some absurd display (sort of like the petite Keira Knightley in "King Arthur"). They'd probably also have her eventual defeat be due completely to bad luck or some sort of treachery.
But if they did it right, and had her displayed as charismatic, woman-scorned avenging fury, who destroyed Londinium and defeated part of one Roman Legion, but who eventually lost to the superior opponent, then it'd be great.
That Seutonius Paulinus, with not even two full legions, was able to crush a numerically superior army by using terrain and Roman tactics should not be downplayed.
Hmmm. If Mel did it in the style he did Braveheart - he might carry it off.
If he introduced spurious hallucinations from his mind, like he did in Passion - it would be better not done.
And I agree that the ending could easily be twisted - Her story, itself, tho ending in military defeat - was quite remarkable.
Hmm, do you know - is she, perhaps, the origin of the word "bodacious?"
I like all 3 movies Gibson has directed (Man w/o a Face, Braveheart, and The Passion of the Christ), so I don't doubt that he could do a great job with this.
I just hope he doesn't pull a Battle of Falkirk type of plot device, where William Wallace's defeat was primarily due to the treachery of the Scottish nobles and their cavalry. Now, I had no trouble with that, as I believe some of the traditions do indeed say that Wallace was betrayed at Falkirk, so it was fine and it made for good drama.
I just hope that he, or whoever may do it, doesn't feel the need to prop up Boudicca by making her defeat due to something other than Roman superiority in warfare. There was no shame in losing like she did, as Roman armies often won while outnumbered, and never met an opponent they couldn't beat, and even if she had beaten Paulinus, the ultimate outcome would have been far from certain. If Nero decided that the Island wasn't worth keeping, then he would have abandoned it to the Britons, but if he decided to keep it then other Legions could have been sent to quell the rebellion.
She had a good run, but it was bound to end as it did so long as Rome was determined to win.
You may have wondered, at one time, how a pub got it's unusual name. In Colchester that's not a problem. This is what remains of the Balkerne Gate in the Roman west wall, the two passage ways on the right in the model.
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