Hiding bling from Boudicca

[Neil]

By Sarah Griffiths

As warrior Queen Boudicca and her army advanced on the town of Colchester almost 2,000 years ago, a terrified Roman woman stashed her most valuable possessions in the ground.
 
This is the belief of archaeologists who have unearthed one of the finest collections of Roman ‘bling’ stashed in a ‘clutch bag’ under what is now the Essex town’s High Street.
 
The hoard includes gold armlets, earrings and rings as well as silver chains, rings and coins, and was buried in bags and a wooden box under the floor of a house.

Archaeologists who have unearthed one of the finest collections of Roman ‘bling’ stashed in a ‘clutch bag’ under what is now Colchester High Street. The hoard (pictured) includes gold armlets, earrings and rings as well as silver chains, rings and coins, and was buried in bags and a wooden box under the floor of a house
 
The owner of the jewellery is unknown, but she may have been killed in a ‘sacred grove’ – a fate which befell wealthy Roman women captured by the Iceni army.
 
Dr Philip Crummy, director of the Colchester Archaeological Trust described the find as ‘of national importance and one of the finest ever uncovered in Britain.’
 
‘We had almost finished our six-month study of the site when we came upon a small tangled ball of metal that turned out to be jewellery that had lain there undisturbed since 61AD,’ he said.  
 
The impressive collection of  jewellery was discovered by the Williams & Griffin department store on the High Street in Colchester (marked) and it's hoped more treasure could be found nearby

The Roman owner of the jewellery (pictured left and right) is unknown, but she may have been killed in a ‘sacred grove’ – a fate which befell Roman wealthy women captured by the army
 

THE BOUDICCAN REVOLT
 
The Boudiccan Revolt raged from 60-61AD and saw British tribes, under Boudicca of the Iceni, unsuccessfully try to defeat the Roman army.
 
Boudicca was Queen of the Iceni people, a British tribe who lived in what is today Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
 
Her name is an early for of the more commonly known name 'Victoria'.
 
Her husband, Prasutagus, was ruler of the Iceni people, and the Romans allowed Prasutagus to continue as king, ruling on their behalf.
 
But, when Prasutagus died, the Romans decided to rule the Iceni directly and they confiscated the property of the leading Iceni families.
 
The Romans are also said to have stripped and whipped Boudicca, and raped her daughters.
 
The revolt resulted in Camulodunum, now Colchester, London, and Verulamium, now St Albans, being burnt to the ground while thousands of people on both sides lost their lives.
 
Colchester was the first target of the Boudiccan army and many of the townspeople were rounded up and sacrificed in nearby groves.
 


Boudicca was Queen of the Iceni people, a British tribe who lived in what is today Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Her name is an early for of the more commonly known name 'Victoria'.
 
The Boudiccan Revolt saw British tribes, under Boudicca of the Iceni, unsuccessfully try to defeat the Roman army.
 
The revolt resulted in Camulodunum, now Colchester, London, and Verulamium, now St Albans, being burnt to the ground while thousands of people on both sides lost their lives.
 
Dr Crummy said: ‘It is a particularly poignant find because of its historical context - Boudicca and her army destroyed London and St Albans but many of the inhabitants had time to escape however the people of Colchester were not so fortunate.
 
‘They knew a large Roman army was coming to their aid but they were practically defenceless, with only a small force of soldiers and no town defences.
 
‘Imagine their panic and desperation when they learnt of the massacre of a large part of the Ninth Legion on its way to relieve them and after a two-day siege they were over-run.’
 
He explained that they would have tried desperately to bury and hide valuables like jewellery for safe-keeping.
 
‘We know that the “noblest” of Colchester’s Roman women were taken to sacred groves, where they were killed in a horrific way and the quality of the jewellery we have found suggests that the owner would have been in this category but there is no direct evidence to indicate she ended up in a sacred grove.’
 
The Boudiccan sacking and burning of Colchester left in its wake a distinctive red and black layer of debris up to half a metre thick across the centre of much of modern-day Colchester.
 
The Boudiccan sacking and burning of Colchester left in its wake a distinctive red and black layer of debris up to half a metre thick across the centre of much of modern-day Colchester (pictured left). This layer is still being examined by archaeologists on the site, which is part of the Williams & Griffin department store (right)
 

'EXTREMELY RARE' JAWBONE DISCOVERED ON THE SAME SITE
 
A bone belonging of a Roman victim of the Iceni rebels, was found during redevelopment of a department store in Colchester in July.
 
The jawbone dates back to around 60AD, and was unearthed among burnt building debris under the town’s High Street.
 
It is only the second time remains of this kind have been found in the region.
 
An archaeologist said that the bones must be the remains of people who died in buildings set on fire by the British as they quickly overran the town.
.
This layer – made up for burned clay walls - is still being examined by archaeologists on the site, which is part of the Williams & Griffin department store.
 
They explained that human remains are rarely found among such debris, but the latest excavation has already yielded part of a jaw and shin bone, which appear to have been cut by a heavy, sharp implement such as a sword.
 
Experts think that there could have been resistance from the beleaguered garrison at the site.
 
Dr Crummy said: ‘We also discovered food on the floor of the room in which the jewellery was found, including dates, figs, wheat, peas and grain.’
 
He thinks it may have been stored on a wooden shelf, which had collapsed on to the floor.
 
Archaeologists expect to find more artefacts. The jewellery is now in a secure laboratory where it is being cleaned.
 
The fate of the hoard lies with the Coroner who will rule if the jewellery is treasure or not.

[marknewbury1]

Good  read old boy

[Resurgam]

An interesting read; many thanks for the post. 

[nonker10]

nice one mate a very very good read i learnt a lot there thank you.

[Ceibach]

Thank you for that post, very interesting read.