In Boudica's footsteps
London to St Albans
By
the middle of the 1st century AD, Verulamium – the modern-day St
Albans, Hertfordshire – had achieved the Roman status of municipium,
the only British city to attain such an honour, which accorded native
magistrates and their families the right to Roman citizenship. With such
an open indication of its pro-Roman stance, it is hardly surprising that
Verulamium was chosen as Boudica's next – and last – target.
However, the presence of Romans themselves was apparently very limited at Verulamium. No fort has ever been found here, which suggests that the population was considered quite tame by the conquerors.
The people of Verulamium had not always been so docile. As members of the powerful Catuvellauni tribe, they had dominated most of south-east England, including their main rivals, the Trinovantes, and had led the ultimately unsuccessful resistance to Claudius's invasion in AD 43. The choice of Verulamium as a target for the Boudican rebels may have derived from the Trinovantes' desire for revenge.
Before she had even left Londinium, the residents of Verulamium received the news that they were to be Boudica's next victims. As a result, by the time the Iceni queen and her followers – who may have numbered 200,000 by now – arrived, the residents had mostly evacuated and taken everything they owned with them. Nevertheless the rebels burned Verulamium and killed all those who remained.
Boudica and her 'army' then began to march north-west, in the direction that the Roman governor Suetonius Paulinus was bound to be travelling down Watling Street with his troops. Why didn't the rebels return to East Anglia with their booty and the memories of their victories? It is likely that, full of their successes, they believed they could eliminate the Romans entirely from Britain with just one more battle. Some 80 miles from Verulamium, they would find out if they could.
What you can see
Verulamium Museum and Roman Town
www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk/
verulamium_museum.htm
Verulamium Museum is on the site of one the major cities of Roman
Britain, now an attractive park. Inside there are recreated Roman rooms,
hands-on 'discovery areas', an introductory video, touch-screen databases
and some of the finest Roman mosaics and wall plasters outside the Mediterranean.
Every second weekend in the month, re-enactors demonstrate the tactics
and equipment of the Roman army.
Except for pieces of burnt pottery, there is little, if any, evidence of the Boudican attack on Verulamium. What can be seen is the rebuilding that occurred afterwards, including walls up to 3.7 metres (12 feet) high and the only Roman theatre in Britain.
St Michael's Street, St Albans, Hertfordshire, tel: 01727 751 810. By car: 10-minute drive from junction 21A on the M25 or junctions 9, 7 or 6 on the M1 (follow signs for St Albans and Roman Verulamium). By bus: take the No. 300 from the city centre. By rail: St Albans City Station (Thameslink) from King's Cross, then bus or taxi; St Albans Abbey Station (Silverlink) from Euston/Watford, then bus, taxi or a 20-minute walk through Verulamium park.
