Colchester (G-B): Is this one of Queen Boudicca's victims? 'Extremely rare' jawbone found among burnt debris
Victoria Woolaston
Jaw bones was discovered during redevelopment in Colchester, Essex
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Bone dates back to 61AD when the Boudiccan Revolt burnt the town down
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Rebels tore through Essex as Boudicca tried to free people from Roman rule
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Remains were found with burnt debris under the Williams and Griffin store
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They are only the second human remains of this kind to be found in the town
As the 7th century Boudiccan Revolt against Roman rule tore its way through the east of the England, towns were burnt to the ground by Iceni rebels.
Now, a bone belonging of one the fire's victims have been found during redevelopment of a department store in Colchester.
The jawbone dates back to around 60AD, and was unearthed among burnt building debris under the town’s High Street.
Archaeologists have discovered a jaw bone (pictured) during redevelopment in Essex. The bone dates from around 61AD - the time of the Boudiccan Revolt when the town was burnt down by Iceni rebels. The remains were found among burnt building debris under the Williams and Griffin department store
It is only the second time remains of this kind have been found in the region and Philip Crummy, director of the Colchester Archaeological Trust, said the discovery ‘is extremely rare.’
The Boudiccan Revolt 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.
Crummy said the recently discovered bones must be the remains of people who died in buildings set on fire by the British as they quickly overran the town.
Colchester (starred) was the first target of the Boudiccan army and many of the townspeople were rounded up and sacrificed. The route of the army is pictured. Archaeologists said the recently discovered bones must be the remains of people who died in buildings set on fire by the British as they quickly overran the Essex town
Boudicca was eventually defeated by a Roman army, led by Caius Suetonius Paullinus, and some reports claim she killed herself with poison.
At Colchester, Boudicca destroyed the temple built for the Emperor Claudius.
A head from a bronze statue of the Emperor, which is thought to have come from the temple, was found at Rendham in Suffolk and is now in The British Museum.