page_title: Camulodunum
section_title: Iceni revolt
hierarchical_section_title: Camulodunum / Pre-Boudican Roman town / Iceni revolt
caption_attribution_description: English: Bronze head of a Roman emperor (Claudius or Nero). 1st century AD. Found at Rendham, Suffolk, England. British Museum
context_page_description: Camulodunum, the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important town in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. It is claimed to be the oldest town in Britain. Originally the site of the Brythonic-Celtic oppidum of Camulodunon, capital of the Trinovantes and later the Catuvellauni tribes, it was first mentioned by name on coinage minted by the chieftain Tasciovanus sometime between 20 and 10 BC. The Roman town began life as a Roman Legionary base constructed in the AD 40s on the site of the Brythonic-Celtic fortress following its conquest by the Emperor Claudius. After the early town was destroyed during the Iceni rebellion in AD 60/61, it was rebuilt, reaching its zenith in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. During this time it was known by its official name Colonia Claudia Victricensis, often shortened to Colonia Victricensis, and as Camulodunum, a Latinised version of its original Brythonic name. The town was home to a large classical temple, two theatres, several Romano-British temples, Britain's only known chariot circus, Britain's first town walls, several large cemeteries and over 50 known mosaics and tessellated pavements.
context_section_description: The city was the capital of the Roman province of Britannia, and its temple (the only classical-style temple in Britain) was the centre of the Imperial Cult in the province. The Roman philosopher Seneca mentioned the temple when he mocked the province for its piety towards the Deified Claudius. The colonia was also initially home to the provincial Procurator of Britain. Aside from the Roman population, the city and surrounding territorium was also home to a large native population. Examples of cooperation between the two groups include the Romano-British Stanway Burials mounds and the warrior graves of native elites from the 50s. These graves represent members of the native aristocracy who have been Romanised.
  However tensions arose in 60/61 when the Roman authorities used the death of Prasutagus as a pretext for seizing the Iceni client state from his widow Boudica. The Iceni rebels were joined by the Trinovantes around Colonia Victricensis, who held several grudges against the Roman population of the town. These included the seizure of land for the colonia's veteran population, the use of labour to build the Temple of Claudius, and the sudden recall of loans given to the local elites by leading Romans (including Seneca and the Emperor), which had been needed to allow the locals to qualify for a position on the city council. The Procurator Catus Decianus was especially despised.
  Tacitus recorded that certain ominous portents occurred in the town prior to the rebellion:
  "[...]the statue of Victory fell down, its back turned as though in retreat from the enemy. Women roused into frenzy chanted of approaching destruction, and declared that the cries of the barbarians had been heard in the council-chamber, that the theatre had re-echoed with shrieks, that a reflection of the colonia, overthrown, had been seen in the Thames estuary. The sea appeared blood-red, and spectres of human corpses were left behind as the tide went out."
  As the symbol of Roman rule in Britain the city was the first target of the rebels, with its Temple seen in British eyes as the arx aeternae dominationis ("stronghold of everlasting domination") according to Tacitus. He wrote that it was undefended by fortifications when it was attacked with a garrison of only 200 members of the procurator's guard. He wrote of a last stand at the Temple of Claudius:
  "In the attack everything was broken down and burnt. The temple where the soldiers had congregated was besieged for two days and then sacked.".
  The rebels destroyed the city and slaughtered its population. Archaeologists have found layers of ash in the site of the city, suggesting that Boudica ordered her rebel army to burn the city to the ground. A relief army consisting of the Legio IX Hispana led by Quintus Petillius Cerialis attempted to rescue the besieged citizens, but was destroyed outside of the town. After the Romans under governor Gaius Suetonius Paullinus finally defeated the uprising, the Procurator of the province moved his seat to the newly established commercial settlement of Londinium (London).
caption: The head of a presumed equestrian statue of Claudius found in the River Alde at Rendham in Suffolk, believed to have been taken from the Temple of Claudius during Boudica's revolt.[5][34] British Museum, London.
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