Almost two thousand years ago, the Celtic Queen of England led a bloody uprising against the Romans. Queen Boudica, ruler of the Celtic British Aisin tribe of 1st century advertising, challenged the Roman occupyer and was later celebrated as the national heroine of England.
But where was Boudica (also spelled Boudicca, Boadicea, or Boudecia) buried? For many years, it was said that several locations were her burial sites, including under the platform, located at one of London’s busiest railway stations.
Boudica was “a very, very draft beer, very freedom fighter,” Miranda Aldhaus Green, professor of archaeology at Cardiff University in England and author of “Boudica Britannia” (2021), told Live Science.
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Her conflict with the Romans was born around 60 AD after brutally denying the joint rule over her daughters.
“She decided that she would get an army together and drive the Romans out of England.
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Cultural conflict
Boudica was the wife of Iceni Ruler Prasutagus and the king of wealthy Roman clients, who ruled the lands on the East Coast of England until his death around 60 AD. The remaining rule of his territory was to go to the Romans who invaded Britain around 43 AD.
However, under Roman law, women were prohibited from inheriting any kind of rules, but it is unclear whether Boudica or her daughter is a Roman citizen. Caitlin Gillespie (2018, Oxford University Press, 2018), a classical historian at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and author of “Boudica: Warrior Woman of Roman Britain.”
This conflict of culture, and perhaps the politics of life, led the Romans to deny the claim that Boudica’s daughter could control every part of the land of Aisini. And they were cruel at their denial. “The Romans had a kind of trouble. The Romans treated them very badly,” Aldhaus Green said. “They attacked, confiscated all their assets, were whipped and raped their two daughters.”
“Boudica then decided that was,” said Aldhouse-Green, and she founded the British and rebels with her own people from other tribes treated badly by the Romans.
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Boudican Revolt
The Boudican rebellion lasted for several months, causing the destruction of several important Roman settlements in the UK, including the capital, Camulo dunum (Colchester, Essex), and the town of Londinium (now London). However, it ultimately failed, and Boudica’s rebellious forces were defeated in 61 AD at the Battle of Watling Street.
Boudica herself took her life when it was clear that she had died in the battle or that she had lost. Despite her defeat, she later acquired the fairy as a national heroine, especially during the reign of Queen Victoria.
The idea that Boudica was now buried under the platform at King Cross Station in London appears to have originated in the 19th century. The station was built in an area known as the Battle Bridge, and according to legend, Boudica was defeated there. However, historians now believe that the name “Battle Bridge” is a corruption of “Broadford Bridge” and has nothing to do with Boudica. When the station was built in the 1850s, the idea acquired strength along with Roman discoveries, but nothing suggests that Boudica was buried there.
Rumors about Boudica’s burial site existed in the 19th century, due to part of her iconic relationship with Queen Victoria in the UK. Some speculated she was buried beneath the council hill on the southeast side of Hampstead Heath. (However, historians now believe that the battle probably happened hundreds of miles north along the same road in Warwickshire.)
Other antiquarians and writers who want to connect Boudica to an important landmark suggested that she was buried in Stonehenge (already thousands of years ago by Boudica’s time).
However, Aldhouse-Green warned that Boudica’s grave would probably never be found wherever it is.
“The Romans decided that when she died they would block all kinds of monuments, because they feared it was a rebellion gathering,” she said. “So they absolutely knew there was nothing to show where she was buried.”
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