Boudica The Truth

By Janet Smart

Historians have led us to believe that the last great battle fought between the Roman Legions and the ancient Celtic Britons, led by the warrior Queen Boudica during the winter of AD 60, occurred somewhere in the Midlands on the old Wattling Street.

The research provided in the book aims to question that this theory, which has been accepted as a historical fact, is founded on a mere idea with no evidence whatsoever to support it. The tribal people have also wrongly been branded Barbarians and a mindless marauding mob when nothing could be further from the truth.

It lays out the case with supporting evidence that this momentous event, which ultimately decided the future of Briton, instead took place in Flintshire, North Wales. Boudica and her Warriors deserve and demand that the truth be known and their extraordinary sacrifice be honoured. So did the Iceni Queen and Welsh Princess come home to fight the deadliest foe the Celtic people of Briton had ever encountered?

It is for you, the reader, to decide and Archaeology to prove.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Self Publishing Partnership
• Release date: Jan 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781839524202

Book preview

Introduction

Two thousand years ago in Britain, a momentous struggle began against the Roman war machine, which was the most brutal, ruthless invading force the world’s population had ever experienced. The Iron Age people whose way of life for millennia had been undisturbed now faced a fight for their very existence and to live as a free people. The country at this time was divided into different tribal peoples who had their own lands, leaders, freedoms and customs. So when Rome began to dismantle their societies and destroy their culture, eventually they wanted to fight back – whatever the cost.

The struggle for freedom ended in a momentous battle fought between the Roman Army and the Celtic tribes of the province of Britannia in the year AD 60, and this deadly conflict ultimately decided the fate of the Britons. The rebellion to rid themselves of this slave empire was commanded by Queen Boudica of the Iceni and followed by thousands of her countrymen, probably from every tribe.

Together they succeeded in laying waste to three cities, razing them to the ground by fire and killing seventy thousand Roman citizens in Britain in the process. They went on to wipe out a whole Roman Legion, the Ninth Hispania, which had come to help. These actions dealt a massive body blow to the Empire, the likes of which they in their grandeur had never experienced before.

Sadly the fight for the survival of the Celtic way of life tragically ended in defeat in the ensuing retaliatory battle that followed, with a loss of eighty thousand of their countrymen. This battle’s location has never accurately been determined with any supporting evidence, leaving a gaping hole in our knowledge of the past. The search for the truth can no longer ignore the enormous sacrifice our ancestors made for freedom.

When I first moved to Wales in 2006, I could never have known the incredible journey I would eventually embark upon. My choice of new house name was quite providential, as by some strange decision I passionately called it ‘Iceni’, the tribal name of Queen Boudica’s people because all my life I had admired and been fascinated by the story of the most famous Warrior Queen that history has to offer.

Then in 2011, my dear friend Jenny, with a background in Archaeology, told me about the legend of Boudica fighting the Romans in North Wales, when the Britons rose in the rebellion

Naturally, I was intrigued and began to delve into this rather unlikely story, and the more I researched and looked at this, I found myself becoming very disappointed that historians had always dismissed this theory.

I then became more resolved to present the evidence and expand the legend’s possibility, as I believe it is entirely likely that this battle took place here in Flintshire. Indeed I also think it is the most logical explanation for the whole story.

Boudica, or in Welsh Buddug, which translates as Victorious/Victoria in English, is held in much affection by the people of North Wales because folklore dies hard with the Welsh. Generations have spoken of this Warrior Queen and her great act of courage here in these lands, and almost always add that they believe she was on her way to help the Druids of Anglesey.

Amazingly, Boudica became a huge part of my life for five years as I strove to unravel these events and what I believe is the truth about what really happened to her and to all the Britons involved in this fight for freedom.

When Boudica is imagined, she is thought of as this wild beast of a bloodthirsty female riding a chariot. This is how we see her because she is portrayed this way in all art we have, when in fact she was just a young woman, a mother and grieving widow whose responsibility was to care for and lead her people.

We have scant information about this last battle and all the facts surrounding it. These are furnished by two writers and historians of the first and second century, Casseus Dio and Cornelius Tacitus. Their accounts differ slightly, but crucially, as I will explain later. Tacitus’s report on this history appears to be favoured more, as he was able to rely on a first-hand account of the battle events. Contemporary sources are always preferable, but on this occasion, I wonder. Consideration must be given to both Tacitus and Dio, subject to the rules of the Roman Empire just like all its other citizens. If the ruling powers did not want the truth of this history to be recorded accurately to protect its prestige, maybe neither of these men could give an accurate account of these military actions, for fear of death.

Information on the rebellion and battle was given to Tacitus by his father-in-law, Agricola. The latter served in the Roman army as a young soldier in a high-ranking staff position under General Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, who was Governor of Britain at the time of the rebellion.

I believe that past historians have pushed forward false facts, that the battle happened somewhere outside London, even though Tacitus or Dio make no mention in their recording of this history precisely as to where this conflict occurred. Because of this, various sites in that area have been suggested to be the correct ones by enthusiasts and some scholars. However, no objective evidence has ever been discovered to prove any location as being authentic.

Over time, many characters of note have spoken of this event occurring in Wales, and I much admire one patriot, Owen Morgan (also known by his bardic name Morien), who was a rebel of his age, a great Welsh bard and an Archdruid. He was born in the Rhondda in the summer of 1836. Morien was a historian and a journalist writing for The Western Mail. He was also an author of books, mainly about Druidism and Welsh history. There has been much controversy surrounding his work and the demeaning of his name. However, I wish to commend him for his forward-thinking in his passion for Wales and his great love of these islands and their ancient people. Morien was incensed by the spark that fanned the great rebellion’s flames, which he believed was the murder of the Druids by the Roman legions on the sacred isle of Anglesey, known then as the isle of Mona to the Celts. The grief he felt about this event comes over strongly in his writings.

My heart is also heavy for the tremendous human suffering and struggle endured in the battle for freedom from the Roman Empire, not least by our British ancestors who fought a momentous fight against tyranny and gave almost their last blood to rid themselves of their brutal conquerors. As we all know, they lost that fight, but we owe them a duty, if it is possible, to find their remains and also establish the truth of these events. We must then honour them with all the pride, love and admiration they deserve. I hope this book inspires archaeologists to come to Flintshire and leave no stone unturned until Boudica and her warriors are found. The Warrior Queen calls to me and to all, ‘Please find us and pay homage to the sacrifice’.

I wish to include a tribute to Morien, as these words from his book The Light Of Britannia (published in 1893) inspired me to produce this work and begin the quest for the truth. I echo the sentiments below with the same passion as he for a people lost and brought to their knees by the brutalising force of a despotic regime. That regime destroyed and enslaved hundreds of cultures worldwide without mercy and murdered hundreds of thousands of innocent people while bringing so-called civilization.

Owen Morien Morgan (Pontypridd Museum).

Dedication, The Light Of Britannia (1893):

We dedicate the following pages to the sacred memory of those our Ancestors, who a vast multitude of aged and young Druids and Druidesses were massacred in AD 60 on the Mona side of the Menai Strait by the Roman Legions under the command of General Suetonius Paulinus. The Roman General was accompanied by young Agricola, who afterwards became the Governor of that part of Britannic Dominion which the Romans succeeded in conquering and subsequently was the father in law of Cornelius Tacitus, the brilliant Roman Historian. The description of the said massacre, written by Tacitus, was no doubt imparted by Agricola to his eloquent son in law, and it is therefore, we believe, the testimony of an eyewitness of the awful event. The slaughter of the British Priests and Priestesses, all of whom were non-combatants, was, however, speedily avenged, for the British Nation up-rose in arms and slew scores of thousands of the Romans and, commanded by Queen Victoria (Buddug Boadicea), marched with fire in their eyes towards Mona (Anglesey). At Newmarket, Flintshire (Trelawnyd), the British and Roman armies met in deadly conflict. According to Tacitus, who erroneously describes the scene of the Battle as near London, the British were eventually defeated in Battle. That Queen Victoria the 1st perished seems certain, for her grave is still shown near the said Newmarket, in the midst of many a heap of bones of warriors slain.

Note

I have to disagree with Morien on one point, as it would appear that even