Battlefields›Caratacus Handed Over to Rome
Roman Period

Caratacus Handed Over to Rome

51
Yorkshire, England
Era
Roman Period
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Yorkshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Caratacus
VS
Victor
Roman Empire / Cartimandua (Brigantes)
Forces involved

Roman forces under governor Publius Ostorius Scapula; Caratacus and the Silures and Ordovices

Outcome
Caratacus captured and handed over to Rome; exhibited in Claudius' triumph but his life was spared.
The Battle

History & Significance

AD 51 (LI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Scipio (or, less frequently, year 804 Ab urbe condita). The denomination AD 51 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Emperor Claudius and future emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus are Roman Consuls.

Burrus, praetorian prefect (51–62 AD), charges Seneca with the education of Nero.

In Britain, governor Publius Ostorius Scapula defeats Caratacus and the Silures in the territory of the Ordovices in central Wales. Caratacus seeks sanctuary with Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes in northern England, but she is a Roman ally and hands him over to Ostorius. Despite the defeat, the Silures continue to fight.

The captured Caratacus is exhibited in chains in Claudius' triumph in Rome, but his dignified demeanour persuades the emperor to spare his life and allow his family to live free in the capital for a short period of time.

Vonones II dies a few months after he had ascended to the throne. His son Vologases I becomes the new Parthian king.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Caratacus Handed Over to Rome lies on Yoredale Group, bedrock that formed in the Bashkirian. The rock here is limestone, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.

Buried history

According to Tacitus, Cartimandua's betrayal of Caratacus brought her lasting rewards: "She had later strengthened her power when she was credited with having captured King Caratacus by treachery and so furnished an adornment for the triumph of Claudius Caesar. From this came her wealth and the wanton spirit which success breeds." Caratacus himself, exhibited in chains before the emperor, made so dignified an impression that Claudius spared both his life and that of his family.

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This page covers Caratacus Handed Over to Rome. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Caratacus Handed Over to Rome

Stanwick Late Iron Age oppidum, Iron Age and medieval settlement, early Christian church and sculpture and post-medieval emparkment
Stanwick Late Iron Age oppidum, Iron Age and medieval settlement, early Christian church and sculpture and post-medieval emparkment
Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

Stanwick is a Late Iron Age oppidum located near Scotch Corner in North Yorkshire, England, comprising an extensive series of defensive earthworks enclosing an area of approximately 600 acres. The site dates primarily to the 1st century BC and represents one of the largest hillforts in Britain, w…

Lizzyp at English Wikipedia / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Packhorse bridge across Aldbrough Beck, immediately south west of High Green
Packhorse bridge across Aldbrough Beck, immediately south west of High Green
Scheduled monument · ~1.6 mi

Packhorse bridge across Aldbrough Beck is a medieval or early modern stone arch bridge located immediately south west of High Green in Yorkshire. The structure served the important function of facilitating the movement of packhorses and goods across the beck, forming part of the network of routes…

Maigheach-gheal / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Barforth Bridge
Barforth Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~2.9 mi

Barforth Bridge is a stone bridge crossing the River Tees in North Yorkshire, dating from the medieval period. The structure represents an important example of bridge engineering from its era, serving as a crossing point on a significant route through the region. Built of stone with characteristi…

Hugh Mortimer / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
St Lawrence's Chapel, manorial settlement remains and dovecote
St Lawrence's Chapel, manorial settlement remains and dovecote
Scheduled monument · ~2.9 mi

St Lawrence's Chapel, manorial settlement remains and dovecote is a complex of medieval monuments located in Yorkshire. The site comprises the remains of a chapel dedicated to St Lawrence, associated manorial settlement features, and a dovecote, all dating to the medieval period. The chapel and s…

Round barrow 340m east of Cliffe Hall known as Betty Watson's Hill
Round barrow 340m east of Cliffe Hall known as Betty Watson's Hill
Scheduled monument · ~3.1 mi

Betty Watson's Hill is a round barrow situated approximately 340 metres east of Cliffe Hall in Yorkshire. The monument dates to the Bronze Age and represents a typical example of burial mound construction from this period. Round barrows of this type served as funerary monuments for individuals of…

Linda Spashett, Storye book / CC BY 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Piercebridge Bridge
Piercebridge Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~3.2 mi

Piercebridge Bridge is a Roman bridge crossing the River Tees near Piercebridge in County Durham, dating from the second century AD. The structure formed part of the road network connecting the fort at Piercebridge with other military installations across northern Britain during the Roman occupat…

Oliver Dixon / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Two moated sites, the site of a dovecote and further associated features 120m north west and 180m north of The Old Hall
Scheduled monument · ~1.2 miles
Section of Scots Dyke linear boundary, 650m ENE of Park House
Scheduled monument · ~1.4 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Caratacus Handed Over to Rome

Oswine of Deira Killed, 651
651
~2.2 miles away
Battle of Piercebridge
1642
~3.2 miles away
Battle of Scotch Corner
~4.7 miles away
Raid on Richmond
1781
~6.6 miles away
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