Battlefields›Sack of Camulodunum (Boudiccan Revolt)
Roman Period

Sack of Camulodunum (Boudiccan Revolt)

60
Essex, England
Era
Roman Period
Battle Type
Siege
Location
Essex, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Roman colonists of Camulodunum and Legio IX Hispana relief force
VS
Victor
Iceni and Trinovantian rebels under Boudica
Outcome
Camulodunum was besieged and destroyed by fire; the last defenders held out in the Temple of Claudius for two days before being overwhelmed; a Roman relief force under Petillius Cerialis was ambushed and largely destroyed.
The Battle

History & Significance

Sack of Camulodunum (Boudiccan Revolt) was a Roman siege, the investment of a fortified position, fought at Essex, England in 60. Iceni and Trinovantian rebels under Boudica prevailed over Roman colonists of Camulodunum and Legio IX Hispana relief force. Camulodunum was besieged and destroyed by fire; the last defenders held out in the Temple of Claudius for two days before being overwhelmed; a Roman relief force under Petillius Cerialis was ambushed and largely destroyed.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Sack of Camulodunum (Boudiccan Revolt) lies on Thames Group, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.

Casualties & Losses
  • Roman relief force lost an estimated 1,500-2,000 infantry (Legio IX Hispana detachment nearly annihilated); town population of Camulodunum (estimated around 4,000-10,000 depending on source) reported killed or burned in the temple siege; exact combined Boudican revolt death toll from Tacitus (70,000-80,000 across Camulodunum, Londinium and Verulamium) is not specific to Camulodunum alone
Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Sack of Camulodunum (Boudiccan Revolt)

This page covers Sack of Camulodunum (Boudiccan Revolt). 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 Sack of Camulodunum (Boudiccan Revolt)

Colchester Castle and the Temple of Claudius
Colchester Castle and the Temple of Claudius
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Colchester Castle is a Norman castle built in Essex in the eleventh century, occupying the site of the Roman Temple of Claudius which was destroyed during Boudica's revolt in 60 or 61 AD. The castle's massive keep, constructed from approximately 1076 onwards under the direction of Eudo Dapifer, r…

George Gastin / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
St Botolph's Augustinian Priory
St Botolph's Augustinian Priory
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

St Botolph's Augustinian Priory is a religious foundation located in Colchester, Essex, established in the twelfth century as a house of Augustinian canons. The priory occupied a significant position within the town's ecclesiastical landscape and would have functioned as a centre of religious obs…

Maria / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Balkerne Gate
Balkerne Gate
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

Balkerne Gate is a Roman gateway structure located in Colchester, Essex, forming part of the defences of the Roman settlement of Camulodunum. The monument dates to the late first century AD, constructed during the period following the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, and represents one of the…

Tanya2501 / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Site of pre-Roman settlement
Site of pre-Roman settlement
Scheduled monument · ~0.7 mi

Site of pre-Roman settlement is an archaeological monument located in Essex, England, designated on the National Heritage List for England under entry 1002173. The site represents evidence of human occupation and settlement activity prior to the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43. Archaeological…

Sandy Gerrard / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Bourne Mill
Bourne Mill
Scheduled monument · ~1 mi

Bourne Mill is a 16th-century water mill situated near Colchester in Essex. The structure was built in 1591 and retains much of its original fabric, including its brick construction and timber framing characteristic of the period. The mill is powered by a water wheel fed from a nearby pond and re…

Mstanyauk / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Moat Farm Dyke: a northern extension of Lexden Dyke; part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum
Moat Farm Dyke: a northern extension of Lexden Dyke; part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum
Scheduled monument · ~1.5 mi

Moat Farm Dyke is a northern extension of Lexden Dyke, part of the extensive fortification system associated with the Iron Age oppidum and later Romano-British town of Camulodunum in Essex. The dyke forms part of the territorial defences that enclosed this significant settlement, which served as…

Sandy Gerrard / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
The Benedictine Abbey of St John
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 miles
SE corner of Roman town in Easthill House Gardens
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 miles
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Battles near Sack of Camulodunum (Boudiccan Revolt)

Siege of Colchester (Second Civil War — 1648)
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