Camulodunum - Early Roman Camulodunum

Early Roman Camulodunum

Cunobelinus had died prior to the Roman invasion under Aulus Plautius in 43, and the British defence was led by his sons Caratacus and Togodumnus. Plautius secured a crossing point of the River Thames, halted, and sent word for the emperor Claudius to lead the march to Camulodunon. Claudius arrived with reinforcements, including artillery and elephants, but as Suetonius and Claudius' triumphal arch state, the British kings surrendered without further bloodshed.

A Roman legionary fortress or castrum, the first permanent legionary fortress to be built in Britain, was established at Camulodunum in 43. A veteran colony was established in an effort to subdue the Silures and as part of an attempt at Romanisation. Later it became a colonia – a settlement of discharged Roman soldiers – and the principal city of Roman Britain. A Roman monumental temple was built there c. 44 and was dedicated to the emperor Claudius.

According to Tacitus, in 60/61 when the Iceni and Trinovantes under Boudica revolted against Roman rule, the city was undefended by fortifications, and was only garrisoned by 200 members of the procurator's guard. The rebels destroyed the city. The settlement was a target for the rebels because the veterans who inhabited the city "drove people out of their houses, ejected them from their farms, called them captives and slaves". The temple, where the citizens had taken refuge, was destroyed after a two day siege. After the defeat of the uprising, the administrative centre of the Roman province moved to the newly established commercial settlement of Londinium (London).