Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.

[Nathan Ross]

Here are some thoughts, building on what John and Michael have already said:

1.  Suetonius Paulinus... spends 2 Campaign Seasons fighting in Britannia.  On the Third season (year) he attacks Mona?

Tacitus isn't clear enough about his chronology to be sure which years he means, but the Mona operation and the revolt were either during Paulinus's third year or at the end of his successful second campaign - either AD60 or 61 is possible. The Roman campaign season in Britain began in the summer, and Mona would have been a lengthy operation involving building boats and provisioning forts, so we are probably looking at late summer or early autumn by the time it is completed.

2. ... I think I have his force being between 10,000 and 20,000. 

As Michael says, the text claims that he had 'close to' to 'nearly' 10,000 men by the time of the battle, legionaries and auxiliaries 'from the nearest forts' combined.

3. ...the word Tacitus uses for "defile(s)" is plural.

Again following Michael - the word is plural but describes a singular feature. In terrain terms we could think of it like 'narrows', 'straits' or jaws', which have a similar plural/singular structure in English.

4.  Timeline issue... Message probably gets to him about the time the Temple of Claudius falls...

This one issue has caused unlimited confusion over the years! Tacitus says that as Paulinus was completing his operations on Anglesey, he heard of 'the revolt of the province'. He then skips back in time to describe the Iceni uprising and everything up to the fall of Colchester. He then picks up the story again with Paulinus arriving at London.

Many people have assumed from this that the news Paulinus received must have been the fall of Colchester. But this is very unlikely, I think - the Romans in Colchester knew of the Iceni threat before the attack happened, possibly some before, and it would have taken the Iceni and their allies time to mobilise, arm themselves and march on the colony. Decianus Catus also knew of the threat, and sent men to reinforce the colonists. He would surely have warned Paulinus as well at this point - and it was this news, I believe, and not word of the fall of Colchester, that Paulinus received at Anglesey and which spurred him to an immediate response.

I've described march timelines etc in detail a few times on this thread - essentially, Paulinus needs c.13-17 days to get to London using normal Roman marching routine, depending on the route. We don't know how fast the Britons were moving, or whether they moved straight towards London after Colchester. But there would most probably have been sufficient time for Paulinus to get to London ahead of them - which is what Tacitus tells us he did!

5. Archaeology seems to provide that tribal settlement(s) were burnt around this time but whether by Boudicca's host or by Roman reprisals is not clear.

As we've discussed a few times, it's very difficult to assign areas of destruction to particular dates without additional evidence. The evidence of burning at St Albans, for example, is fairly limited compared to London and Colchester, and it's just an assumption that they all date from the same episode. Adding similar evidence from places like Staines and Silchester, Godmanchester and elsewhere may or may not provide an accurate picture - we just don't know.

Hope that helps a little. Meanwhile, have a great time in London and we will all look forward to your thoughts in the new year!