10-03-2023, 03:55 PM
The entire matter hinges on Tacitus's text
He chose a position approached by a narrow defile, closed in at the rear by a forest, having first ascertained that there was not a soldier of the enemy except in his front, where an open plain extended without any danger from ambuscades. His legion where in close array, round them the light armed troops, and the cavalry in dense array on the wings. On the other side, the army of the Britons, with its masses of infantry and cavalry, was confidently exulting, a waster host that ever had assembled and so fierce in spirit that they actually brought with them, to witness the victory, their wives riding in wagons, which they placed they had placed on the extreme border of the plain.
Tacitus describes a valley situated on the outskirts of a mountainous region. Beyond the valley lies a large open plain, surrounded by steep mountains that face the open plain.
"Wives riding in wagons, which they had placed on the extreme border of the plain." It is assumed that it was difficult to navigate the terrain with horses and wagons. The wagons appeared to be arranged in a line roughly parallel to Suetonius's battle line. This could suggest that they were positioned on a road. Roads often demarcate boundaries, so a road could be what Tacitus refers to as the border.
"He chose a position approached by a narrow defile." The opening is narrower at the entrance than further into the valley.
"Having first ascertained that there was not a soldier of the enemy except in his front." The location is a geographical bottleneck into the mountainous area, extremely difficult to access except through the opening.
Suetonius had 10,000 soldiers at his disposal. According to Dio, the Britons numbered 230,000, though these figures are likely exaggerated. Nevertheless, the Britons had a significant numerical advantage. This forced Suetonius to find a perfect defensive position that met the requirements for winning the battle. Suetonius found the perfect spot; otherwise, he would have lost the battle.
Boudicca's last known location was St. Albans. So, what was her next target? Looking back, she had attacked Roman towns or the Roman Ninth Legion, which confronted her. The Second Roman Legion remained in their base in Exeter, posing no threat to her. Suetonius must have been north of Boudicca on Watling Street, marching south to confront her. This threat Boudicca had to face.
After Boudicca's successes in capturing Colchester, more tribes sided with her. Suetonius must have been aware of this, which compelled him to confront Boudicca as quickly as possible. The nearest Roman towns from St. Albans were Alchester or Towchester, which could have been her next possible targets. Tacitus does not mention Boudicca destroying these towns, which could imply that the battlefield might be somewhere between Alchester, Towchester, and St. Albans.
A search using lidar finder reveals no suitable defensive positions south of Towchester or south of Alchester. However, in the northern Chiltern Hills, there are valleys that penetrate the mountains and seem interesting.
Chiltern Hills might have been a large impenetrable forested area 2,000 years ago. If we study the valleys in detail, one fits well with the criteria mentioned.
The valley that enters Northern Chiltern near the town of Wendover aligns well with all these assumptions. The Roman Road Akeman Street approximately corresponds to modern-day A41. The distance between Wendover and A41 is about 6 km. Boudicca could have moved from St. Albans to the open field outside Wendover, formed her army on Akeman Street, roughly opposite Suetonius, who had already taken a position at the opening.
The opening at Wendover is approximately 1400 meters wide. If Suetonius had lined up his 10,000 soldiers with a 2-meter width between each, the column would be 7 men deep. A more reasonable assumption is that cavalry stood on the flanks behind the infantry, making the column shorter in depth. The cavalry would likely have been used to sweep out to the flanks to prevent encirclement.
A search for archaeological finds on the proposed battlefield reveals no evidence of a battle taking place here.
The opening at Wendover is a location that should have appealed to Suetonius as a suitable battlefield.
Many details align well, and if the reasoning is correct, the answers lie in the ground. If someone finds this reasoning plausible and has the time, knowledge, and resources, they could investigate the ground at the suggested location. It would be incredibly exciting if someone could solve this historical mystery.
