Romans In Iron Age Britain
Looking for an immersive workshop about the Iron Age? Off the Page may have what you are looking for — with a little imagination.
The Iron Age in Britain lasted from roughly 800 BC to 100 AD. The problem with this era, from a narrative point of view, is that it is prehistory. Everything we know about the Iron Age is based on archaeology — nothing was written down until the Romans arrived for the first time in 55 BC under Julius Caesar (and Caesar’s descriptions of the island were not exactly glowing.)
As a result, the only narrative history to emerge from the Iron Age is that of Boudica, the queen of an Iron Age people (the Iceni) who fought back against the occupying Romans in 61 AD.
Our newly revamped Life in Roman Britain Day follows the Boudica narrative, albeit from a Roman point of view. As the children work in a Roman fort, news arrives that Boudica — an ally of Rome before the death of her husband, Prasutagus — has joined with the Trinovantes to attack and destroy the Roman towns of Camulodunum, Londinium and Verulamium. The children explore the reasons for the revolt, the battles between Boudica and the Romans, and the consequences afterward.
All of the events take place in the Iron Age, which arguably lasted another 40 years after the revolt (until Romanisation slowly took hold among the native Britons).
We hope to eventually offer an Iron Age workshop, but in the meantime, please consider our Life in Roman Britain Day and explore how two cultures collided to end the era.