The Ancients - Colchester: From Bronze Age to Boudica

Episode Date: August 19, 2021

It is the one possible case of urbanisation in Britain prior to the arrival of the Romans, and that is just the start of the story of Colchester. In this chat with Tristan, Dr Frank Hargrave from Colchester Museum reveals the city’s long and prestigious ancient history. From the Bronze Age to Boudica.

Hi, I'm Tristan Hughes, and if you would like The Ancients ad-free, get early access and bonus episodes, sign up to History Hit. With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, including my recent documentary all about Petra and the Nabataeans, and enjoy a new release every week. Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com slash subscribe. by visiting historyhit.com slash subscribe. It's The Ancients on History Hit. I'm Tristan Hughes, your host.

And in today's podcast, where we are talking about a town that is fondly known as Britain's oldest town, Britain's first town. And this is Colchester. Now, Colchester has some extraordinary ancient history. We've got archaeology from the Bronze Age. We've got remains from the Iron Age, especially the late Iron Age. You have the ditches, the earthworks, what remains of what were once monumental dike systems. You have the remains of Boudicca's destruction of this town in 60 AD. And to talk through Colchester's ancient history, I was delighted to head up to

that town a few weeks back and to interview Frank Hargrave. Frank is the head manager, he is the head honcho at the Colchester and Ipswich Museum. He knows a lot about the archaeology, especially the ancient archaeology discovered in that part of the island and he is also an expert in particular on late iron age ritual and religion. So without further ado here's Frank to talk all about Britain's first town. Frank it's wonderful to have you on the podcast. Wonderful for me thank you. I mean it's lovely to be here and actually talking to you in person after such a long long period of Zoom interviews. And we are talking about this incredible topic, ancient Colchester.

And Frank, can we say that this is the oldest town in Britain? Yes, absolutely. Of course we can. People tend to focus a little bit too much, I think, on a reference that was made by Pliny the Elder in around about AD 77, I think. And that actually refers to Camulodunum, i'r Coelchester Român, fel ddyn, ac mae hwn yn y cyfrif cyntaf i ddyn, neu'n ystyried. Ond yn ddiddorol, mae'r cyfrif yr unol hefyd yn ei roi mewn cyd-destun o... mae'n ymwneud â Angleseyn, mae'n siarad am Angleseyn, ac mae'n rhoi Coelchester mewn cyd-destun fel y bydd pobl yn gwybod ble mae Angleseyn. A dyna'n ddweud rhywbeth arall, wrth gwrs, mae hynny'n ein ddweud bod pobl yn gwybod ble mae Coelchester yn y cyntaf. Felly mae hynny'n ddiddorol, mae'n dweud bod pobl yn gwybod ble mae Colchester yn y cyntaf.

Felly mae hynny'n ddiddorol, mae'n dangos bod yma lle pwysig. Ond yn ystod y cyfnod, mae'r Llywodraeth, fel pe nad ydyn nhw gennyf gennwch hynny i'w ddweud, yn cael ei ddweud bod Llywodraeth yn y cyntaf i'w ddweud yn ymwneud â'r Rhom. Ac mae rhywbeth wedi cael ei ddweud yn y sefydliad Bloonsbury, y tablet lle gallwch weld y lle mae wedi cael ei ddweud yn y ddechrau, y llythyr sy'n gofyn Lundain, efallai 10 mlynedd yn ôl hynny, felly yn yr 80au. Ond mewn llawer o ffyrdd gallwch gael eich ffocws

ychydig yn ddwy fwy ar hynny, rwy'n credu. Mae'r holl bethau'n eithaf amdano. Pan edrychwch ar ddwy bethau, rwy'n credu, neu Colchester ym Mhroen, ac mae hynny, roedd rhywbeth yma cyn hynny, roedd hynny'n eithaf cyffredinol. Ac mae hynny'n bwysig iawn. Os yw unrhyw lle yng Nghymru

sy'n gallu gofyn rhyw fath o gyfweli yr Eglwys a'r Rhomau, mae'n Colchester. Ar y cwntyn o'r pwynt hwn, mae'n enwog o'r enw Opeda, sy'n ddweud, dwi'n credu, rhywbeth o'r term Opeda, yn dweud, wel, bod yna dynion Celf, neu bobl o'r Eglwys, neu beth bynnag, na fydd yn gallu cael eu cymryd o ddynion cywir. Ond dyna'r hyn rydyn ni'n edrych ar. Yn Gwyrdd, nid ydym yn cael hynny i'r cyfnod hwnnw. Dwi ddim yn credu bod unrhyw beth fel hynny. Dwi'nny. Rwy'n credu bod ymgyrchwyr yn gysylltu'n gyffredinol nawr.

Nid ydym yn cael sefydliad cywir yn Brifysgol hyd at i'r Roeddfeydd ddod i'r brifysgol. O fy marn, mae potensial ar gyfer sefydliad yn ystod Colchester. Ac gallwch weld hynny. Os byddwch chi'n mynd o amgylch y ddyn, byddwch chi'n mynd i mewn i rywb, ydych chi? Mae system dych sy'n dal i fyw i ddifrifol fudd. Ac mae'n wych bod mwy o bobl ddim yn gwybod amdanyn nhw, mewn gwirionedd, oherwydd mae'n cael gweld y sylw. Ac yn gofio bod y ddwylliau a'r rhanbarthion ddim unrhyw lle yn ôl yr ydynt yn gorfod eu bod. Maen nhw'n dal i fod yn ddifrifol iawn, yn llawr nawr wrth gwrs. Ond maen nhw'n

cymryd amlau, ac mae'n cael y sylw hwnnw o sgail. A dyna oedd 50 mlynedd course. But they extend for miles and you just get that sense of scale here. And that was 50 years or so before the Romans. So not that long, that's a lie. But certainly it predates the London claim anyway. It is so incredible how you have this archaeology that you can still go and see today in and around Colchester that stretches from the Iron Age up until the 80 millenniums. But Frank, you mentioned before the Romans, something here before the Romans. So let's focus in on that first. What time periods are we talking about for the earliest archaeology that we've discovered in this area? Well, I mean, yeah, it's a good point, actually, because you can get a bit carried away about talking about pre-Roman urbanisation, pre-Roman activity in a site like Colchester, because we are talking about a short period of time. That's

very true for Britain generally, in terms of things like religious practices and perhaps trade amser. Mae hynny'n dda iawn i Brifysgolion yn gyffredinol o ran ymarferau cofnodol a'r ffordd bynnag a threidio a phethau eraill. Mae llawer yn ymwneud â'r ddegedau cyn, gadewch i mi ddweud, yn ymwneud â'r dynion ynfasiwn Cymru a hyd at y cyflawn. Mae'n debyg bod y Roedd ymwneud â'u cyflwyniad ar y cyfnodau yn cael eu gwybod yn ymwneud â llawer o gweithgaredd yng Nghymru ar hyn o bryd, gan gael ychydig o dda, efallai, ond hefyd i'r gwaelod yn y bwysig, o ran rhywfaint o wartheg trafodol a phethau fel hynny. Ond yn sicr, mae gennym ddiwedd yn Colchester o weithgaredd o ran lle'r enw Sheepen, sydd yn ymddangos i fod yn y canolbwynt

mewn gwirionedd ar gyfer economi, trafod a chynhyrchu, efallai yn gyntaf fel yr Eglwys Brons, ond byddai'n debyg nad y byddwch yn edrych arno fel hynny. Yn sicr, ar yr Eglwys Arno, mae diwedd o gweithgaredd coin a phethau trade and manufacture possibly as early as the Bronze Age but you probably wouldn't look at it like that certainly at the late Iron Age you know there's evidence of coin manufacturing things like that at Sheepen and that's about half a mile outside of the modern town now and in the Roman period it carries on as a kind of site of manufacture and trade and that kind of activity. Because Frank you and your team you do have some remarkable archaeology dating to the Bronze Age in the Colchester Museum. Oh, absolutely. I mean, the most obvious one is, of course, the Sheepon Cauldron.

And you're right, it comes from that area. And that's why it's an interesting link that happens to be found there. Because Sheepon is very close to the river. So there is that potential contact there. River, both in the Bronze Age and in the Iron Age, rivers generally and all kind of watery areas had a ritual link. But alsoys Ion, roedd yna bydau yn gyffredinol ac yn ymwneud â phwyllgorau dwylo, yn gysylltiedig â'r rhwydwaith, ond hefyd yn un ymddygiadol o ran trafnidiaeth a phethau gwahanol. Ond mae'r caeaf yn wych. Mae'r rhai yn Iwerddon yn llawer yn fwy cyffredinol. Ond yn Brifysgol, mae'r rhai o'r Eglwys Gwledd o'r cyfnod cyffredinol, ymddygiad ar y Eglwys Gwledd, ac y rhai o'r Eglwys Ion hefyd, ond maen nhw'n deimlo eu bod yn droi i ffwrdd yn y Gwledd Ion. Ond mae'r defnydd yn debyg iawn o'r math o weithgaredd y byddwch chi'n ei weld yn ystod y cyfnod hwnnw o, chi'n gwbod, 2,000-3,000 o flynyddoedd.

Roedd yn amgylch i bobl gysylltu i gael ymdrinion mawr hyn, a'r caeafion yn gwneud hynny'n ymwneud â hynny. Gallwch chi'n dychmygu eu bod yn eu hwylo, byddwch chi'n credu, o fawr o gwylltau o gwaith, efallai, ond hefyd ar gyfer storio gwaith a pethau gwahanol a rhannu hynny. Felly mae ganddynt adnoddau o gwbl yn ymdrinion hynny, a fyddai hynny'n ymwneud â, efallai, chi'n gwybod, ddwy, tri, potentially also for storing mead and different things and sharing that out. And so there are real focus points within these kind of feasts that would have been perhaps, you know, two, three, four times a year associated with kind of events in the agricultural calendar, most probably. And this example at Colchester Castle is a really good one, you know. Interestingly, not as thick. If you look at the shell of it, it's thinner than you might imagine, but it's a big old object, isn't it?

Absolutely. No, it's an incredible object. And going on a slight tangent here, because obviously at that time we now know from the archaeology and even recent discoveries, for instance, up in Scotland in Kilmartin Glen, this idea of around this time of there being lots of connectivity, for instance, between Brittany, between southwest England, you mentioned Ireland, between Ireland, and also possibly all the way up to Kilmartin Glen in modern day Scotland. Do you think this could possibly emphasise with, say, this cauldron in Colchester? Maybe we don't have the archaeology surviving to really understand this right now, but there was perhaps these links, these connections between all of these places at that time.

Oh, undoubtedly. And when those links get broken, I think we always underestimate in archaeology just how strong those links were, how far people were travelling, how much people were talking to each other, how much they were trading, and the knowledge they had of other peoples and other kind of areas because of those links. I think we hugely underestimate that in archaeology. Just starting to become aware of that now.

But also I think the Bronze Age for me is really certainly the late Bronze Age going into the early Iron Age. You can see how dramatically it turns the world upside down Ond hefyd, rwy'n credu bod y dŵr bronz oed i mi yn y dŵr bronz oed yn ystod y dŵr iron oed yn ystod y dŵr bronz. Gallwch weld sut yn drwylydol mae'r byd yn troi'n ôl i lawr pan fydd y rhwystrau hynny'n cael eu rhannu. Mae gennym ni dŵr bronz oed bach ar y casl, yn y cwpl o fewn y casgliad mewn gwirionedd. Ond maen nhw'n rhai o'r tain o'r bronz oed, y dŵr bronz oed. Yn ystod y dŵr bronz, mae'r cwmni oed yn cael eu llifio yn eu llifio, y llifiau oed, a'r bwll oed, a'r holl ffyrdd oed bronz gwych yn cael eu llifio i'r llawr o ddwylliau ac yr amgylcheddau gwbl, a'r holl ffynnau bron i'r dde. Ac mae archeoleiddwyr yn dweud, efallai fod yn rhytwyl, efallai fod yn popeth o bethau. Ond mae'n digwydd yn ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod ystod y and you know there's a number of really interesting ideas now theories about the giant volcanic

explosion in the Aegean which upset the whole of that area the Minoans of course and spread across Europe and eventually broke up all the kind of links between mainland Europe and Britain and really turned the world upside down in this country as well and you know this hoard at the castle is emblematic of that I think and then the Iron Age follows suit you start getting right at the end ac mae'r hollol yn y casl yn ymddygiadol o hynny, dwi'n meddwl. Ac yna mae'r oes o'r Ion, ac wrth gwrs, ar ddiwedd yr oes o'r Ion, mae'r ffwrdd o'r llyfrau'n cael eu cynhyrchu yn ystod y oes o'r Ion. Ac mae'n rhaid i chi ddweud, mae pobl yn edrych at eu defnyddion, ac mae'n rhannu'r traed a chreu byd mwy o chaotig. Ac felly, eto, mae'n ddiddorol pan fyddwch yn dod yn ôl i Colchester,

ar ôl i'r ffwrdd o'r llyfrau'n llwyddo, and so again it's interesting when you come back to colchester after those hill forts kind of fall away in use why in colchester you suddenly get these vast vast dike systems being built up around you know these great defenses being built up around a town like colchester and you know i'm sure we'll come on to it shortly but why also you get conversations around your changes of power and things like that over the tribes that are controlling colchester well you mentioned tribes there and there, and obviously let's go on to the Iron Age now. And as you've hinted at already during our chat, it sounds like this really is the period where ancient Colchester, I don't know if we can call it Camludenum yet, really becomes this central place for the local people. Yeah, that's an interesting one, because I think it all

follows as part of the inter-tribal kind of relationships at the time. I guess whether you'd see it as a place for local people to gather is actually quite a difficult one to answer. I mean archaeologists will go on at length about whether we should be calling them tribes at all. Probably shouldn't be, certainly shouldn't be referring to them as kingdoms or anything like that. But it's, I mean just the idea of tribes in Britain is a very very complicated one if you look at for instance brigantes in the far north it's all broken up in terms of confederation of tribes really but again and other places corotavi for instance around kind of leicestershire kind of area

we know of coins of kings ruling at the same time it suggests there was actually you know different tribal groups or whatever under this great big badge and of course all of these names come to us through the Romans and for this area you've got the Catavoloni and the Trinovantes and we cannot be clear it's a really complicated picture of who's controlling the area at any one point and there's even theories that actually Colchester was being was like a kind of satellite site for the Catavoloni within Trinovanti's territory. Or perhaps there was a big alliance. You know, we can't be sure.

Although my feeling is the Catavoloni kind of came in quite violently, actually, possibly in response to that catalyzing effect of the Romans. yn chwilio am ddynion, yn cynnig dynion ac yn ymlaen i ddifrifo i ddifrifo i'r ddifrifau i gael dynion ac yna'u hannu i Rhom neu i'r contynent, neu i'r holl traffu a'r gwaith a phethau gwahanol. Ac fe wnaeth hynny ddynu i'r ardal honno ac dydw i ddim yn credu ei fod yn rhyfedd wrth gwrs bod pob un o'r gwerthfeydd gwych y gallwch weld yn y Muzeu Castell yn y graffiau o'r ardal honno, o'r contynent wrth gwrs, Amph course, amphora, the wonderful Augustus medallion, all of these beautiful objects. And very rich graves suddenly appearing in this area, as I say, 20, 30 years before the invasion. And that can't be a coincidence.

So I think, as I say, it's all part of that conflict, part of the relationships between the tribes. Well, let's delve into late Iron Age Colchester now and many of these exhibits which you say are currently at the Colchester Museum. I know you personally have done a lot of work in the past on religion and ritual at this time. And let's focus on that topic first because we do have a lot of artefacts

from the late Iron Age in the Colchester Museum that seem to shed more light on ritual and religion at that time. Or do we? I'd say, I'n ddiddorol i ni. Y lle mawr yng Ngholchester yw Gosbeck. Rydym yn ei alw'n eithaf optymol, mae'n parc archeoleiddol nawr. Ond, wrth gwrs, nid yw llawer yn paru, ac mae hynny'n dda iawn yn gyffredinol i rytwll a chrwm yn yr Oedeg Ion. Fel y dywedais yn gynharach, roedd y byd wedi'i gwneud i'w gwbl i lawr, mewn gwirionedd, ar ddechrau yr Oedeg. Ac mae hynny'n llawer yn ymwneud â'r ddynion a'r ddynion hefyd.

Mae popeth sy'n ddangos yn dda yn yr Oedeg Brons, yn cael ei ffwrdd a chyfarwyddo newydd o ymarferau ar gydol y wlad, yn barod at yr Oedeg Oedeg cyffredinol, pan fydd pethau'n dechrau bod yn ychwanegol. Iron Age, when it looks like things might start being a bit more established. And there's an insinuation of that at Gosbex, largely because when the Romans arrived, they certainly seemed to respect the centre as an indigenous place of potential worship, certainly of gathering. And they installed this vast theatre, one of the biggest in Britain, connected to a very large temple complex and some baths there as well. And that's a model that you do see on the continent, yn Brifysgol, wedi'i gysylltu â chymhleth teimlo mawr iawn, a rhai fathau yno hefyd. Ac mae'r model hwnnw'n ymweld â'r cwmnet, ond yn unrhyw lle arall yng Nghymru. Ac mae hynny'n ddiddorol. Ac eto, mae'n dangos y ddyluniau oedolion ynghylch

cymryd rhywbeth o'r cwmnet a meddwl y bydd hi'n gweithio yng Nghymru, ac yna'n bosibl ei fod yn cael ei ddod. Ond mae'n debyg ei fod wedi dod ar ôl rhywbeth arall. Ac eto, mae'r system Dyke yn rhywbeth o'r cyfnod, os ydych chi'n gwybod, o'r system Dyke. Felly mae'n debyg ei fod yn cael ei gynhyrd nid oes llawer o ddifrifion yno o'r oesolion iron ac mae'n rhaid i'r rhain fod yn llwyr yn glir wrth gwrs pan ddodd y rhomau i'w cyrraedd a chadw'r holl bethau mawr hynny ar y top ond rydych chi eisiau gweld mwy mewn gwirionedd i gwybod beth sy'n digwydd ac mae cwpl o ddwyloedd yn ymwneud â'r golygfeydd y statuwyr mercur wrth gwrs, y llyfr bach bach o'r Mars ac wrth gwrs, a rhing bach o Mars, ac wrth gwrs, mae'r enw ar-baes yn dod ar ôl

God of War, Camelos. Felly, ydy'r cysylltiad yno? Mae'r rhain yn ymgynghori'n ymgynghori, ac o dan y complex ymdrinio, roedd rhywbeth mawr yno o'r enw ar-baes. Ond eto, nid oedd yna gweithgareddion ymdrinio yn dda, nid oedd yn cael eu datblygu, nid oedd yn cael eu datblygu yn dda, nid oedd ganddyn nhw gan ddynion mwy o ddynion amgylch agored. Roedd yn fwy o lefyddau ar-lein. Felly mae'n ddifrifol iawn, ond doeddwch chi ddim yn gwybod beth sy'n digwydd yno. Ond mae hynny'n wych hefyd, oherwydd mae'n gwirioneddol, rydych chi'n creu llawer o ddewrion a storïau, a mae wedi, mae'n un o'r llefyddau mawr o ddylunio, rwy'n credu. Ac mewn gwirionedd, y llefydd, yn ymddiriedol, wrth gwrs, lle ddodd Claudius i gael ymddygiad â'r trafodaeth o'r Tribwyr Brytain. O ran, mae'n rhaid i mi ddweud, am ddewr iawn. Dydw i ddim yn gwybod o ble mae hynny'n dod o'r blaen. Claudius came to accept the surrender of the tribes of Britain. Based, I have to say, on very little. I don't know quite where that comes from. But as I say, it's that kind of site that attracts

those kind of myths. Well, forgive my ignorance. It's always very difficult to say stuff with certainty, especially when you go back to ancient history, especially when you're talking about archaeology. So ritual and religion, we have these tantalising pieces of evidence that might give us more information about it. But can we say with more confidence that in regards to burial archaeology around this area it is telling us more about the burial objects and how people were buried at that time? Absolutely and again you know there seems to be a great disruption to burial in Iron Age Britain. Strange things again seem to be happening to the point there's for a long time and a complete absence of burials in the country people just couldn't find them so they were kind of saying well were people being what were called sky burials? o ddoddau yn y wlad. Roedd pobl ddim yn gallu eu gweld, felly roeddent yn dweud, wel, oedd pobl yn cael, beth oedd yn ei enw, ddoddau sgai. Mae hynny yn digwydd yn, wel,

Tibet, yn amlwg, mae'r ddoddau sgai hyn yn cael eu gael, neu roeddent yn cael eu rhoi i'r rwyfau. Doeddent ddim yn gallu eu gweld nhw. Ond mewn gwirionedd, rydym yn dechrau dod i'r gwneud y ddoddau hynny nawr, yn sicr eto yn yr oeddiad yr Ion, ond nid o gwbl i'r cyd i'w gweld nhw o gwmpas Colchester a Hertfordshire, yn yr ardal hwnnw, sydd yn y math o'r harland, os ydych chi'n ei hoffi, o'r amgylch o ran Colchester a'r Ardd Gwladd Cymru, y fath o ardal sydd yn y fath o'r Ardd Gwladd, os ydych chi'n ei hoffi, o'r triwg Cateflawnau yn benodol, sydd, fel y dywedais yn gynharach, yn dechrau dod yn fawr, yn bosibl o'r llaw,

o'r llaw o'r trafodaeth gyda'r cwntyn, ond hefyd, yn ymddangos i gyfraith trafodaethol hefyd, sydd yn ymddangos i fod yn arweinydd hynod o hynod o hynod o ffyniad, Cnoblin hefyd, wrth gwrs, sydd yn werth ei gynharach. Ac mae'r llawrfa o'r graefe, Stanway a Lexton yn Colchester yn eithaf anhygoel. Rwy'n meddwl bod cymryd y fferm Lexton, sydd yn debyg yn fwyaf ffynhwy, yna'r amhra, llawer o amhra o'r cyd, yn ymddangos yn gynnwys gyrru gwyn neu olif, ond rwy'n credu bod yn debyg gwyn gan y cwbl o alcohol y mae pobl Arneidd yn ystyried ei fod wedi'i gael,

ond hefyd mae'r stôl ffodio wedi bod yn yno, sy'n amlwg, yn bosib o'r genraliaid Rhymau, roedden nhw'n eu cymryd, chi'n gwybod, gyda'r ffodd-dwyloedd, felly eto, bosibl gwadrwch dipynolol o ryw fath. Yr adeg Gryffin hyfryd yn gwych, y bwys, eto, ffigurau bwys, sy'n eithaf cyffredinol eto ar y cwntyn, ond hefyd i ryw fath o ran yng Nghymru. Cynlluniau llaw, sydd yn eithaf anodd yng Nghymru. Rydyn ni'n ystyried y math o ffrindiau hyn, llawer ohonynt fyddai wedi cael cynlluniau llaw a chyflawni, ac ati, ond to a certain extent in Britain. Chain mail, which is quite rare in Britain. You seem to imagine these kind of warriors, many of whom would have had chain mail and helmets and all those things, but that doesn't appear in the archaeological records very often in Britain at all.

And actually that symbol, if you like, of the warriors with no clothes on, charging into battle, there might actually be a bit of truth to that, to be honest. There doesn't seem to be an awful lot of evidence other than shields and different things. So incredibly rich burials in this particular kind of area as i say i mean i must admit one of the artifacts at the museum which i love the most are and you mentioned them in passing just now are those animal figurines from the lexington burial because when you have a look at those in the case they're just so stunning they are beautiful to look at yeah and and you with a lot of these things, it's quite hard to know what they would have represented to the Iron Age peoples, if you like. And again, it goes back to your point earlier about that kind of contact with the continent,

how much they were talking to people and how much they kind of recognised fallen symbols, if you like. For instance, I mean, the griffin, particularly, that probably, you know, there was no indigenous kind of idea of that. But again, we don't know an awful lot about their iconography, for instance. sy'n dechrau i'r dde. Ond, eto, nid ydym yn gwybod llawer am eu iconograffiaeth, er enghraifft. Roedd yn debyg yn y llawr, ac nid oedd yn byw yn bryd yn bryd neu unrhyw beth. Felly, eto, nid ydym yn gwybod beth oedd y cymeriadau y maen nhw'n edrych arno. Rydych chi'n dechrau gael coinion yng Nghymru o tua 50 b.c. ac, eto, mae'r coinion Cnoblin ar gydol y lle rydych chi'n cael coinion yng Nghymru. Yn gyntaf, mae'n ymddygiad o'i ddiffyg, mewn gwirionedd. Ac mae coinion Arnwyl yn hyfryd. Dydw i ddim yn gwybod a oeddech chi erad o'i ddiffyg. Ac mae coini o'r oedeg yn gwych.

Dwi ddim yn gwybod a oes gennych chi gyfle i edrych arddech, ond mae'n ddiddorol iawn. Ac mae yna ddewisiaeth ddewisol o ddiffygau yno. Ac mae'r cyntaf, wrth gwrs, yn mynd o gwmpas 300 oed o Grecia, yn mynd dros Ewrop cyn iddyn nhw fynd i Brifysgol, ac yn dod yn fwy a fwy yn sialig fel maen nhw'n ei wneud. Felly nid yw'n ddewisio o Rom, ond mae materion yn ddiweddar yn copiadau o ddiffygau o Rom. stylized as they do so it's not straight from Rome necessarily although later issues are kind of copies of Roman images and that's presumably because people in the Iron Age were actually going oh yes we like that that means something to us we'll copy that one but not others and you see

images that you'd expect them to use they don't we're not quite sure again why they picked up some imagery and not others. Absolutely. I love that coinage and the possible links between Colchester at that time and the Hellenistic world in the East and the aftermath of Alexander the Great's death. So that is astonishing and I love that link in particular. What caused the anarchy? How did medieval migrants shape the language I'm speaking right now? Who won the Hundred Years' War? Could England's lost patron saint be buried under a tennis court in Suffolk?

How did England's last medieval king end up under a car park? And were the Dark Ages really all that dark? I'm Dr Kat Jarman. And I'm Matt Lewis. On Gone Medieval, we'll uncover the most exciting and unexpected stories about the Middle Ages, hearing from the best and brightest minds. We will disentangle fact from fiction, bring you the latest discoveries and reveal how the so-called Dark Ages laid the foundations for much of the world we're living in today. Subscribe to Gone Medieval from History Hit, wherever you get your podcasts. So let's focus in on these connections with the continent at this time, because when do

we start seeing in the archaeological record in the late Iron Age, you mentioned it's roughly like 50 years before Caesar, that we do start seeing all these objects starting to emerge in the archaeological record in Colchester, Roman objects? I think specificfer Colchester. Dwi'n credu bod cymryd y ddiffyg Colchester yn dechrau i fyny gyda Tasciavannus, yn amlwg ar ôl Ieas, felly yn dechrau o 20ol, mae Colchester yn dod yn fawr iawn ac yn gwahanol i'r llefydd eraill sy'n dechrau bod yn ymwneud â'r llefa, ac mae'n dechrau bod yn ymwneud â'r llefa.

Mae'n ddod yn ystod cyntaf i bawb arall. Felly dwi'n credu nad oes cyntaf hyd at y cyfnod honno. places that are potentially starting to become urbanized which is very early stages everywhere else so yeah i'd say not quite until that period really so what sorts of objects do we start seeing the big one is amphora of course and presumably wine that seems to be something adopted very quickly in this area by elites and that all goes back to like the sheep and cauldron really it's the opportunity for warlords for the archetypal big man you know to gather people to feed them to give them alcohol and to have those big feasts that was the opportunity for people looking for marriages people looking to build alliances all sorts of things and you can imagine that you know I mentioned about urbanization in an area like this but even Colchester was to be fair'r gwirionedd, sefyllfa sy'n amlwg iawn.

Ac dyna'r Brifysgol ar hyn o bryd. Pobl yn byw mewn ardal cymraeg iawn ac mae pobl yn mynd am ddod o hyd i lawer o amser, ond maen nhw wedi, ac roedd y ffeistiau hynny'n bwysig iawn am hynny. Byddai pobl yn mynd i fod â'r ffeistiau mawr hyn, yn amlwg yn ymwneud â'r canadlaeth agrogylchol, fel rwy'n ei ddweud. Ond yn unig, ar ddyfodol, ar ddyfodollaen, rydych chi'n dechrau gweld rhywbeth wahanol yn digwydd. Ac fel rwy'n dweud, o ran y cyd-destun ymdrin, dyma'r pwynt pan fyddwch chi'n dechrau cael llwyth o holl ffermau coin yn cymryd ei fod yn dod i'w ddod. Ac mae hynny'n debyg yn ystod y pryd o'r cyfnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofnod o'r cofn time of fear it's exaggerating religious beliefs and you know in colchester the place called marx

tay we get some coin hordes in the area interestingly but not at gosbecks and not in the center of colchester perhaps that's why you know the romans were finding that and picking it up or who knows but it's interesting it seems to be more on the periphery and in kind of more rural areas just outside of settlements and things like that you tend to get those kind of ritual deposits usually associated with kind of hillside and watery areas and things like that, that you tend to get those kind of ritual deposits, usually associated with kind of hillsides and watery areas and things like that again. And just quickly, so we can focus on one particular object just before we move on to Roman invasions and Roman cultures, and you mentioned it earlier, the Augustus medallion. Just describe a bit more what this object is, because it is absolutely stunning.

Yeah, again, I mean, this emblematic, I think, of the Lexington burial, Ie, eto, mae'n ambenodol o'r casglu Lwcestyn. Mae'n dweud y gwir, o'r coen o Augustus, a gafodd ei casglu gyda'r person honno o amgylch 15a. Ac mae'n ambenodol o'r casglu cyfan, a'r hyn a ddigwyddodd gyda'r gwleidyddion ar hyn o bryd. Felly, nid yw'n obiect mawr, ac mae wedi cael ei roi i mewn i mewn yn y medallion honno. Ond yr hyn y byddai wedi ei olygu i'r bobl o ran y ddiplomodiad â'r cwntynant, mae'n eithaf sylweddol iawn. Mae'n detiadau gyda'r Brytain, er ei fod yn Rhym, ar hyn o bryd, ac y cyfrif o ddynion, er enghraifft, sy'n gwahanol i'r byd Rhym, fel rydych chi wedi dweud amdano, yn amlach na'r angenion, yn wahanol iawn i'n syniad o dynion. Roedd yna bobl

a fyddai wedi cael eu cyflogi fel Rhym, ac yna maen nhw'n dod yn ôl i'r cymdeithas fel plant o'r Rhym, gan fod wedi dod yn Rhym mewn llawer o ffyrdd. Ac mae hynny'n And they kind of come back to the society as, you know, almost plants of the Romans having become Romanised in many ways. And that probably was happening in Britain before the conquest, almost definitely. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't work. And in that regard, we keep on that hostages idea now because we do also see these infamous artefacts, also slave chains dating to this time, in Colchester. Yeah, absolutely. It's, you know, it's obviously a very sad symbol. Colchester. Ie, yn sicr. Mae'n ddifrifol symbol ddifrifol. Roedd llywodraeth yng Nghymru yma hir cyn yr oedd y Rhymau, ond rwy'n credu ein bod yn amsugio bod cyrff yr Eglwys Rhymau ar

y llawr, os ydych chi'n golygu, wedi cynyddu'r broses yn llawer iawn. Ac rydyn ni'n gweld hynny'n ddifrifol yn ymddangos yn faterion gydol, mewn enghreifftiau cwlonol lle mae cymdeithyn ni'n gweld hynny yn ymddangos yn ymddangos yn y cyfleoedd ddiweddarol mwyaf, lle mae cymdeithasau'n llwyr yn cael eu llwyr yn llwyr gan y cyflwyniad o rhagor, os ydych chi'n gofyn, wedi'u gyrru gan yslaffu. Ac roedd y rhomain yn hollbwysig. Yn fy marn i, roedd y nifer o ddynion a fyddai'n mynd drwy'r system yn ddifrifol. Niferoedd anhygoel iawn. Ac i ddiffogwyd hynny, roedd rhaid ir ddynion ddod o rywle ac yn amlwg.

Ac fe wnaeth bod pobl yn y wlad hon yn gweld hynny fel cyfle. Ac fe wnaeth hynny, yn ogystal â chyflawni'r niferoedd hynny, ddiffygwyl wartheg amdanynt i'r traedau. Ac mae'r newidiadau ddynion yno yn y amgueddfa yn amlwg o hynny. Felly rydych chi wedi'u cyhoeddi yn barod sut roedd Colchester yn y pryd o'r cyflwyniad Clawdron, 1843, yn ganolfan pwysig iawn i'r Brytain yn yr Eisteddfod. of that. So you've highlighted already how Colchester at the time of the Claudian invasion in AD 43, it was a very important centre for the Britons in the Saedis. We're around here, maybe not in Gauls of Ex, but it's around here that Claudius accepts the surrenders of the British chiefs. And after that, Frank, we see Colchester, Iron Age Colchester, it transforms when it becomes a Roman

version of Colchester. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's easy to get carried away with how amazing the archaeology of un-aged Colchester is, and it is. But as I said before, it's a relatively short period of time as it's starting to look like an urban centre to some degree. And of course, when the Romans arrive, it's very different again. They arrive, they build a Roman fortress, fast by any standards.

Certainly of the day, you can imagine something, you know, a'u adeiladu yn gyflym, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unigol, yn unig ardal yn dod yn ddifasig, yn debyg drwy ddiplomaeth a gwahanol bethau yn hytrach na warfaoedd arall. Yn ddiddorol, mae'n debyg bod gynadledd Cnoblyn, Cretacus, yn un o'r rhebolion allweddol. Felly mae'n amlwg bod yna rhwydwaith o ffwrdd a chysylltiad. Ond yna mae'r ffortres yn dymilitario a'i troi i'r cwmniadau o'r ardal ex-gymroedwyr. Mae'n dod yn Colonia, sef ddyniaeth sydd yn dda iawn. Ac eto, dyna un o'r rhesymau pam gallem ddweud bod Colchester yn un o'r trefi cyntaf y wlad, oherwydd y ddiffyg hwnnw. Ac yna'r ystyriaeth o'r Romain arno, gallwch weld eu hyder yn gyntaf pan ddechrau adeiladu

teimlad ffas, ac mae hynny'n gwerthfawr yn yr adeiladau'r ydym wedi'u adeiladu, ac mae'r adeiladau hynny'n dal i fyw, yn mynd i'r caeas. Ac mae hynny'n gwerthfawr, beth mae'r casl wedi'i adeiladu arno, ac mae'r ffandasiadau hynny yn parhau i fynd i mewn i'r gwlad, os ydych chi'n hoffi, a oedd yn ffandasiad o tempel ffas, ffas. Ac pan fyddwch chi'n mynd i lawr yno, byddwch chi'n cael y syniad o'r sgail ffas. Ac mae hynny'n fawr i rywun gael yr ambisiwn hwnnw. Pan fyddwch chi'n meddwl am yr holl beth arall y byddai'r bobl o'r ardal honno wedi'i weld, y tempel clasigol hyn, ac mae hynny'n bwysig hefyd, wrth gwrs, oherwydd, chi'n gwybod, mae'n ddiddorol sut yn gyflym bod pobl yn adeiladu tempel clasigol, ac mae hynny'n bwysig hefyd, oherwydd, chi'n gwybod, mae'n ddiddorol sut yn gyflym roedd pobl yn adeiladu tempelau Cymreigion Romano, sy'n wahanol iawn, tempelau bach fach, weithiau mewn cymhleth fawr, ond yn ddewr iawn gyda'r rhan fwyaf o'r gweithgaredd sy'n digwydd y tu allan. Mae'r tempel clasigol yn llawer fach, gyda'r canol fawr, y adeilad fawr, a'r cymhleth

colineidd, rhai ohonyn nhw sy'n cael eu dod yn y cyfnodau'n annwyl, os ydych chi'n hoffi, pan fyddwch chi'n sgrinio'r sylfaen, ac mae hynny'n fwysig o'r Colchester,leth, rhai o'r rhai sy'n cael eu canfod yn y adeiladau'n wahanol, os ydych chi'n hoffi, pan fyddwch chi'n sgrinio'r gwaith. Ac mae hynny'n fwysig o Glouchester, wrth gwrs. Sgrinio'r gwaith ac mae'r pethau hyfryd yma o dan hynny. Ac mae'r sgail fawr honno'n ddiddorol o hynny mewn gwirionedd. Ac yn y lleol, rydych chi'n mynd i Glouchester, rwyf wedi sôn am y theatr a'r baths. Roedd hynny'n ymwneud hefyd yn y canol hefyd. Roedd theatr arall wedi'i adeiladu yng Nghymru, un sy'n eithaf cyffredinol. Ac, gadewch dim ond 5 theatr wedi'u canfod yng Nghymru. Dwy ohonynt yma, a dwy o'r mwyaf yma. Ac mae rhai ohonynt yn dal i fyw eto.

Gallwch edrych drwy'r llun o un o'r adeiladau o'r llwyth o'r castl, a gallwch weld rhai o'r theatr sy'n parhau yno. Ac wrth gwrs, y Circus Român. Yr unig Circus Român sydd wedi'i canfod yng Nghymru. Ac mae'n gallu gweld 8,000 o bobl. Ac eto, mae 8,000 o bobl ddim yn swnio i ddylwoddwyr, mae llawer o bobl. Ond eto, yn y byd clas you know, we talk 8,000 people doesn't sound, to modern ears, a huge number of people. But again, in the classical world, that's fast.

You know, particularly for Britain, with the population potentially at this time somewhere between a million and two million people, 8,000 people in one place in the southeast is fast. It is, absolutely. And when you mean circus in ancient history, is it different to what we mean circus today? What do you mean by that?

Oh, yes, of course, yeah. I mean, we're talking Ben-Hur, you you know we're talking a racetrack for chariots to race around and again we don't know too much about the story i would say in colchester in terms of written records and things like but when you look at for instance constantinople a few centuries later yeah there's all sorts of there's a blues and the reds i think also greens and blue i forget but you know the whole riots the necro, I think. There's the greens and the blues. I forget. But, you know, the whole riots. The Nicarayas. The Nicarayas, I'm thinking, yeah, particularly, you know,

were caused by this... They became almost like tribes, didn't they, of supporters. You can see how impassioned people could become with racing in that case, but also how important this kind of entertainment was in terms of the theatres. And the Gossbecks, you know, the theatre and the temple complex is important in terms of the religiousres. And the Goldsbecks, you know, the theatre and the temple complex is important in terms of the religious aspects there as well, because the theatre would have had a role

with the imperial cult, for instance. Absolutely. I think there's another case of Pompeii, isn't there, like in the first century, where you have these two teams and it comes to blows at the end, once again emphasising your point of how important entertainment buildings were. So you mentioned that incredible monumental building, the Temple of Claudius.

But, Frank, that temple doesn't stay standing for very long, does it? No. And I think, you know, every child will see at some point that wonderful painting. I say wonderful. That painting is a very good picture, but it's very dramatic. Of course, that picture of the temple burning. And that's in all the school books of Roman Britain. And that's, of course, when Boudicca arrives with her forces. And what fate, I think we already know the answer to this already, but what terrible fate befalls Camuludinum, befalls Colchester when Boudicca arrives? Yeah I mean the sources tell us about 120,000 warriors were raised from the area from the Ikeni

or Iceni heartlands together with Trinovantes interestingly. I mean that's probably a vastly Roedd ymdrinwyr yn cael eu cyhoeddi o'r ardal, o'r Arddion Aiceni neu Aiceni, gyda Trinivantes yn ddiddorol. Mae hynny'n debyg yn nifer llawer, ond mae llawer. Rwy'n credu ei fod yn dda i ddweud, dynnu ar Colchester a'i gyrru i'r graen. Ac rydym yn gweld hynny'n fyserol yn y record archeolegol fel unrhyw le arall. Mae archeologwyr yn ceisio ymgyrchu stori sy'n ymwneud â'r hanes yn y hanes i'r recordiaeth archeologaidd ac yn anffodus y gwelwch chi'n ei gael yn dda. Rwy'n ceisio, mae'n gwneud i ni gael stori da, ond yn amlwg, nid ydych chi'n ei gweld. Yma, mae'n ymwneud â'r gwirionedd. Rydych chi'n rhoi sbaen yn y gwlad ac yn dod o hyd i ddwylau tarcol o'r cofnod Colchester. Mae'n ffas. Ac eto, yn y amgueddfa, gallwch weld y rhain yn

eithaf pwyntus mewn ffordd, er enghraifft, o rhai a oedd yn bwysig yn bwysig, vast and you know again in the museum you can see those quite poignant in the way for instance a gridiron from someone who probably was cooking you know just the night before the attack and that's what kind of melted and stone and tiles and and all sorts of material just kind of melted and charcoal and black and by something that would have been pretty cataclysmic for the people here and of course the fennec treasure which is hidden in the floor of a building in colchester under the modern reason this name is of course the department store the fennec department stores and it was found there under one of their renovations so 60 61 ad colchester is sacked can we say this is a turning point in the history of colchester in the history of Britain, or not so much?

Maybe, maybe. The Romans definitely had a great ambition for Colchester, I think I was about to say it was the capital, and then suddenly it wasn't. And undoubtedly Boudicca played a part within that, and then it seems to shift more to London, of course. But I wonder if that was always going to happen, because you look at the Cone River here and Llywodraeth, wrth gwrs. Ond rwy'n meddwl a oedd hynny'n amlwg i ddigwydd oherwydd rydych chi'n edrych ar y Rhyfyr Coen yma ac rydych chi'n meddwl, a oedd hynny'n cael ei lleoli'n strategol fel Llywodraeth? Ac rydych chi'n meddwl, wel, yn dda, rwy'n meddwl y byddai Llywodraeth yn tyfu i fod yn y canol fawr o ffyrdd. Rwy'n meddwl bod Colchester neu Cameradunan yn cychwyn yn gychwyn yn gyntaf, yn y bryd oherwydd, wyddoch chi, nid oedd yn lle gwael gan unrhyw fath o ddychmygu, ond rwy'n meddwl yn bwysig, oherwydd Cnoblin a chyf rhesymau, rwy'n credu bod y Rhomwyr yn ymgyrchu â hynny. Ac yn ddiweddar, wrth i'r sefyllfa gwleidyddol ddatblygu a hefyd wrth i'w

gael ymddygiad o'r le o'r ddaear, byddai Lundain wedi dod yn fwy sefydlogol. Ond nid yw hynny'n golygu bod nhw wedi parhau i ddod i ddod yn fwyaf yn fwyaf yn y Coelgestr. Un o'r problemau gyda'r Rhyfoddol yw bod ddim o ddau. Ac mae hynny'n broblem yn y diogelwch y ddyn. Felly, y peth cyntaf y gwnaethon nhw, ar ôl y Rhyfoddol y Dyn, oedd adeiladu ddau cywir. Ac rydych chi'n eu gweld ym mhobl, wrth gwrs, yma. Ac maen nhw'n byw yn dda iawn. Yr adeilad gwasgarwch gorau yw'r Gwrs Bolgan, wrth gwrs, fel enghraifft o hynny. Ond hefyd, y Theatr yng Nghozbeck, fel y dywedais, oedd wedi'i ad other investments, I think the circus was built in the 2nd century, come to think of it as well. So they're still investing in a big way in Colchester. And it rises. The population probably grew to potentially as much as 30,000 by the 3rd century.

And of course, then you get some of the problems in the 3rd and 4th century. Absolutely. And a couple of artefacts I'd love to focus on in this period, like post-Boudicca Colchester. And one of them, first of all, an incredible artefact, the gladiator vase. Frank, what is this artefact? Oh, the Colchester vase. It's stunning, isn't it? And the quality of it is one of the things that really kind of stands out for me. It depicts elements of gladiatorial combat, actually, we don't immediately think about. So, for instance, you've got their bear baiting and another kind of animal fight,

which is a big part of the entertainment, if you want to put it in a better word, Mae ganddo'r gwrthdaroedd bach a ffrindiau dynol, sy'n rhan fawr o'r hysbyseb, os ydych chi eisiau gweithredu'n well, yn y cyfan o'r Empiriaeth, yn ogystal â'r hyn rydyn ni'n fwy ymwybodol â, a diolch i Hollywood, ynghylch ymddygiad gladiatorol, sy'n ei ddynnu hefyd. Mae ddau rheswm yn ei rhan bwysig. Yn gyntaf, mae'n ddiddorol iawn. Nid ydym yn siarad am ddynion crwyd,

ond ddynion ddiddorol, ddiddorol, yn ddynionol iawn. Nid ydym yn siarad am ddiflwriaethau crwyd, ond ni'n siarad am ddiffygion ddiffygion gwych o ddiffygwyr. Ond hefyd, mae'r enwau yma. Dyna'r rhan mwyaf ddiddorol i mi. A phwy oedd yna? Roedd y enwau yma Memno a Felentina. Ac efallai y byddwch chi'n dechrau meddwl, a phwy oedd yna? Oedd yna rhai o'r ddiffygwyr mwyaf conynyddol ar hyn o bryd? Yn gyntaf, roedd Colchester yn siarad o'r hinsaw was still a major town, would have been known throughout the province. Were these some of the leading names of the time? Because gladiators had this interesting relationship where they were both despised, but at the same time elevated, a very odd kind of situation.

And to have their names is wonderful. There's a secritor, which is the gladiators with the sword, helmet and shield, fighting a vatarius, and they're the ones with the net and the shield. The vatarius is the chap whoators with the sword, helmet and shield fighting a Vitarious and they're the ones with the net and the shield. The Vitarious is the chap who's holding his finger up, not in the way that sounds on this podcast but actually in surrender and that was a recognised symbol for that and again very visceral isn't it, you really get a sense of, for want of a better word, entertainment. Yeah it is an incredible object so the detail of it survives and the words of these actual figures so it's not just a depiction as you say this was a representation of an actual

gladiator who as you say may have been known i know i'm kind of repeating here a bit but it's a point that's worth to emphasize almost like the heroes of the olympic games in ancient greece milo of croton that lot these were figures who may well have been known across roman britain as these renowned fighters. And yet they were slaves as well, of course. And interestingly, there's two bear baiters on it who were also named. And you wouldn't have thought they would have any sense of kind of significance either. And the vase is actually in a cremation burial itself as well, which is less well known, actually.

People don't tend to refer to that. But it was a cremation burial. And again, that starts making you think, oh, I wonder who was buried with that. Someone who enjoyed the games? Someone who, well, who knows? Interesting, that cremation burial. And again, that starts making you think, oh, I wonder who was buried with that. Someone who enjoyed the games? Someone who, well, who knows? Interesting, that cremation link. I'm sure we'll be coming back to that soon with the Colchester team.

But let's focus on one other object. And you did highlight it earlier. And this is the Gosbeck's Mercury, which I believe also dates this period. It can also shine a light on, I'm more wary about saying this now after last time, but can it shine more of a light on Roman religion in this part of Roman Britain at that time?

Yes, I think so. But again, as I say, you know, Goldsbecks is a funny site. It's fascinating that such a temple complex would be built there of all places, certainly respecting some kind of place of gathering which weren't well known in Iron Age Britain. So its location is very interesting. Mercury as well we know from historical sources, from Roman sources but also some tentative archaeological sources. Mercury seems to be something there was an affinity to in Iron Age religion more so actually than Mars and Camelos in many sites.

Mercury seems to be a deity that's really kind of elevated in both in Gaul and in Britain actually. So its presence there is very interesting and of course it's beautiful isn't it? Absolutely incredible quality. Describe the Godspex Mercury quickly, I mean what does it look like? It's not huge is it? I mean it's what, 30 centimetres tall, a little bit damaged but actually when you really look at how exquisite its face is and the quality is just astonishing 30 centimetr, ychydig o ddiffyg ond mewn gwirionedd pan edrychwch ar sut yw ei wyneb yn arbennig, mae'r gwaith yn ddiddorol ac wrth gwrs mae'r ffynion. Ac eto, mae'r cyd-destun yma yn Gosbex, ond mae'n cael ei gael yn y ffordd,

mae'r stori o hynny'n eithaf ddiddorol ac dim ond cyfle i'w ddod o hyd i'r curadur i'w dod o hyd drwy'r sgwrsau antiquarion hyfryd honno, fe gafodd ei gael yn y ffordd ac roedd rhywun wedi ei ddweud yn y math o brofiad pub, greater happened to find through this wonderful kind of antiquarian kind of conversations it was yeah found in the field and somebody mentioned it in a pub type experience which is wonderful i love those kind of stories so it's found by quite by chance in many ways i mean if we then go on from that into later roman colchester times because it does seem that around that time forgive me if i'm mistaken but christianity really starts to take hold at roman colchester yeah when you're talking about the rise of religions or anything like that, it relies on serendipity, doesn't it?

It's on what you're finding in the town. You're right, though, to bring in Colchester, I think, because there's just a couple of elements to it which have that serendipity. So you've got what appears to be a 5th or 6th century church on the end of the theatre I mentioned earlier in the town, which is St Helen. Mae'n unig yn ddifrifol iawn, ond mae'n hynod o'r hir. Mae'n wych, y pen- neu'r chwefndir.

Ac mae hynny wedi'i adeiladu o'r ffyniadau o'r rhan o'r theatr, gan ddefnyddio'r hyn a oedd yn ei gael o'r Pwysigrwydd yn Rhwydwaith. Felly mae hynny, y stwyth o ddifrif yn hynny. Ac wrth gwrs, yr hyn rydyn ni'n hoffi'i ddweud yw'r celf cyntaf yng Nghymru, kind of structure there and of course what we like to claim is the earliest church in Britain just outside the police station here near Buck Road and that's fascinating it looks like a Mithraeum and actually many people will say well I think it's probably a Mithraeum that's just been called a church but there's a few reasons to think it may well have been a Mithraeum originally but then converted into a church and its association with a very large Christian cemetery is part of that I think and certainly

there's no reason why it shouldn't have been turned into a Christian chapel or church later on early in the fourth century I think that's a reasonable argument to make but there is some doubt about that but if it is it probably is amongst if not the earliest Christian church in Britain one of. That's another awesome fact along with the possibly the first town in britain but when you think of mithraeums you normally think of underground or dark gloomy spaces so it's quite interesting that and of course we have examples elsewhere in the empire where we see pagan sites being conversed into churches it's quite interesting if is true, if it was Mithraeum, this quite dark, mysterious place, that was the place which was transformed into a church.

Well, I think you've got to also bear in mind of what Christianity looked like at that moment in time. You know, we all are very familiar now with what a modern church looks like, of course. And it's amazing, actually, how formulaic modern churches are. You do get some variation, but they are pretty rigorous. And that all comes down to almost a ritualisation of architecture, if you like, in many ways. sut mae eglwysau modern fformulaidd yn gwneud hynny. Mae'n cael rhywfaint o wahanolwg, ond maen nhw'n eithaf rhigwrs ac mae hynny'n dod o hyd i rywfaint o argyfwng ymgyrchu, os ydych chi'n hoffi, mewn llawer o ffyrdd. Ac mae hynny yn ei hun yn dod yn ôl i'r Basilica Fformaidd wedi'i gosod yno gan y Rhomans yn ôl y dydd.

Dyna lle mae'n dod o hyd i, sy'n adeilad secol, o'r ffordd y mae'n gysylltiedig â'r cwlt yr Emperiwr, os ydych chi'n hoffi. Ond dyna'n wir lle mae sefydliadau eglwys yn seiliedig. Ond yn y pen-yfred-yfred, doedd dim prototip o beth y ddylid y ddynion ddyleu ei weld. Felly, roedden nhw'n debyg yn defnyddio beth bynnag oedd ar gael i ryw fath, ac roedd teimloedd agored yn cael eu defnyddio, wrth gwrs. Felly, roedden nhw'n debyg yn gael o'r safbwynt hwnnw. Ac, chi'n gwybod, rydyn ni'n gweld hynny gyda chyfrifoedd Crestaidd, yn ogystal â chyfrifoedd Pre-Crestaidd. Mae llefydd yr heddlu, os ydych chi'n ei hoffi, beth bynnag yw'r heddlu,

yn amlwg yn cyflwyno rhyw fath o ddynion, hyd yn oed i heddliadau sy'n wahanol iawn. examples places of religion if you like whatever the religion are often carry through a kind of a sanctity even for religions that are very different they still kind of hold a place of importance because of a kind of ritualized memory almost brilliant so it begs the question then as we come to the end of roman britain as it were in the early fifth century what happens to roman culture as to what happens at that time i would say mean, there's people who'd be able to speak far better than I would on this. But I would say it follows very much the same pattern as most towns in Roman Britain this period. You know, a lot of depopulation. We know people were still living perhaps on the outskirts and in different places within Colchester.

But how much you would recognise any sense of kind of urban living within that, I think, would be very minimal indeed. mewn lleoedd gwahanol o fewn Colchester, ond sut fyddai'n cael ei ddysgu unrhyw ddysgu o fyw ymlaen yn ystod hynny yn fawr iawn. Mae sefydliadau yn parhau i'w defnyddio ond nid i'r un sgail. Ac mae yna gwadrwyr o ddyn yn ei ffwrdd yn ei ffwrdd yn ystod ei ffwrdd. Ac mae'n edrych fel nad oeddent hyd yn oed yn gwybod bod hynny'n bodoli. Mae hi wedi cael ei gosod ar y cyfan o'r mosaic. Mae'n edrych fel nad oedd yn gwybod bod y mosaic yn bodoli. Ond ie, mae hynny'n bach o ddealltwriaeth yn ystod hynny. Felly, pwy sy'n gwych fel nad oedd y mosaic yno ond ie mae hynny'n ychydig o ddealltwriaeth o fewn hynny felly pwy sy'n gwybod bod yna rhai cwynhoedd o amgylch yn y ddewr penodol hefyd lle mae'r coin wedi cael eu clippio chi'n gwybod y bractis o snyddo allan o'r gwaelod ac wrth gwrs doeddwch ddim yn cael eu gael allan gyda hynny yn yr Edym ymperi a'r penodau nesaf hefyd

mewn y rhan fwyaf o hanesau o hanes clippio hynny oedd ymddygiad llwyr os oes gennych chi'n cael eich cwrdd yn gwneud hynny oherwydd mae'n arwain i ddyfodol a phob math o broblemau felly mae hynny'n cyflawni'r ddewr penodol felly mae'r coin yn cael ei gael yn y ddewr penodol mae'r coin yn cael ei gael yn cael ei That was a death sentence, in effect, if you got caught doing that, because it leads to inflation and all sorts of problems. So that carries on in the 5th century. So you do get coin hordes, you do get coins kind of being distributed probably in different ways. And actually, there's a very interesting book called Un-Roman Britain. I don't know if you've come across it. Dr. Miles Russell, yeah, good old Miles. Yeah, absolutely.

And I think within that, you get a good sense of, you know, OK, London, but something very similar here, whereas are people actually living in these buildings? Are they people kind of passing through in what was a very kind of chaotic time and i suspect the latter frank this has been a brilliant chat last of all you and your team at the colchester museum we've been gearing up for the summer you're now open and you have this as we've been chatting throughout this podcast you've got this huge array of incredible ancient objects in the museum from the Colchester area. Do you know, it's such a privilege working here. For me as an Iron Age specialist, of course,

it's my mecca. And the collections here are so extraordinary from, you know, late Iron Age, early Roman. And it's amazing. But of course, you know, we haven't even touched upon the later stories of, you know, the castle itself, the largest Norman keep in Europe, of course.

It's just an incredible place to work. And you step out from the castle itself, the largest Norman keep in Europe, of course. It's just an incredible place to work. And you step out from the castle and you've got all that history around you. It's a fabulous place, Colchester. A bit of a hidden gem, I'd say. A hidden gem, but incredible. You need to remember, this is the Ancients podcast, right? That medieval stuff's way too much for us. You have to go on the God Medieval podcast or the like.

Frank, this has been a great chat. Thanks so much for coming on the podcast. Thank you very much.