War and Urbanism: The Boudican Revolt and the Reconstruction of Londinium

This paper explores the recovery of Londinium (London), following the destruction caused during the Boudican Revolt of AD 60/1. It presents an overview of the events of the revolt and the archaeological evidence likely representing the destruction in Colonia Claudia Victriciensis (Colchester), Londinium, and Verulamium (St Albans). Historical evidence is used to explore the responses of the Roman military and imperial administration and the paper proposes an interpretative framework developed through the intersection between text and archaeological evidence. It challenges the ‘hiatus hypothesis’ (the theory that Londinium was largely abandoned for a decade following the revolt) and ‘modified hiatus hypothesis’ (the theory that a military occupation and infrastructure programme characterised the AD 60s, while civilians did not return until c. AD 70) through the assumptions and dating techniques used to support them. Significant evidence for habitation and rapid reoccupation is presented, using the details of examples of key case-study sites. An explanation for the prevalence of the ‘hiatus hypothesis’ is presented using post-WWII literary and cultural sources. Finally, the paper presents a new model for understanding the nature of the response to the catastrophe of the Boudican Revolt and the rebuilding of Londinium.