By Fatma Younis
An archaeologist has proposed that the British ruler who persuaded Emperor Claudius to invade Britain in AD43 was not a king but a queen, a theory that could reshape understanding of Iron Age politics.
Evidence from coins and Latin naming
Dr Miles Russell, director of archaeological fieldwork at Bournemouth University, argues that Verica, ruler of the Atrebates tribe in what is now southern Hampshire and West Sussex, was female. He points to Latin names ending in “a” typically belonging to women, and the use of the title “Rex” on Verica’s coins, which Russell says did not imply a specific sex. Coins minted under Verica also depict a naked woman on horseback, unlike the overtly male figures on coins of contemporaries such as Cunobelinus and Caratacus.
Scholarly debate
Professor Roger Tomlin of the University of Oxford acknowledges that some Latin men’s names end in “a,” but notes the existence of the masculine form “Vericus” as evidence for a male ruler. He also questions whether “Rex” was used for both sexes and suggests the bare-breasted warrior on the coin may not represent Verica. Dr Daphne Nash Briggs, an Iron Age coin expert, adds that some coins show a clearly male figure on horseback and a portrait with an Adam’s apple, which Russell argues depicts the emperor.
Implications for history
Russell says the theory aligns with Roman writer Cassius Dio’s criticism that Claudius was influenced by women. He acknowledges the controversy but welcomes debate. “The one-sided story’s been there for so long. We need that to change,” he said. The claims will appear in Russell’s forthcoming book, Caratacus: Great King of Britain.
