In <\/span>1936, a group of archaeologists working at Maiden Castle, near Dorchester, made a grisly discovery. Scattered near the east gate of this ancient hillfort were at least 52 Iron Age skeletons, some with horrific injuries to the head, back and shoulders. For the excavation director, Mortimer Wheeler, the cause of these terrible injuries was clear. He interpreted the skeletons as part of a war cemetery, bodies lying \u201cin tragic profusion, displaying the marks of battle\u201d. To him, these were the men and women of the Durotriges tribe, who had, in the first century AD, vainly defended their hilltop home against advancing Roman troops. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened here was plain to see,\u201d Wheeler was later to write. The Roman infantry, under the covering fire of missiles, had \u201cadvanced up the slope, cutting its way from rampart to rampart, tower to tower\u201d until they got into the area of the hillfort gateway. \u201cConfusion and massacre dominated the scene,\u201d he went on. \u201cMen and women, young and old, were savagely cut down, <\/span>before the legionaries were called to heel and the work of systematic destruction began.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about the Romans:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
A brief guide to ancient Rome and the Romans, plus 9 fascinating facts<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
Everything you wanted to know about Roman Britain<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
The Romans in Britain: exploitation or innovation?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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It was a dramatic and evocative description of a battle fought 1,900 years earlier \u2013 and one that proved extraordinarily persuasive. Mortimer Wheeler\u2019s \u201cwar cemetery\u201d became a 1930s media sensation \u2013 one that, until recently, appeared in pretty much every account of Roman Britain<\/a>. For much of the 80 years or so since Wheeler\u2019s team entered Maiden Castle hillfort, the Durotriges have been credited with leading armed resistance to the armies of Rome, operating from a series of strongly fortified hillforts across what is now Dorset and southern Wiltshire. Their story has been presented as a bitterly contested struggle against what may have been the first professional army of the ancient world \u2013 one that ultimately saw their hillforts taken and their people killed or enslaved. <\/span><\/p>\n
With positions such as keeper of the London Museum on his CV, Mortimer Wheeler was one of the most respected archaeologists of his generation. But recent <\/span>archaeological discoveries are suggesting that, when it came to the Durotriges, his conclusions may have been incorrect. These new finds are painting a very different picture of what happened within the confines of Maiden Castle hillfort almost two millennia ago. They suggest that the Durotriges didn\u2019t fight to the death against Rome\u2019s legions. Instead, it seems, they had a relaxed relationship with the invaders, almost to the point of complete indifference.<\/span><\/p>\n
Good for business<\/h3>\n
The Durotriges weren\u2019t the first British tribe to encounter the Romans following their invasion of Britain in AD 43. When the Roman emperor Claudius ordered the assault, target number one for his legions was Camulodunum (Colchester), capital of the Trinovantes, then one of the more powerful tribes in southern Britain. Once Roman troops had eliminated all opposition, the emperor arrived to oversee the capture of Camulodunum where, as an inscription in <\/span>Rome was later to note, \u201che received the surrender of 11 British kings\u201d. Sadly, neither the names of these kings, nor the tribes they ruled over, was recorded.<\/span><\/p>\n

The skeletons of Maiden Castle hillfort were long believed to be the victims of a brutal Roman ground assault <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
Despite this lack of information, it\u2019s assumed that the main tribes surrendering to Claudius were the Catuvellauni, Regni and Cantiaci, all of whose lands bordered the now defeated Trinovantes. Joining these three tribes in pledging allegiance to Rome were probably the Corieltauvi, Atrebates, Belgae and Dobunni. Their leaders must have quickly come to the realisation that Rome boasted vastly superior military forces, and that it was better to capitulate than see their people die needlessly. They must also have reflected that, with the Trinovantes, their tribal competitor, now smashed, siding with Rome would be good for business.<\/span><\/p>\n
Certainly, when we look in the archaeological record for the period, it\u2019s clear that the Trinovantes were the ultimate losers in the <\/span>immediate aftermath of the Roman invasion, suffering the indignity of witnessing a huge fortress being built over the remains of their capital. Meanwhile, the Catuvellauni, Atrebates, Belgae, Regni and Dobunni were all provided with brand new Mediterranean-style towns. The message was clear: being with Rome was a good thing; standing against them spelt disaster.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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