Pre-Roman
Mersea
Although Mersea
has been inhabited since around 3000 BC, I'm
going to start this potted history with the
Celts, who were the first people to leave any
substantial trace of their tenure. The Celts
first arrived in Britain circa 400 BC.
Once Social
development progressed to the point where
communities were able to specialise in their
activities the natural features of the Island
afforded the islanders the means to produce
Ceramics, and Salt on a commercial scale.
Evidence of the Salt-panning still exists today,
and evidence of large quantities of broken pots
can still be found at the sites where Pottery
was made.
In the first
Century BC another wave of Celts crossed over
from the Continent (the Belgae). Their
arrival, led to Rome taking a more pronounced
interest in Britain. Julius Ceasar made two
incursions in Britain in 55 & 53 BC, but it was
not until the time of the Emporer Claudius that
the Romans made any real attempt to establish a
permanent presence.
At the time of the start of the invasion (43 AD)
the powerful belgic Catevellauni tribe
dominated many of the Tribes in the South East
of Britain, including the Trinovantes
who inhabited the Colchester and Mersea areas.
The Catevellauni established their capital by
the river Colne, calling it Camulodunum - the
hill-fort for their war god Camulos. The site
was chosen, presumably, because of the natural
defence produced by the geography of the area. A
steep hill, the river running to the North and
East with the addition of massive earthworks
elsewhere made this a formidable defensive
position. Many Roman writers comment favourably
on the Fortress later.
Using a dynastic
feud as the pretext for their intervention - and
following a brief, bloody campaign, the
South-East of Britain was brought under Roman
control. Claudius himself came over to Britain
to accept the submission of the Tribal
Chieftains. The event is commemorated on a
stone, which can still be seen today in Rome.
The Romans set up
a Colony on land at Camulodunum and called it
Colonia Claudia, in honour of their
Emporer. The Colony was built to the typical
Roman civic model. This area forms the heart of
modern Colchester. Colonia Claudia was the Roman
Capital of Britain until is was abandoned in
favour of London due to it's more favourable
location.
The Romans
established a presence on Mersea early, building
a road link. The route of which is not much
different to that of today's. This greatly
improved communications to the Island. During
this time it's highly likely that Kings Hardwas
used as a landing place by ships. There's
evidence of a road going to the Hard, so it
would seem the Romans made use of the Anchorage
to a fair degree.
The Iceni
Rebellion
In 61 AD The
Roman settlers received a major blow when the
Iceni, who inhabited the northern part of what
is now known as East Anglia rose in revolt.
Their Queen was called Boudicca. The Trinovantes
and other tribes joined with the Iceni in revolt
under the leadership of Boudicca. The Colony
(Colonia Claudia) was captured and sacked. The
victorious Britons slaughtered the Roman
colonists and Romanised British inhabitants. It
took the Romans some time to defeat Boudicca and
in the interval Boudicca pillaged London (Londinium)
and St Albans (Verulamium).Eventually Boudicca
was defeated following the arrival of massive
reinforcements from Wales. Although still
heavily outnumbered, superior Roman tactics won
the decisive battle.
Tacitus tells us
that the cause of the revolt was, at least in
part, due to the treatment the indigenous Tribes
received at the hands of the Roman invaders.
Following the successful suppression of the
revolt the Romans adopted a less overbearing
manner in their dealings with the Tribes.
Mersea Under
Roman Rule
Mersea then
settled down to a long period of peace,
apparently attracting wealthy Roman visitors. In
the Area where St Peters Church and Mersea Hall
now stand, there was a Roman villa.
Several good examples of mosaic were found
during an excavation conducted by the Essex
Archaelogical Society in 1898, as well as
the foundations of the villa. The Mosaic floors
were re-buried after they had been recorded in
order to preserve them for future generations.
In the four
Hundred years that Roman rule lasted the people
of Mersea became, like much of the South East of
Britain, totally assimilated into the Roman
Empire.
