Elodie Harper

There was the fact that

whilst this rebellion was going on, probably they weren't able to look after the harvest, or it's possible that Rome was destroying the crops as a means to use famine as a weapon.

Either way, it was going to run out of steam at some point, possibly, in terms of people running out of food and supplies.

And then you've got just the battle tactics, whereas surprising the 9th Legion...

sacking a city was quite different from the very calculated strategy of Paulinus who made the decision to desert London.

He arrived from Wales and London, realised, I cannot defend this place, destroyed the bridge so it would kind of minimise the damage.

People potentially were bunched on ships

so that they could hang out in the river and be out of reach of the rebels.

But essentially, it was damage limitation and anyone who was capable of coming with him left and fled.

Other people were just abandoned, which was pretty shameful, but also suggests a type of ruthless pragmatism for him as a strategist.

And he chose the location of the lost and he used the landscape against...

Boudicca and her forces, by having them hemmed in by trees, they would have to have a very narrow head-to-head meeting as opposed to

A situation where, because he had far fewer troops than her, I mean, we don't have to believe the Romans' insane numbers that they always loved to fling out there, like a million and ten barbarians.

And three Romans or whatever.

But nonetheless, I think it's fair to say they were probably quite heavily outnumbered.

So he used the terrain against Boudicca.

He used the tactics against Boudicca that in a very narrow pass, the kind of Roman technique of sticking very close together and forming a wedge and breaking through the enemy line.

Also, the Britons really didn't help themselves.

They hemmed themselves in around the back.

They had a kind of picnic going on.