Camulodunum Camulodunum Camulodunum (; ), the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important town in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. It is claimed to be the oldest town in Britain. Originally the site of the Brythonic-Celtic oppidum of Camulodunon (meaning "stronghold of Camulos"), capital of the Trinovantes and later the Catuvellauni tribes, it was first mentioned by name on coinage minted by the chieftain Tasciovanus sometime between 20 and 10 BC. The Roman town began life as a Roman Legionary base constructed in the AD 40s on the site of the
Battle of Camulodunum killed in the battle. The event is recorded by the historian Tacitus in his "Annals". In AD 60 or 61, the southeastern area of the island rose in revolt under Boudica, while the governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was campaigning in Wales. The Iceni were joined by the Trinovantes, and their first target was Camulodunum, formerly the Trinovantian capital, now a "colonia" or settlement of discharged Roman soldiers. Tacitus reports it was poorly defended, and archaeology confirms its former military fortifications had been levelled by this time. The colonists appealed for aid to the procurator, Catus Decianus, who sent only two