The 'Original Bicestrians': The Catuvellauni

The Catuvellauni - who once occupied our corner of Oxfordshire - were probably the most powerful tribe in Britain. They built a thriving and extensive agriculture-based economy.

Bicester was situated right on the border between the territories of the Catuvellauni and another tribe, known as the Dobunni. 

Although they themselves left no written records, the Romans mentioned them on numerous occasions; one, Tacitus - writing in the 1st century AD - wrote the following, regarding the Catuvellauni's leader Caractacus' last stand against the invaders:

"Caractacus dashed about in all directions, telling his men that in the battle to come that day they would either begin to regain their freedom or be doomed to everlasting slavery. He recited the names of their ancestors, who had thrown out the tyrant Julius Caesar. Their bravery had kept them free from military oppression and reparations, and their wives and children safe from physical threat. The crowd responded to these and similar words with acclaim. Each soldier swore a solemn oath not to yield in the face of weapons or wounds."

Unfortunately, he and his men were defeated, and Caractacus was taken captive, before being carted off to Rome as a war-prize. Although the Romans intended to execute him, the Senate allowed their prisoner to deliver a speech... They were so impressed by his words, that they granted him a full pardon, and allowed him to live out the rest of his days among them, in peace!

Following Caractacus' death in 54 AD, whilst some of the other British tribes (such as the Iceni, famously led by Boudicca) continued to rebel against Roman rule, the Catuvellauni largely assimilated, thereby becoming Romano-British.

The Catuvellauni likely originated from the region of Europe formerly known as Gaul, which encompassed modern-day France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, along with parts of Switzerland, Germany and Northern Italy. Julius Caesar took control of Gaul on behalf of the Roman Empire c.58 BC during the Gallic Wars, and stated that at that time, Gaul was divided into five parts: Gallia Celtica, Gallia Cisapina, Gallia Narbonensis, Gallia Aquitania and Gallia Belgica; the Catuvellauni probably hailed from the latter (see map below). The Atrebates - another tribe who went on to occupy parts of southern England - also came from Gallia Belgica.

When these tribes first came to Britain, it was already occupied by the descendents of western European hunter-gatherers, who arrived on our shores around 900,000 years ago.

The Belgic tribes who came to Britain did so during raiding expeditions across the English Channel, during the 1st century; they later chose to establish themselves on the island permanently.

Sadly, us modern Oxfordshire folk have very little genetic connection to these tribes, nor indeed the Romans; instead, the vast majority of our DNA comes from the Anglo-Saxons, with some small traces left behind by the Vikings and Normans (although all of these peoples were Germanic in origin, so there is little to distinguish between them).

Very few remains have been found from this period in history, largely due to the fact that cremations were so common