British Iron Age ‘king’ who prompted Roman invasion was probably a woman

Check your subscription status, update your details and more. British Iron Age ‘king’ who prompted Roman invasion was probably a woman Verica, a British ruler who encouraged the Roman emperor Claudius to launch an invasion, may not have been the man historians thought he was Verica is depicted on Iron Age coins found in southern England King Verica is one of the central figures in early British history. Verica convinced the Roman emperor Claudius to launch an invasion, setting in motion the Roman Empire’s conquest of Britain.

A pivotal king – except Verica was probably a queen. A new analysis suggests we have long misread Verica’s gender and she was actually female. **Read more** The surprising origins of Britain’s Bronze Age immigrants revealed “Verica is probably the most important person at the end of the Iron Age, at that point where Britain gets dragged kicking and screaming into history,” says Miles Russell, an archaeologist at Bournemouth University in the UK and author of the forthcoming book _Caratacus: Great king of Britain_. Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox.

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