Druid of Colchester
Encyclopedia
Stanway, Essex
Stanway is a village and civil parish in Essex, England located near Colchester. It is now widely referred to as a suburb.Stanway is located approximately three miles west of Colchester town centre on the B1408 , near the junction of the A12 and the A1124 at Eight Ash Green...
, near Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, is believed to be that of an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
dated c. 40-60 AD. It is among a number of graves of eminent people found, believed to be buried around the time of the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD. The area was then associated with the Catuvellauni
Catuvellauni
The Catuvellauni were a tribe or state of south-eastern Britain before the Roman conquest.The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their kings before the conquest can be traced through numismatic evidence and scattered references in classical histories. They are mentioned by Dio Cassius, who implies...
tribe.
In the wooden chambered burial site, archaeologists uncovered cremated human remains, and a board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
- the first time that such a game has been found virtually intact.The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
; 6 September 1996; Roman board game found at burial site Other items uncovered included a cloak decorated with brooches, a jet bead believed to have magical properties, medical equipment, a tea strainer still containing some kind of herbal brew, and some mysterious metal poles believed to be used for divining.
This Medical kit consisted of 13 instruments including scalpels, sharp and blunt retractors
Retractor (medical)
A retractor is a surgical instrument by which a surgeon can either actively separate the edges of a surgical incision or wound, or can hold back underlying organs and tissues, so that body parts under the incision may be accessed. The two are each available in many shapes, sizes, and styles...
, needles, a probe and surgical saw, hooks and forceps
Forceps
Forceps or forcipes are a handheld, hinged instrument used for grasping and holding objects. Forceps are used when fingers are too large to grasp small objects or when many objects need to be held at one time while the hands are used to perform a task. The term 'forceps' is used almost exclusively...
.
A cup was also found with traces of Mugwort, some people suggest that herbs, such as Mugwort, were smoked to stimulate psychic powers. The teas strainer also contained herbs commonly associated with herbal remedies in ancient times. Philip Crummy, director of the trust, remained cautious, adding that there may be other explanations. "In the report we draw the possibility that this man or woman was a druid," he said. "The so-called druid could have been a doctor. The tea strainer contains artemisia pollen, which is commonly associated with herbal remedies. Healing is an attribute given to druids. We don't know what the metal rods are for, but we think they could have been used for divining. The question is whether all that stacks up to him being a druid. It could be – it was certainly somebody special."
The medical kit was "fairly Romanized" and the individual may have acted “like a Roman surgeon/doctor would have done." "Divination was widely practiced in the Roman world too," he added. Because of the site’s age and location, archaeologist Mike Pitts believes the person was indeed a Celtic Druid and could have been closely related to Cunobelinus
Cunobelinus
Cunobeline or Cunobelinus was a historical king in pre-Roman Britain, known from passing mentions by classical historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius, and from his many inscribed coins...
, a chief or king of the Catuvellauni tribe."
The Stanway Game
The grave contained a board gameBoard game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
, with the glass counters laid out as if in play. Surviving metal corners and hinges from the 'game' board allowed a reconstruction to be created, it is believed to be 55cm by 40 (21" x 15") and rectangle with play over a board of 8x12 squares. Dr Irving Finkel, Assistant Keeper of the Ancient Mesopotamia collection in the Middle East department of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, speculates that, in the absence of dice, the game is one of strategy.
The white and blue glass counters, 13 for each player, were ranged against each other, similar to a Chess opening
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
. All pieces were of equal size except for a single smaller white bead, the only piece positioned close to the board centre.
Some people believe this board may also have been used along with the metal rods for divining purposes.
A detailed analysis of the game is provided by Ulrich Schädler in “The Doctor's Game: New Light on the History of Ancient Board Games” which is his contribution to Crummy, et al (2007) Stanway: An Elite Burial Site at Camulodunum'. Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.