Archeological discoveries animate the life of the warrior queen who took on Rome

‘How much better is it to have poverty with no master than wealth with slavery?’ – Boudica, according to the Roman historian Cassius Dio.

Boudica, the storied queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe amid Roman conquest, has long been a heroine and patriotic symbol of Britain. Still, many of the details of her life, including the tribal revolt she led and her death at its end circa 60 CE, have long been murky – mostly gleaned via the writings of ancient Roman historians, sometimes centuries after the fact.

However, as this short film from the UK animator Emma Calder details, recent archeological discoveries are helping modern historians better understand her life and times outside of the ancient Roman perspective. Commissioned by Norfolk Museums Service, and animated using an idiosyncratic combination of illustrated and stop-motion animation by Calder, Boudica: A Norfolk Story integrates these findings as it explores what’s known, and what’s still left to discover, about this legendary woman’s story.