"Particularly in regard to its influence on the County of Wilts. 201 



the Belgse, and as our own county contains no military stations of 

 much importance, we may presume that Plautius concluded a peace 

 at once with these three tribes, the Atrebates, the Belgse, and the 

 Regni, Cogidumnus, or Cogidubnus, King of the Regni, became 

 a faithful ally of the Romans, as is witnessed by the inscription of 

 the Temple of Neptune and Minerva, for which he gave authority, 

 pro salute domus divina, as well as by Tacitus (Agricola 14). The 

 Cantii in Kent also appear to have been friendly. 



But there were other well-known warlike tribes close at hand 

 both to the east and the west of the island, namely, the Trinobantes 

 in Essex, whose king, Cunobelinus, now dead, had been succeeded 

 by two warlike sons, Cataracus and Togodumnus ; and the Catu- 

 vellaunians and their subjects, the Dobuni in Gloucestershire. After 

 the defeat of Cataracus (or Caractacus) and Togodumnus, for the 

 locality of which there are no data, the only battle o£ importance 

 mentioned by Dio is one against the Boduni or Dobuni, the people 

 of Gloucestershire, which took place on a large river, probably the 

 Severn, in which Osidius Geta, Vespasian, and Flavius Sabinus all 

 took prominent part. The centre of operations then shifted to the 

 Thames, where Togodumnus appears to have been killed. It is 

 probable that different portions of the fleet at once occupied the two 

 great inlets of the Thames on the east, and the Bristol Channel on 

 the west, in order to support the army in its conflicts with the two 

 hostile tribes of which we have spoken, supported as they were by 

 the even more warlike peoples of the Iceni of our modern Suffolk 

 and Norfolk and the Silures in South Wales. But the wealthy 

 city of Londinium (CLE., vii., p. 21) on the east and the lead 

 mines of the Mendips on the west, were probably also attractions 

 from the first. Bars or pigs of lead stamped with the names of 

 Claudius and Britannicus, have been found on the Mendips dated as 

 early as A.D. 49. 



After these victories Claudius was summoned by his successful 

 general, and landed somewhere, it may be conjectured, in Kent. 

 But Dio's account is so vague that he might have equally landed at 

 Southampton. He was present, it would seem, at the capture of 

 Camalodunum, and returned to Italy after remaining in the country 



p % 



