Researchers propose Iron Age British ruler Verica was female, not male

Researchers at Bournemouth University now believe that Verica, a ruler of Iron Age Britain, was a woman. Historians had always assumed Verica was male, but Dr Miles Russell and his team have challenged this view. Verica led the Atrebates tribe, whose lands covered what is now Hampshire and West Sussex. Around 40 AD, a rival tribe removed Verica from power. Verica then travelled to Rome and asked Emperor Claudius for help. This appeal gave Rome a reason to invade Britain in 43 AD, a moment that changed British history. Coins found by archaeologists show a female warrior on horseback carrying a spear, which supports the new theory. Nineteenth-century historians assumed Verica was male because of their own attitudes about women and power.