The landscape at Cuttle Mill is undergoing a thorough overhaul at the moment and the parking and gardens promise to be a great environment for both the Dynamics Team and visiting clients.

With a daily insight into the construction work and general earth-moving, it makes me wonder what might be under the Dynamics Media offices.

It's a little known fact that Cuttle Mill, just outside Paulerspury, is the historians favoured location for 'The Battle of Watling Street' - Queen Boudica's attack on the Roman Army in AD 61.  It was a key victory in the Roman conquest of Britain, with 80,000 Britains losing their lives compared to only 400 Romans.  It spelt the end for Boudica, who is said to have poisoned herself after defeat.  A comprehensive article on the battle and theory of its location can be viewed below.

http://www.ospreypublishing.com/articles/ancient_world/boudica_last_stand/

The area of Cuttle Mill certainly looks like it could have been the setting for a large-scale battle. The A5 twists and drops into a steep valley at the river with open fields either side. with the land mostly forested 2000 years ago it would have been the perfect place for the Romans to lie in wait for Boudica and her British army.  The fortified town of Lactodorum (now Towcester) would have also been nearby, handy for when supplies of milk and honey were running low.

The location of the battle can only be speculated on by historians, but obviously I'm biased towards Cuttle Mill, being that such an important historical event could have taken place in the exact spot in which I type this article!

The construction at Cuttle Mill involves a new bridge next to the A5 as part of the landscaped garden. Everyone at Dynamics has been able to see the development of the area and the exposure of the current bridge, which looks like an antiquity in itself.  The area of Cuttle Mill was mentioned in the doomsday book and it seems local folklore has kept the legend of the battle very much alive.

Whether the battle did indeed take place under our very noses remains to be proved. Most historians do at least favour a location on Watling Street in the Midlands, so I'll be keeping a close eye on the ground for any unearthed clues.