Celtic Coinage: Britain and Beyond: The Eleventh Oxford Symposium on Coinage and Monetary History 9780860547327, 9781407318479

Table of contents :
Front Cover
Copyright
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABBREVIATIONS
Introduction
The Celtic Coin Index
The roles of Celtic coinage in south east England
Celtic coin types in Britain and their Mediterranean origins
Snettisham and Bury: some new light on the earliest Icenian coinage
A preliminary analysis of the hoard of Icenian coins from Field Baulk, March, Cambridgeshire
The decline and fall of the Icenian monetary system
Iron Age coins in Yorkshire
The earliest gold coinages of the Corieltauvi?
Iron Age coinage and archaeology
Money supply and credit in Iron Age Britain
Petit numeraire de billon emis durant et apres la conquete romaine dans l'Ouest de la Gaule
Chronology, production, and distribution of coins in the Auvergne
An analytical survey of the British Celtic gold coinage
Materials issues in the Celtic coinage
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
PLATES

Citation preview

Celtic Coinage: Britain and Beyond The Eleventh Oxford Symposium on Coinage and Monetary History

Edited by Melinda Mays

BAR British Series 222 1992

Published in 2019 by BAR Publishing, Oxford BAR British Series 222 Celtic Coinage: Britain and Beyond © The editors and contributors severally and the Publisher 1992 The authors’ moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860547327 paperback ISBN 9781407318479 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860547327 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com BAR Publishing is the trading name of British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd. British Archaeological Reports was first incorporated in 1974 to publish the BAR Series, International and British. In 1992 Hadrian Books Ltd became part of the BAR group. This volume was originally published by Tempvs Reparatvm in conjunction with British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd / Hadrian Books Ltd, the Series principal publisher, in 1992. This present volume is published by BAR Publishing, 2019.

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CONTENTS Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction, by MELINDA MAYS The Celtic Coin Index, by DEREK HARRISON The roles of Celtic coinage in south east England, by ANDREW

lV V

lX

xv

1

FITZPATRICK

Celtic coin types in Britain and their Mediterranean origins, by SIMONE SCHEERS Snettisham and Bury: some new light on the earliest Icenian coinage, by tTONY GREGORY Postscript to Tony Gregory's paper, by AMANDA CHADBURN Obituary of TONY GREGORY A preliminary analysis of the hoard of Icenian coins from Field Baulk, March, Cambridgeshire, by AMANDA

33 47

68 70

73

CHADBURN

The decline and fall of the Icenian monetary system, by JOHN

83 93

CREIGHTON

Iron Age coins in Yorkshire, by JEFFREY MAY The earliest gold coinages of the Corieltauvi, by JEFFREY

113

MAY

Iron Age coinage and archaeology, by COLIN HASELGROVE Money supply and credit in Iron Age Britain, by ROBERT

123 D.

139

VAN ARSDELL

The iconography of Celtic coins, by MIRANDA GREEN Petit numeraire de billon emis durant et apres la conquete romaine clans l'Ouest de la Gaule, by KATHERINE GRUEL and ALAIN TACCOEN Chronology, production and distribution of coins in the Auvergne, by FERNAND MALACHER and JOHN COLLIS An analytical survey of the British Celtic gold coinage, by

151

165

189 207

MICHAEL COWELL

Materials issues in the Celtic coinage, by List of Contributors

111

PETER NORTHOVER

235 301

INTRODUCTION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Papers in this volume are for the most part revised versions of those presented at the Eleventh Oxford Symposium on Coinage and Monetary History, which took place at Rewley House, Oxford, on April 7-9, 1989. Particular thanks are due to Dr. Peter Northover for sharing the organization of the Symposium with me, and to Spink and Son Ltd. for their generosity in contributing towards the travelling expenses of our continental colleagues. I should also like to thank Dr. Michael Metcalf, Dr. Cathy King, Dr. Daphn Nash and Eve Maries for assisting in various ways during the editing and preparation of the volume; Vicki Lloyd, for her expert contribution towards the technical production; and Jeffrey May and Simon Bean, for providing invaluable help in the final stages of production.

M.R.M.

lV

ABBREVIATIONS AB

ArchaeologiaBelgica

AC

ArchaeologiaCantiana

ACIA

Actes du Colloque Internationald'archeologie,Rouen

Ant.].

Antiquaries' Journal

Arch.].

ArchaeologicalJournal

AS

Ancient Society

BAAB

Bulletin Archeologiquede l'Association Bretonne

BAR BAR IS BAR SS

British Archaeological Reports International Series Supplementary Series

BG

Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico

BIAUL

Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeology, University of London

Blanchet

A. Blanchet, Traite de monnaiesgauloises (Paris, 1905)

BM

British Museum, London

BMC

British Museum Catalogue

BN

Bibliotheque nationale, Paris

BNJ

British Numismatic Journal

BROB

Berichten van de Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek

BSFN

Bulletin de la societefranfaise de numismatique

BV

Bayerische Vorgeschichtsblatter

C

M.H. Crawford, 1974)

Roman Republican Coinage (Cambridge,

V

INTRODUCTION

CBA

Council for British Archaeology

CHRB

Coin Hoardsfrom Roman Britain

EC

Etudes Celtiques

EMAB

East Midlands ArchaeologicalBulletin

HBR

Harvard Business Review

]HS

Journal of Hellenic Studies

]IAN

Journal Internationald'ArcheologieNumismatique

]NG

Jahrbuchfur Numismatik und Geldgeschichte

LT

H. de la Tour, Atlas de monnaiesgauloises (Paris, 1892)

M

R.P. Mack, The Coinage of Ancient Britain (2nd ed., 1975)

MAC

Memoires de l'Academie de Clermont

MIN

Metallurgy in Numismatics

MSASAA

Memoires de la Societe d'Agriculture, Scienceset Arts d'Angers

MSHAB

Memoires de la Societe d'Histoire et d'Archeologiede Bretagne

N

D. Nash, Settlement and coinagein centralGaul (BAR LS. 39, Oxford, 1978)

NC

Numismatic Chronicle

NCirc

Numismatic Circular

OJA

Oxford Journal of Archaeology

OUCA

Oxford University Committee for Archaeology

PARALO

Publicationsde l'Associationpour la RechercheArcheologiqueen Languedocorientale

PCAS

Proceedingsof the CambridgeAntiquarian Society

PPS

Proceedingsof the PrehistoricSociety

PSAS

Proceedingsof the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland VI

INTRODUCTION

RAECE

Revue Archeologique de l' Est et du Centre-Est

RAO

Revue Archeologique de l'Ouest

RAP

Revue Archeologique de Picardie

RBN

Revue Beige de Numismatique

REA

Research in Economic Anthropology

RIC

Roman Imperial Coinage

RN

Revue Numismatique

RNS

Royal Numismatic Society

s

HJ.and P.J. Seaby, Coins of England and the United Kingdom (24th ed., 1988)

SAC

Sussex Archaeological Collections

SCBI

Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles

SCMB

Seaby' s Coin and Medal Bulletin

SNG

Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum

TAG

Theoretical Archaeology Group

TYNS

Transactions of the Yorkshire Numismatic Society

WA

World Archaeology

WAM

Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine

ZSAK

Zeitschrift fur Schweizerische Archiiologie und Kunstgeschichte

vu

Introduction A COMMON THREAD running through the Symposium, and reflected in the papers published here, is the outstanding contribution made to the study of British Celtic coins by the late Derek Allen. He was the acknowledged master of the entire field until his death in 1975, publishing studies on the origins of coinage in Britain and individual tribes, as well as a gazetteer of all coin finds known to him up until 1958. 1 Since Allen's death, a number of scholars have taken up research where he left off, mainly concentrating on regional or 'tribal' aspects. This introduction presents a summary of important post-Allen publications on British Celtic coinage. It is by no means comprehensive, but should serve as a guide to anyone wishing to learn more about the subject. Th Symposium papers which follow giv recent views and conclusions on their given areas. A significant number of new coin finds have been made since 1975. 2 Haselgrove, who has undertak n the task of updating All n's original gazette r, recording as many coins as possible in three subsequent gazetteers, 3 put the number at nearly 11,000 bringing the grand total of provenanced coins known in 1987 up to around 21,000. 4 Obviously the total number is even larger now. New coin finds are also recorded in the Index of Celtic Coins at Oxford, 5 wher photographic and other details are available. The Index is beginning to be computerized, which will greatly increase the availability of the information. Quite a high proportion of the coins coming to light since Allen's publications have b en discovered through metal detectors. This is an inescapable fact, though it is distressing to many archaeologists, who would prefer coins to have an archaeological context and a reliable provenance. Those coins which arc found on archa eological excavations ar now usually scrupulously recorded, the most important work to date on this subject being that of Has lgrov .6 The paper by Haselgrove in this volume considers the qu estions we

1

D.F. Allen, 'The origins of coinage in Britain: a reappraisal' , in S . . Frere (ed.), Problems of the Iron Age in Southern Britain (London Institut e of Archaeology , Occasional Pap er 11, 1960), pp. 97-308; see below for detai ls of publications on th e various trib es. 2 See, for example, the papers by Gregory, Chadburn and May elsewhere in this volum e, on the coins of th e Iceni and Corieltauvi. 3 C.C. Haselgrove, Supplementary Gaz etteer of Find- pots of Celtic Coins in Britain, 1977 (London Institut e of Ar chaeology,

Occa sional Pap er lla , 1978); id., 'Ce ltic coins found in Britain 1977-82' (BIA UL 20, 1984), pp. 107-54; id. , 'Ce ltic coins found in Britain 1982-1987' (BIA UL 26, 1989), pp. 175. 4 Id. , loc. cit. (1989) in n. 3, p. 1. 5 See the pap er by Derek Harrison , in this volume. 6 For exampl e, C. C. Haselgrove, Iron Age Coinage in South-East England: the Archaeological Context (BAR 174, Oxford, 1987) id ., 'The archaeology of British po tin coinage', Arch.) 145 (1988), pp. 99-122, Ml /01-08 .

lX

INTRODUCTION

need to ask about Iron Age coinage, and how other kinds of archaeological evidence can help in answering them. He argues that by examining the patterns of coin finds associated with different kinds of sites and regions, one can better interpret the chronology and function of coinages. The new finds have generally not made significant changes to the framework of All n's studies; inde d, many of his pr dictions about the direction in which future finds would lead research have been fulfilled, as will become apparent when reading the papers in this volume. Work undertaken on the Gallo-B lgic and early British coinages sine Allen 7 may be summarized together, since much that has been written spans both of them. Scheers 8 has produced th standard reference work on the Gallo-Belgic coinages, and to this may be added details of recent hoards of Gallo-Belgic E coins from Britain, published by Cowell et al.,9 and by Burnett and Cowell: 10 Southend-onSea (Essex), Bury (Cambs.) and Clapham (Beds.) with Gallo-Belgic E only, and Harpsden (Oxon) and Whitchurch (Hants.) also including British B. Th same authors publish d the British B hoards from Chute (Wilts.) and Ironshill (Hants.), with a discussion of the chronology of British Band metal analyses of a selection of British A and B coins. Mackensen's 11 study includes an account and lists of the arliest British gold coins. For discussion of various asp cts of the Gallo-Belgic and British coinages, s e for example Rodwell, 12 Collis, 13 Kent, 14 Haselgrove, 15 and Fitzpatrick (in this volume). Research on the so-called 'potin' coinage has advanced since Allen's 16 study of 1971, in which the coins were divided into two main classes. The most detailed recent review is by Haselgrov , 17 who draws on archaeological as well as purely numismatic evidence. On the technical side, Van Arsdell 1 8 has argued that the manufacturing process did not require the use of papyrus, as had been thought earlier. Van Arsdell has also written on the 'Thurrock' type, 19 named aft r the some current problems, (CBA Res arch Report 38, 1981), pp.53-5. 14 J. P. C. Kent, 'The origins and development of Celtic gold coinage in Britain', Actes du Congres International d'Archeologie: Rouen, 3,4,5 juillet 1975, (Rouen, 1978), pp .313-24; id., 'T he origins of coinage in Britain', in Cunliffe (ed.), op.cit. in n.13, pp.40-2 . 15 Haselgrove (1987), op.cit. in n.6 . 16 D.F. Allen, 'British potin coins: a review', in M. Jesson and D. Hill (eds.), The Iron Age and its Hillforts (Southampton, 1971), pp. 127-54. 17 Haselgrove (1988), loc. cit. in n. 6. 18 'An industiral engineer (but no papyrus) in Celtic Britain', OJA 5 (1986), pp.205-21. 19 R.D. Van Arsdell, 'T he Thurrock type coin', in N. Sharples, Maiden Castle: Excavations and Field Survey 1985-6 (Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, Archaeological Report 19, 1991), pp. 155-6.

Allen, Joe.cit. in n.1. S. Scheers, Traite de numismatique celtique. 2: La Gaule Belgique (1977); id., 'Le tresor de Saint-Quentin et les stateres unifaces des dasses IV et VI', in Melanges de numismatiques offerts aPierre Bastien al'occasionde son 75eme anniversiare (1987), pp .345-52. 9 M. R. Cowe11, W. A. Oddy and A.M. Burnett, 'Celtic coinage in Britain II', BNJ 57 (1987), pp.1-10.

7

8

10 A. M. Burnett and M. R. Cowell, 'Ce ltic coinage in Britain II', BNJ 58 (1988), pp.1-10. 11 M. Mackensen, 'Die alteste keltische Gold- und Silberpragung in England', ]NG 24 (1974), pp.7-63. 12 W . J. Rodwell , 'Coinage, oppida, and the rise of Belgic power in south-eastern Britain', in B. W . Cunliffe and R. T. Rowley (eds.), Oppida in barbarian Europe (BAR I.S.11, Oxford, 1976), pp.181-366. 13 J. Collis, 'Coinage, oppida , and the rise of Belgi~ power : a reply', in B. Cunliffe (ed.), Coinage and society in Britain and Gaul:

X

INTRODUCTION

finds pot of a large hoard of these coins. Fitzpatrick, 20 in his account of the New Addington hoard, proposes that there is in fact little difference between the two classes of coins. Northover's paper in this volume includes analyses of some of the potin coins. Scheers 21 has already written about the Roman prototypes for British C ltic coinage. In the paper in this volume she adds further Roman examples to the list, and presents the evidence for some Greek prototypes, discussing the important questions raised by this possibility. Allen's work on the 'dynastic' coinages of south-east Britain includes discussions of the coins of Tasciovanus and Cunobelinus in his report on the coins from the temple at Harlow, 22 and studies of Cunobelinus' 23 and (with Haselgrove) Verica's 24 gold coinag s. Several articles have been written about the coins of Amminus, 25 who was surely the 'Adminius' mentioned by Suetonius (Caligula 44) as a son of Cunobelinus. Coins of the Wanborough (Surrey) hoard include many new types, and the selection at the British Museum has been recorded and discussed by Cheesman. 26 The dynastic coinages have also been discussed in general and particular terms by Rodwell, 27 Collis, 28 Haselgrove, 29 and Fitzpatrick (in this volume). There ar no papers in this volume on the coinage of the Durotriges 30 and Dobunni; research in both areas has, however, b en progressing steadily, with the pioneering work of Derek Allen remaining the basis of later studies. Allen's 31 study of Durotrigan coins was enlarged upon by Mackensen, 32 who listed further specimens under Allen's coin types. A major study of the coinage has been made by Mays, 33 who has also written several accounts of coins found in

20

A .P. Fitzpatrick, 'A hoard of Iron Age class II potin coins from New Addington, Surrey', Surrey Archaeological Collections 80 (1990), pp. 147-52. 21 S. Scheers, 'Les imitations celtiques des monnaies romaines en Angleterre et leur signification historique ', in T. Hackens and R. Weiller (eds.), Actes du 9e Congres International de Numismatique (Louvain and Luxembourg, 1982), pp.619-23. 22 D. F. Allen, 'Celtic coins from the Romano-British temple at Harlow (Part II)', BNJ 36 (1967), pp.1-7. 23 Id., 'Cunobelin's gold', Britannia 6 (1975), pp.1-19 . 24 Id. and C. C. Haselgrove, 'The gold coinage of Verica', Britannia 10 (1979), pp.118. 25 D . F. Allen, 'Did Adminius strike coins?', Britannia 7 (1976), pp.96-100; D. Nash, 'Adminius did strike coins', OJA 1 (1982), pp.111-14; M . Henig and D . Nash,

'Amminus and the kingdom of Verica', OJA 1 (1982), pp.243-6 . The coin with 'A ' on the reverse mentioned in the last article was attributed to Amminus until a similar type with 'B' was found; it now appears that this particular series should be attributed to Epaticcus. 26 C. Cheesman, 'Coins from the Wanborough excavations', (Surrey Archaeological Society, forthcoming). 27 Rodwell, Joe.cit. in n .12. 28 Collis, Joe.cit in n.13. 29 Haselgrove (1987), op.cit. in n.6. 30 Though Melinda Mays gave a paper on this subject at the Symposium. 31 D .F. Allen, 'The chronology of Durotrigan coinage', in I.A. Richmond, Hod Hill, Vol. 2 (1968), pp. 45-55. 32 M. Mackensen, loc.cit in n.11. 33 M. Mays, The coinage of the Durotriges (OUCA Monograph 15, forthcoming).

Xl

INTRODUCTION

excavations. 34 D tails of Durotrigan coins from the hoards found at Corfe Common (Dorset), Donhead St.Mary (Wilts.) and Winterborne Monkton (Dorset) have recently be n published by Cowell et al., 35 including results from metal analyses. Robinson 36 has published a Durotrigan coin found at Stonehenge. Research on the Dobunni is currently being undertaken by Sellwood, 37 who has carried on from All n's 38 study. An important article on Dobunnic coins has been written by Robinson, 39 who has further work in preparation. The coinage of the Corieltauvi was the subject of a Sylloge written by Allen 40 in 1963, recording 430 coins. Coins found sine then have brought the total up to ov r 1500. 41 The tribe was traditionally known by the name of 'Coritani', as named in Ptolemy's Geography, until the discovery and decipherment of a graffito on a tile inscribed 'civitatis Corieltauvorom' (sic) led to the pr sent 'Corieltauvi'. 42 Recent research on Corieltauvian coins has be n carried out by the late Henry Mossop, and by May, 43 who presented two papers at th Symposium. In the paper on Iron Age coins in Yorkshire, May discusses both the coins (which are mainly Corieltauvian) and the significance of their distribution; there is also a full list of the coins found in Yorkshire. May's second paper is concerned with recent finds of small scyphate gold objects, which may have b en early coins used in the East Midlands by the Corieltauvi. He is currently working on a project on th old Sleaford pellet moulds. As with so many areas of the British coinage, Allen's 44 study of the Iceni remains of vital importance. With the discovery of further coins, Mossop 45 was able to piece

38

D.F.Allen, 'A study of the Dobunmc coinage', in E.M. Clifford, Bagendon:a Belgic oppidum (Cambridge, 1961), pp. 75-149. 39 P. Robinson, 'A local late Iron Age coinage in silver and perhaps gold in Wiltshire', BNJ 47 (1977), pp . 5-20, which is now being revised by him. In preparation are reports from Northwood Barn near Bury Wood Camp, Colerne, and from Upavon, Wilts. 40 D.F. Allen, The Coins of Coritani (SCBI 3, 1963). 41 See Jeffrey May's paper, 'Iron Age coins in Yorkshire', in this volume. 42 R .S.O. Tomlin, 'Non Coritani s d Corieltauvi', Ant. j. 63 (1983), pp. 353-5. 43 See, for example, J. May, 'The major settlements of the later Iron Age in Lincolnshire', in N. Field and A. White (eds.), A Prospectof Lincolnshire (Lincoln , 1984), pp. 18-22. 44 D.F. Allen, 'The coins of the Iceni', Britannia 1 (1970), pp. 1-33. 45 H.R. Mossop , 'An elusiv e Icenian legend', Britannia 10 (1979), pp. 258-9.

34

Id., 'Durotrigan silver stater', in B. Cunliffe, Danebury, an Iron Age hillfort in Hampshire (CBA Research Report 52, 1984), pp. 334-5; id., 'Durotrigan coins, in B. Cunliffe, Hengistbury Head, Dorset. Vol. 1: The Prehistoricand Roman settlement 3500 BC - AD 500 (OUCA Monograph 13, Oxford, 1987), pp . 140-1; more forthcoming. 35 M.R. Cowell, W.A. Oddy and A.M. Burnett, loc.cit in n.9; A.M. Burnett and M .R. Cowell, lee.cit in n.10. 36 P. Robinson, 'A Durotrigian coin from Stonehenge', WAM, 84 (1991), pp . 119-20. 37 Lyn Sellwood's study is currently in progress; see also her 'A numismatic note on the Dobunnic branched emblem', OJA 2.1 (1983), pp. 113-14, and 'Peripheral Celtic coinages in Britain : new research', in G. Grasmann, W . Jannsen and M. Brandt (eds.), Keltische Numismatik und Archaeologie (BAR I.S.200, Oxford, 1984), pp. 406-19 .

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INTRODUCTION

together and expand an inscription formerly read as ESICO SVBIDASTO to SVB RI PRASTO ESICO FECIT. This not only appears to provide a reference to Prasutagus, king of the Iceni and ally of the Romans, 46 but also names the only known Celtic die-cutter, Esico. Several new finds, both ofhoards and of single coins, have been recorded. Three hoards from Eriswell (Suffolk), Chatteris (Cambs.) and Scole (Norfolk), have been published by Kent and Burnett. 47 An important article by Brown 48 gives an account of coins found at the settlement at Saham Toney, and is exemplary in attempting to set the coins in context rather than simply listing them. There are three papers on lcenian coinage in this volum . The late Tony Gregory writes about the most recently found Snettisham hoard and the Bury types, and in the light of further finds he is able to elaborate on coins classified by Allen as 'Early Face-Horse'. Chadburn analyses the hoard of872 coins found at Field Baulk, March; it is particularly significant as it makes up nearly a third of all published lcenian coins. Creighton compares the Icenian monetary system with that of the Roman one in Britain, examining the two sets of hoards for homogeneity. The uniformity of the Icenian hoards suggests an earlier chronology than has been previously proposed. An excellent general account ofBritish coins has recently been written by Nash, 49 in the wider context of Celtic coins as a whole. Another general account is the new catalogue of British Celtic coins by Van Arsdell, 50 which appeared in 1989. This was intended to replace the standard catalogue by Mack, 51 and lists many new types. While it is indispensable in presenting a photographic record of the coins, the accompanying text and attributions are sometimes open to debate. In particular, serious problems are raised by th very specific dates of issue allotted to each coin series and some of the types. Any attempt to make the chronology of the British series so specific is bound to encounter difficulties, and it is probably best to restrict oneself to a wider - and more accurate - framework. Balanced discussions on chronology may b found in Haselgrove 52 and Burnett. 53 Some varieties and new types not found in Van Arsdell's book have been recorded by Symons. 54 Van Arsdell's paper in this volume on money supply and er dit in Iron Age Britain incorporates some controversia l theories which will doubtl ss provoke

50 R. D . Van Arsdell, Celtic Coinage of Britain (1989). 51 R. P. Mack, The Coinage of Ancient Britain (3rd ed ., 1975). 52 Haselgrove (1987), op.cit. in n.6 . 53 A. Burn tt, review of R. D. Van Arsdell's Celtic Coinage of Britain, in BNJ 59 (1989), pp.235-7. 54 D. Symons, 'Celtic coinage of Britain: some amendments and additions', N. Circ. 98 (1990), pp. 48-50; id., 'Further Celtic coins from the Finney collection', N. Circ. 98 (1990), pp. 268-72.

46

For a Roman account of Prasutagus' will, and the events which led to the Boudiccan rebellion, see Tacitus' Annals 14.29-38. 47 J.P.C.Kent and A.M. Burnett, 'The Eriswell, Suffolk, Treasure Trove', CHRB 4 (BM Occasional Paper 58, 1984), pp. 6-13; A.M. Burnett, 'Chatteris, Cambs., Treasure Trove', and 'Scole, Norfolk, Treasure Trove', CHRB 6 (BM Occasional Paper 58, 1986), pp. 5-6 and 7-12. 48 R.A. Brown, 'The Iron Age and Romano-British settlement at Woodcock Hall, Saham Toney, Norfolk', Britannia 17 (1986), pp. 1-58. 49 Daphne Nash, Coinage in the Celtic World (1987).

Xlll

INTRODUCTION

stimulating discussions in the future. He also has a large number of articles forthcoming and in preparation. 55 Inscriptions on British Celtic coins are listed by Mays, 56 who has also gathered together relevant information about the personal names and mints recorded on the coms. The iconography of Celtic coins is considered by Green in one of the papers in this volume. She selects certain symbols and images which appear to link with symbolic themes occurring in other Celtic or Roman-Celtic iconography . Most of the coin types discussed come from Armorica. Two of the Symposium pap ers deal specifically with Gaulish coins. Gruel and Taccoen write about Armorican billon fractions issued during and after the Roman conquest; recent finds in stratified contexts provide new evidence for their dating, distribution and value. Th re have also been studies of the coins' typology, metro logy and meta~ composition., Malacher and Collis give a detailed account of coins found at five main sites in the Auvergne. The coins shed light on the history and sequence of settlement occupation. Evidence for coin production comes from fragments of moulds, dies, and casting rejects for potin coins. Great advances have been made in the metal analysis of Celtic coins in recent years. Following on the publication of analyses of Gallo-Belgic and British coins in the British Museum, 57 the paper by Cowell in this volume reports on the results of a major analytical survey of gold British Celtic coins in the British Museum, using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence. Northover, also in this volume, reviews the development of metalworking in Iron Age Britain and examines the gold, silver and copper-based alloys used in the coinage. He proceeds to discuss the evidence for coin manufacture, and to compare the analyses of gold and silv r objects (for example the ornaments from hoards such as those from Snettishanm) with those from coins. Northover presents the results of analyses of selected Gaulish and British gold, silver and copper-based coins, using electron probe microanalysis with wavelength dispersive spectrometry. The future of British Celtic coinage studies looks bright. In addition to various projects currently being worked on by the contributors to this volume and other researchers, two Ph.D. theses (University of Nottingham) are in progress: Simon Bean on the Atrebates and coins ofK nt, and Amanda Chadburn on the coinages of East Anglia. M.R.M.

55

See the bibliography of Van Arsdell, op. cit. in n. 50. 56 M . Mays, 'Inscriptions on British Celtic Coins', NC 152 (1992, forthcoming).

57 Cowell, Oddy and Burnett, loc. cit. in n. 9; and Burnett and Cowell, loc. cit. in n. 10.

XIV

The Celtic Coin Index DEREK HARRISON

THECELTICCoin Index, which contains cards for some 12,000 coins, is located in the Institute of Archaeology at Oxford. It is intended to be of use to those engaged in academic research in the coinage of Iron Age Britain or related fields. The Index was started by Professor S.S. Frere while at the Institute of Archaeology in London. It continued to deyelop under Professor Fren~'s guidance during his time as Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire at Oxford (1966-83), and thereafter under Professor B.W. Cunliffe. During the thirty or more years of its existence the Index has benefited by the generous contribution of information from many sources - museums, numismatists and collectors, archaeologists and other find ers of coins, and, not least, those engaged in research who have made use of the Index and have enriched it by their own material and insights. The scope of the Index is: (a)

Celtic coins found in Britain, whether manufactured here or elsewhere: and

(b) Celtic coins of British manufacture found outside Britain. An index card for each individual coin records information on its physical characteristics (e.g. metal, weight, etc.), the circumstances of its finding (e.g. date, place, whether an excavated or a metal-detector find, or part of a hoard, etc.), and its pres ent wher eabouts, together with any other known data or references. An essential component of each card is a photograph of both obverse and reverse. The Index has thus grown over the years into a large collection of visual records of Celtic coins, which are themselves scattered over many locations, and indeed whose whereabouts is in many cases now unknown. Apart from their informative value, the photographs are also important in helping to avoid multiple entries of coins which may have been reported to the Index more than once. Finally, each card shows the Mack and Allen classifications of the British coins (and also the Evans classifications in the case of early entries). Cards are being updated to include the new Van Arsdell classifications. Ideally the Index would contain details of all Celtic coins found, but that is clearly not realistic, especially now that the numbers of both coins and finders have increased dramatically with the advent of metal-detecting. The aim therefore is to collect the maximum possible data. Much is available from published sources and much is regularly received from museums and other contributors. Additionally, during 1989 systematic approaches were made to many potential sources of information in an effort to fill some of the gaps in the records. Also during 1989 preparatory work was done on a computerisation project which it is hoped will make the Index an even more useful resource for research . Index xv

THE CELTIC COIN INDEX

cards ar at present grouped according to Mack types. It is therefore easy to retrieve information relating to particular types, but relatively difficult to extract information on some other basis, e.g. data relating to coins from a particular geographical area. It is now, therefore, planned to computerise the information currently kept on cards, so as to enable ready retrieval of data in the form required by the user. The computerisation project will take some time to complete, but should in due course bring substantial b nefits to users in terms of flexibility in handling Index data. Access to the computerised Index will be possible from remote locations via JANET. The future growth of the Index will continue to depend largely on the contribution of information by all those with an interest in Celtic coins. Details of new finds or of other coins which may not yet have been reported to the Index will be most gratefully received. The basic requirement is for photographs of obverse and reverse (pre£ rably at 2x magnification), some indication of the coin's metal, and if possible its weight in grammes. Photographic prints can be arranged if the coin or negatives are sent to the Institute of Archaeology in Oxford. Any additional information concerning the coin, the time, place, and circumstances of its finding, and its present whereabouts will greatly add to the value of the entry. Concern has sometimes been expressed over reporting to the Index details which the informant would prefer to remain confidential, e.g. an exact find-spot or the address of the owner. Arrangements can be made to meet this concern. If the informant so wishes, confidential data can be held in a secure file outside the index, not to be released to a third party without the prior consent of the informant. If the informant is prepared to give a time limit, e.g. 'not to be released for five years', that would undoubtedly be of administrative benefit in the future. Information please, to:

and photographs

for inclusion in the Index should be addressed,

The Celtic Coin Index, The Institute of Archaeology, 36 Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2PG Those wishing to make use of the Index for academic research should write to Professor B.W. Cunliffe at th same address.

XVI

The roles of Celtic coinage 1n south east England A. P. FITZPATRICK [PLATE 1] INTRODUCTION

Traditionally interpreted as the evidence for invasions out of Belgic Gaul, the imported Gallo-Belgic gold coinages found in south east England have been reinterpreted as the payment of mercenaries. 1 In many recent works there is an implicit distinction between the intepretation of these early imported coinages and the inscribed British issues. British coins, particularly those of bronze, are often interpreted as testimony to the development of a monetised market economy. 2 Arguably this distinction obscures two important points. The first is the enduring contact between the south east of England and Belgic Gaul over some 250 years. The other is the development of coin use by those peoples of south east England who gave meaning to and used coinages dominated succcessively by imported and then indigenous coins. The present paper seeks to explore this continuity and to reassert its importance in interpreting the significance of the coinages (Plate 1) and their meanings. In doing so it will devote some attention to the absolute chronology of the earlier coinages as one of the keys to the way in which the data have been interpreted and structured. THE STRUCTURE

OF THE EVIDENCE

The 'south east of England' is used here to encompass the areas in which Haselgrove's 'south east' and 'eastern' Iron Age coin traditions circulated. This is essentially the modern counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Acknowledgements This paper draws substantially on the work of Robert Van Arsdell, John Barrett, Dr Colin Haslegrove, Dr John Kent, Dr Daphn e Nash and Professor Simone Scheers. I should like to thank them for their criticism and help, and particularly Robert Van Arsdell who generously allowed me to read parts of his Celtic Coinage of Britain while still in proof, and Colin Haselgrove for his comments on an earlier draft and for allowing me to refer to his work before publication.

(Rouen), pp. 313-24; id., 'The late Iron Age in the London area: an interpretation of the earliest coins', in, Collectanea Londiniensia: Studies in London Archaeology and History Presented to Ralph Merrifield (London Middlesex Archaeol. Soc. Special Paper 2, 1978), pp. 53-8; id., 'The origins of coinage in Britain', in, B. W. Cunliffe (ed.), Coinage and Society in Britain and Gaul. Some Current Problems (CBA Research Report 38, 1981), pp . 40-2. The invasion hypothesis was advanced by G. C. Brooke, 'The Philippus in the west and the Belgic invasions of Britain', NC 5 13 (1933), pp. 88-138. 2 e.g. B. W. Cunliffe, 'Money and society in pre-Roman Britain', in, id., (ed.), op . cit. in n.1, pp. 29-39.

e.g. ]. P. C. Kent, 'Th e origins and developm ent of Celtic gold coinage in Britain ', A ctes du congres international d'archeologie, Rouen, 3,4,5 juillet 1975

1

ANDREW FITZPATRICK

Buckinghamshire and Kent, and constitutes a rather smaller area that that considered by Haselgrove in Iron Age Coinage in South-East England. It is this smaller area which ultimately formed Nash's 'Eastern Kingdom'. 3 A variety of nomenclatures have been advanced for the coinages of this area. A single alpha-numeric chronological scheme for these coin traditions encompassing imported and British coins has been suggested by Haselgrove. This has the virtue of emphasising continuity and avoiding debatable attributions to 'tribes' but is cumbersome to use. Van Arsdell's new numeric scheme in Celtic Coinage of Britainis essentially that of Mack in The Coinage of Ancient Britain with the coins attributed to tribes and then ordered chronologically with the numeric field format intended to facilitate the computerisation of the data. In placing the emphasis on the 'trade' or traditional name of the major types of the coins, Van Arsdell's nomenclature is more easily accessible. For simplicity, here the coins will be called by their common British names, for example 'Gallo-Belgic A' or the coinage of Cunobelin. These considerations are not merely a matter of nomenclature, for they bear on the way in which the coinages have been classified. As Haselgrove has reviewed many of these and other related difficulties only a few points need be repeated here. 4 Between the publication of Allen's 'Reappraisal of the Origins of Coinage in Britain' in 1960 and the second ofHaselgrove's gazetteers in 1984, there was a nearly 50% increase in the number of provenanced coins. The number of British site finds as a whole has nearly doubled, while for south east England the number of excavated finds has trebled. 5 This exponential growth in the recording of the data presents problems in using existing typologies. The third (1975) edition of Mack classified about 470 types, plus a further hundred or so varieties labelled 'a', 'b', 'c' etc., which were considered to be genuine antiquities. Since then although a small number of these coins have been shown to be modern forgeries, over a hundred new types have been added. Most of these additions have been of silver and bronze coins, with the number of gold types remaining fairly constant. Expressed another way, Evans' The Coins of the Ancient Britons, published in 1864, had no knowledge of 62% of the types now known, while Allen's 'Reappraisal of the Origins of Coinage in Britain' had no knowledge of 20%. Van Arsdell's Celtic Coinage of Britain catalogues nearly 800 types while omitting some types of importance to our argument. 6 Haselgrove's point that many of the British coins, particularly the earliest issues, are classified essentially according to provenance deserves reiteration. Attribution to recent work' ; in T. C. Champion and J. R. Collis (eds), The Iron Age. Recent Trends (Sheffield), forthcoming; id., the paper in this volume. 5 D. F. Allen \ 'The origins of coinage in Britain: a reappraisal', in S. S. Frere (ed.), Problems of the Iron Age in Southern Britain, (n.d. [1960]), pp. 97-308; C. C. Haselgrove, 'Celtic coins found in Britain, 1977-82', BIAUL 20 (1983), pp. 107-54. 6 Haselgrove loc. cit. ·(forthcoming) in n. 4; J. Evans, The Coins of the Ancient Britons (1864); R. D. Van Arsdell, Celtic Coinage of Britain (1989).

3 C. C. Haselgrove, Iron Age Coinage in South-East England. The Archaeological Context (Oxford, BAR 174, 1987).; D. E. M. Nash , Coinage in the Celtic World (1987). 4 Haselgrove, op. cit. in n. 3; id., 'Coinage and complexity: archaeological analysis of socio-political change in Britain and non-Mediterranean Gaul during the later Iron Age', in, D. B. Gibson and M . N . Geselowitz (eds), Tribe and Polity in Late Prehistoric Europe. Demography, Production, and Exchange in the Evolution of Complex Social Systems (New York and London, 1988), pp. 69-96; id., 'Iron Age coinage:

2

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

coin tradition on the basis of design alone is also still common when only a few finds are known. These may prove to be valid principles for attribution, but the small data on which many of the constructs used to give order are founded should not be forgotten. 7 While some elements, notably the types of gold coins, have remained stable, in general the rapidity of change in the data base, both typological and numerical, has made the detailed dynastic histories of south east England written from the inscribed British coinages increasingly problematic. This is not to deny their value, but reservations about the quality and quantity of the data, combined with the widespread acceptance of a substantivist view in which greater emphasis is placed on the potential range of coin use and the archaeological context, have led to the creation of a new orthodoxy in the archaeological interpretation of Celtic coinages. 8 A greater concern with the archaeological context is also increasingly characteristic of the study of Celtic coinage in continental Europe. 9 THE EARLIEST GALLO-BELGIC COINAGES

It is characteristic of the first coinages found widely in Britain, Gallo-Belgic A and B, that they are usually found in non-settlement contexts. That is to say imported gold coins which were usually deposited deliberately in small or large hoards: the concept of a hoard is qualitative not quantitative. Even allowing for the the difficulties in bridging the gap between uses and deposition, it is now beyond reasonable doubt that this pattern of disposal of gold coinage is typical of many Celtic precious metal coinages throughout Europe. As with the deposition of other categories of artefacts, for example military equipment in watery contexts, it must be regarded as one of the reflexive ways in which some Iron Age peoples ascribed meanings to those objects and structured their daily lives with them. This has to be borne in mind when considering the earliest coins found in Britain. These coins antedate Gallo-Belgic A and B. A small number (four) of Philippus coins have allegedly been found in Britain; none are reliably provenanced. Cunliffe and Nash both incline to accept at least some of the much larger number of Hellenistic Greek and Carthaginian coins as ancient imports, but they too are beset by doubtful provenances and poor records. 10 If the Philippus coins were as important in the payment of Celtic mercenaries as Nash would suggest, it is difficult to understand why only approximately 20 coins with plausible provenances have been recorded in central and western Europe as a whole. 11 Conversely the first generation of Celtic Philippus imitations are themselves known in only small numbers. numismatiques, Berne, 1979, I (Louvain and Luxembourg, Association International Numismates Professionals Publication 6, 1987), pp. 587-95; J.-L. Brunaux and K. Gruel (eds), Monnaies gauloises decouvertesen fouilles (Dossiers de Protohistoire 1, 1987). 10 Allen loc. cit. inn. 5, p . 99, n. 6; B. W. Cunliffe, 'Britain, the Veneti and beyond', OJA 1 (1982), pp. 39-68, at p. 55; Nash op. cit. in n. 3, p. 118. 11 ibid., pp. 13-19.

7 Haselgrove op. cit . in n. 3, pp. 1-12, 47-52. 8 ibid., pp. 17-23; id., loc. cit. (forthcoming) in n.4. 9 H. Polenz, 'Miinzen in latenezeitlichen Grabem Mittleuropas aus der Zeit zwischen 300 und 50 vor Christi Geburt', BV 47 (1982), pp. 27-222; A. Furger-Gunti, 'Zur Chronologie keltischer Gold und Potinmi.inzen', in, T. Hackens and R. Welier (eds), Actes du 9eme congres international de

3

ANDREW

FITZPATRICK

Even so this casts doubt on Nash's acceptance of, for example, the third century BC bronze coins of Syracuse and Carthage, as being associated with mercenary service by Britons. 12 Similar coins are poorly recorded in France while other 'exotic' coins in Britain such as the drachms of the Insubres of Cisalpine Gaul are such marked outliers from their presently known distribution as to challenge their authenticity also. 13 While acknowledging the discovery of earlier Gallo-Belgic coins, works often start the history of coin usage in Britain with the widely found Gallo-Belgic A and B. 14 These earlier coins merit fuller consideration. They are Allen's XA types which he regarded as 'the earliest stratum of Gallo-Belgic coins found here ... probably the earliest of all Gallo-Belgic coinages'. 15 They are the first coinage which Scheers attributes to the Ambiani. Only a very small number of coins (five) are known from Britain (Fig. 1). There are half staters of Series 2 (la tete barbue)from Milton (Pl. 1, 1) and of Series 3 (la tete imberbe;Class I) from Margate and a quarter stater of Series 4 (la tete diademee)from Wye, all in Kent. There are half- and quarter staters of Series 4, Classes I and II respectively from the Waltham St Lawrence, Berkshire, 'hoard.' Both these coins are worn and the half stater has blobs of metal attached. Whether they were genuinely old coins incorporated in a hoard or derived from deposits at an Iron Age shrine is not known. 16 The dating of these early coins is fraught with difficulties, but they seem likely to be of later third or early second century BC date, and may be amongst the earliest coinages of the western Celts presently known. Nash and Scheers have argued persuasively that there are not convincing reasons to follow Colbert de Beaulieu and Castelin in depressing their date until the later second century Bc. 17 Statements to the contrary by Castelin and Colbert de Beaulieu are essentially reassertions of their own views. 18

17 D . E. M. Nash, 'The chronology of Celtic coinage in Gaul: the Arvernian 'hegemony' reconsidered', NC 7 15 (1975), pp. 204-18; S. Scheers, 'The origins and evolution of coinage in Belgic Gaul', in, Cunliffe (ed.), op. cit. in n. 1, pp. 18-23. 18 K. Castelin, Keltische Mun zen. Katalog der Sammlung des Schweizerischen Landesmuseum Zurich. II. Kommentar (Bern, 1985); J .-B. Colbert de Beaulieu, 'Die zeitliche Einordnung der keltischen Munzen Galliens', in, G. Grasmann, W . Janssen and M. Brandt (eds), Keltische Numismatik und Archaologie / Numismatique celtique et archeologie (Oxford, BAR I.S. 200, 1984), pp. 20-33.

ibid., p. 118. B. Fischer, Les monnaies antiques de l'Afrique du nord trouvees en Gaule (1978); D . F. Allen, 'The Paul (Penzance) hoard of imitation Massilia drachms', NC 7 1, (1961), pp. 91-106, esp. fig 2. 14 Kent loc. cit. (1981) in n. 1, p. 41; Haselgrove op. cit. in n. 3, pp. 78, 250; 1s Allen loc. cit. in n. 5, at p. 99; Van Arsdell op. cit. in n. 6, p. 4 omits them; W . J. Rodwell, 'Coinage, oppida and the rise of Belgic power in south-eastern England', in, B.W. Cunliffe and T. Rowley (eds), Oppida: The Beginnings of Urbanism in Barbarian Europe (Oxford, BAR S.S. 11, 1976), pp. 181-367, at p. 183. 16 S. Scheers, La Gaule Belgique.Numismatique celtique, (2nd ed, Louvain, 1983)( First published as Traite de numismatiqueceltiqueII. La Gaule Belgique (1977); Haselgrove op. cit. in n. 3, p. 269; id. , 'Celtic coins found in Britain, 1983-89', BIAUL 26 (1989), pp. 175; J. P. C. Kent pers. comm. 12

13

4

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

SCHEERS NO. 2

e ; 3 ♦;

4 ■

FIG . 1.

Distribution of Scheers Series 2-4 Gallo-Belgic gold coins.

GALLO- BELGIC A

FIG. 2.

Distribution of Gallo-Belgic A coins .

5

ANDREW FITZPATRICK

The number of findspots may be small but their authenticity is vouchsafed by their distribution as presently recorded, which is entirely typical of that of coins from Belgic Gaul for the next two centuries. In view of the very small number of findspots known in continental Europe and the size of the original statistical population, this distribution can hardly be accidental. Four of the 13 (30%) known findspots are British. 19 Thus there are good reasons to accept these coins as the earliest to have circulated in south eastern England, and in Britain as a whole. As Nash has argued, it is likely that they betoken ties between Kent and Picardy. 20 It should be emphasised that this contact occurs well into the British Middle Iron Age. The coins will have arrived at approximately the same times as some mid-La Tene sword styles and brooches. Anything up to a hundred years may have passed before the arrival of the next Gallo-Belgic coins. These are the first of the major Gallo-Belgic series classified alphabetically by Allen in the sequence: Gallo-Belgic A-F. THE MAJOR SERIES OF GALLO-BELGIC GOLD COINAGES

In her fundamental studies of these coinages, Scheers divided Gallo-Belgic A (Pl. 1, 2) into eight classes. The pivotal point in their chronology remains the Tayac, Gironde, hoard in which the later classes were found with a gold torque and other gold coins. The date currently ascribed to this hoard is generally between the middle and end of the second century BC, with both Haselgrove and Nash inclining to date it to the earlier part of the range. 21

21 id., op. cit. in n. 3, p. 78; Nash op. cit. inn. 3, pp. 51, 64; H.-J. Kellner, 'Der Fund von Tayac, ein Zeugnis des Cimbernzuges?' ]NG 20 (1970), pp. 13-47; R. Boudet, 'A propos du depot d'or celtique de Tayac (Gironde)', in, C. Bemont, C. Delplace, B. Fischer, K. Gruel, C. Peyre and J.-C. Richard, (eds), Melanges ojferts au Docteur].-B. Colbert de Beaulieu (1987), pp. 107-20, at p. 112.

Scheers, op. cit. inn. 16, fig. 28, 30, 334. There are no new continental European findspots (S. Scheers pers. comm.). 20 D. E. M. Nash, 'The basis of contact between Britain and Gaul in the later preRoman Iron Age', in, S. Macready and F. H. Thompson (eds), Cross-Channel Trade Between Gaul and Britain in the Pre-Roman Iron Age (Society of Antiquaries of London Occasional Paper (New Series) 4, 1984), pp. 92-107, at p. 104; id., op. cit. in n. 3, p. 109; C. C. Haselgrove, 'The later Iron Age in southern Britain and beyond', in, M. Todd (ed.), Research on Roman Britain, 1960-89, (Britannia Monograph 11), pp. 1-18, at p. 14. 19

6

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

Forty per cent of the British findspots of Gallo-Belgic A (Fig. 2) are of classes issued by the time that the Tayac hoard was deposited. Two British coins are dielinked with examples in the hoard. 22 Gallo-Belgic A was followed by GalloBelgic B (Pl. 1, 3), the so-called 'defaced dies'. This sequence has hitherto been uncertain but it now seems possible to discern the remains of the head of Apollo on the obverse of some Gallo-Belgic B. This seems to endorse the old suspicion that Gallo-Belgic B were struck on obverse dies initially cut for Gallo-Belgic A and which were then altered (or 'defaced'), 23 but it does not explain why new reverse dies seem to have been cut. Recent metallurgical analyses reiterate the observation that as Celtic gold coins were usually composed of ternary alloys of gold, silver and copper, neither metrology nor specific gravity are necessarily clear indicators of the absolute gold content and, theoretically, the date of a coin. The higher mean weight and lack of typological change in Gallo-Belgic B may be due to their having been issued over a shorter period concurrent with the issue of Gallo-Belgic A. Some Gallo-Belgic A appear to have a higher gold content, which may be thought to have been considered the more important. 24 There are no definitely provenanced continental European findspots of GalloBelgic B (Fig. 3). This has been interpreted as a situation in which the coins were struck 'for export only'. 25 Conversely both Nash and Haselgrove reasonably suggest that this may show that they are actually British issues, as some of the rare classes ofGallo-Belgic A (Scheers Classes 7-8) may be also. On the basis of their gold content Gallo-Belgic B staters may be earlier than the quarter staters. 26 It is not known when Gallo-Belgic A disappeared from circulation. In continental Europe they are almost never associated with other Gallo-Belgic gold coins in hoards, suggesting that they may have been recalled or at least recycled and recoined. This may well have been as Gallo-Belgic C, the series with the closest typological links with Gallo-Belgic A. Gallo-Belgic C (Pl. 1, 4) shows essentially the same distribution within Britain and Belgic Gaul (Fig. 4). Scheers dates the beginnings of the series to the first quarter or third of the first century BC. As ordered by Scheers the earlier classes are not found

the first, Gallo-Belgic A may be associated with these migrations in Belgic Gaul should be remembered, loc. cit. in n. 5, pp. 101-2; cf. generally, E. Demongeot, 'L'invasion des Cimbres - Teutones - Ambiones et Jes Romains', Latomus 37 (1978), pp . 910-38. 23 Van Arsdell op . cit . in n. 6, pp. 5, 66, no . 30-1. 24 M. R. Cowell, W. A. Oddy and A. M. Burnett, 'Celtic coinage in Britain: new hoards and recent analyses ' , BNJ 57 (1987), pp. 1-23; cf. Van Arsdell , op. cit. in n. 6, p. 508. 25 Kent loc. cit. (1981) inn. 1, p. 41. 26 Nash op. cit. in n. 3, pp. 110-11; Haselgrove op . cit. in n . 3, pp. 79-80, 242; cp. Cow ell et al. loc. ci_t. in n . 24, Tab. 1.

22

e.g. id., L' Age du Fer recentdans la partie meridionale de ['estuairegirondin ( du Ve au !er siecle avant notre ere) ( Perigeux, Collections 'Archeologie' 2, 1987), pp. 153-9, 191, 211, fig. 47, pl. 200-3 . The British coins are from the nearby villages of Panfield and W ethersfield in Essex and as they are old finds it is possible that they derive from a single, dispersed, find . It should be noted that the widespread origins of the other coins in the Tayac hoard remain compatible with the presently unfashionable suggestion that the hoard was deposited in association with the migration of the Cimbri in the last decade of the second century BC; cp. A. Berquist and T. F. Taylor, 'The origin of the Gund estrup cauldron' , Antiquity 61 (1987), pp. 10-24. The suggestion by Allen that some , but not

7

ANDREW

FITZPATRICK

in Britain, but, on the uncertain basis of metro logy, there is a possibility that classes4 and 5 may be earlier than class 3. Similarly, because of the close typological relationships between Gallo-Belgic C and some British coins, some coins currently attributed to continental Europe may prove to be British issues. The typological links with Gallo-Belgic E (PL 1, 6) which seems to have been the principle coinage of the Belgic Confederacy in Gaul - and Britain - in their campaigns against Julius Caesar, leads Scheers to date the end of Gallo-Belgic C to this period. Classes 3 and 4 of Gallo-Belgic C are die-linked with separate dies in Class 1 of Gallo-Belgic E demonstrating a close relationship which is emphasised by the point that no die links are known between the five classes ofGallo-Belgic C. 27 Scheers has argued that the origins of Gallo-Belgic E and those coinages related to it lie in the Caesarian wars, in 57 BC precisely (Fig. 5). Both the date and association of GalloBelgic E hav e important ramifications for those of the earliest British gold coinages and they have been subject to critical assessment by Haselgrove . While accepting that the bulk of Gallo-Belgic E were struck at this time, Haselgrove has sought to demonstrate that there are two separate typological groupings within the coinages attributable to the Caesarian campaigns. The first is the Ambianic group discussed by Scheers, but Haselgrove argues that the Treveran group to the east need not derive from the earliest issues of the Ambianic group. Instead they may have a separate, second, origin.

Coin type

Estimated no. of obv. dies

A

55±5 45±8 25±31 44±7(Rev.)

A¼ B B¼ C D¼ E

71±7 114± 10 1472±19

Gold %

75-70

70-60 60-50 60-50

Weight (gm)

Striking ratio

7.6-7 .2 1.8-1.7 7.7 1.8 7.2-6.3 1.5-1.3 6.3-5.5

0.84 1.0 1.96 0.82 1.09 0.96

Possible weight fine gold (kg)

350±40

315±30 90±10 4775±60

TABLE 1. Statistics of the principal Gallo-Belgicgold coin series.

Source:Haselgrove, op. cit. inn. 28, Table 1. The metallurgicaldatapublished by Cowell et al, op. cit in. n. 24 has not been incorporated.

27

Scheers op. cit. in n . 16, pp. 48, 273, 341; Kent loc . cit. in n. 1 (1981), p. 40. Haselgrov e op. cit. in n. 3, pp. 87, 247, 250

sugg ests that som e coins whi ch have been classed as Gallo-B elgic C and British HA are south eastern issues (i.e. Kentish) .

8

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

GALLO- BELG IC

A

B

C

D

E

q,o

100

75

50

25

0

25

50

75

100

q,o

BRITAIN

CONTINENTAL EUROPE

FIG. 3. Proportions of selected Gallo-Belgic gold coins in Britain and continental Europ e. (After Haselgrov e, op. cit. in n. 3, Fig. 5:3 with additions).

GALLO-BELGIC C

FIG. 4.

Distribution of Gallo-Belgic C coins.

9

ANDREW FITZPATRI

K

Because of the complex typlogical development of these eastern coins and the point that the earliest classes of Gallo-Belgic E were not produced on the massive scale of later ones, Haselgrove has proposed a longer development and an origin before the Caesarian campaigns rather than during them. Nash would also date the origins of Gallo-Belgic E to 70-60 BC. 28 The association of the majority of Gallo-Belgic E with the Caesarian campaigns is beyond reasonable doubt. Haselgrove's quantification of the die statistics using the mean weight clearly demonstrates the prodigious 10-20 fold increase in output (Table 1, Fig. 6). Once again some of these coins may be British issues. Although their origins may well be earlier, Nash suggests in the later second century BC, some of the Gallo-Belgic D quarter staters (Pl. 1, 5) may have circulated with these wartime coinages. 29 Another coinage whose high weight and high gold content tentatively suggests that it may have comparatively early origins but which was also in circulation during the Caesarian campaigns is the Gallo-Belgic XB 'Bullet' (Pl. 1, 7). Despite the omission of the series from the Van Arsdell's book, four separate finds are now known from Dorset as well as the Netherurd, Peeblesshire (Borders) hoard. 30 Lastly, it seems probable that the reason why Gallo-Belgic F (Pl. 1, 8) appears to be so rare in Britain yet provided the prototype for a number of British coinages, most notably British Q, 31 may be because some British Q are imported GalloBelgic F. This is consistent with what is otherwise an unusually high number of British QA (Pl. 1, 9) found in continental Europe and the high weights of those examples. However, the coins do,just, seem to be typologically discrete from GalloBelgic C on the evidence presently available. 32 Even so, this may hint that those

28

C. C. Haselgrove, 'Warfare and its aftermath as reflected in the precious metal coinage of Belgic Gaul ', OJA 3 (1984), pp. 81-105, at p. 84, fig. 2; id., op. cit. in n. 3, pp. 80-1, pl. 1; Nash op. cit. inn. 3, p. 114. 29 id., op . cit. in n. 3, p. 112. On the possibility of some Gallo-Belgic E being British cf S. Scheers 1987, 'Le tresor de Saint-Quentin et les stateres unifaces des classes IV et VI', in Melanges de numismatiques offerts aPierre Bastien a ['occasionde son 75eme anniversaire (1987), pp . 345-52. In this paper Scheers reassesses Gallo-Belgic E, suggesting that her classes I, II, III and V remain 'Ambianic' but that class IV is divided into four types. 'Type de Pierregot' remains 'Ambianic', 'type Saint Quentin' is attributed to the Atrebates, 'type de Lumbres' to the Morini. A fourth , unnamed , class is suggested as possibly being British. Class VI is also attributed to the Atrebates and VII to the Morini. E. Huysecom, J. W argnies and H .G . Bachman, 'Le depot de stateres celti-

ques unifaces type Scheers 24 - du 'Mont d'Or' (commune de Leuze-enHainaut) ', AB 3 (1987), pp. 101-16, suggest that classes II and III may transpire to have been issued in Belgium and to be a single eries. 30 Allen Joe. cit. in n. 5, p. 170; Scheers op. cit. inn. 16, pp. 55-7, 308-13, 895; Nash op. cit. in n. 3, pp . 111-12.; Haselgrove Joe. cit. in n. 16. 31 Allen loc. cit. in n. 5, p. 116; Van Arsdell op. cit. in n. 6, p. 6. 32 C. C. Haselgrove, "Romanisation' before the conquest: Gaulish precedents and British consequences', in, T . F. C. Blagg and A. C. King (eds), Military and Civilian in Roman Britain. Cultural Relationships in a Frontier Province (Oxford, BAR 136, 1984), pp . 5-63, at p. 51, n. 9; id., op. cit. in n. 3, pp. 87, 240; A. P. Fitzpatrick and J. V. S. Megaw, 'Further finds from the Le Catillon hoard' , PPS 53 (1987), pp . 433-444 , at p . 441.

10

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

GALLO-BELGIC E

FIG. 5.

Distribution of Gallo-Belgic E coins.

1500

Cl)

w

c

1000

LL.

0

a:

w m ~

::,

z C

w

~

~

~w

•

500

•

•

•

■

• 5 ·0

•

■

'v

0 6·0

■

■

•• 8 ·0

7·0

■ I ◊ IIA

MEAN WEIGHT

e

11B 'v

GMS I II

FIG. 6. Grouping of Gallo-B elgic gold coinag es by w eight and scale of striking . (Aft er Ha selgrov e, op . cit . in n. 28, Fig . 3).

11

ANDREW FITZPATRICK

Gallo-Belgic gold coinages which were in circulation before and during the Caesarian campaigns may prove to have tightly circumscribed distributions in Britain, a point which may be emphasised by considering those coinages which are not found in Britain, notably those attributed to the peoples along the Seine. 33 THE INTRODUCTION BRITAIN

OF THE MAJOR SERIES OF GALLO-BELGIC GOLD COINS TO

The Gallo-Belgic A-F and XB series may span between 75-100 years, from c. 150120 to the mid-50s BC. Despite this Kent has argued that many of the coins arrived in Britain at the same time. This was prompted by two observations. The first was that British finds of Gallo-Belgic A are often very worn, B fairly worn and E hardly worn, suggesting to Kent that A and C were old and worn when they arrived in Britain. The second observation was that the composition of British hoards containing these coins was mixed. In advancing this, Kent proposed that the Allen's interpretation of the coinages as the representation of invasions must be rejected and that these supposed certainties should be questioned in the light of fresh propositions. Kent envisaged the coinages as the payment for British help in the form of services and cereals against Caesar and, possibly, slightly earlier, the help bought by Diviciacus of the Suessiones who is attested to have held authority on both sides of the Channnel. In practice this substitutes one text-led interpretation for another. 34 One of the main criticisms of Kent's arguments has been that the patterns of hoarding in Britain and continental Europe were different. There th majority of hoards containing Gallo-Belgic gold coins contain only one type of coin but in Britain the hoards are more mixed. Only one continental European hoard has two types: Gallo-Belgic C and E. Gallo-Belgic A is apparently never associated with Gallo-Belgic E. This may be interepreted as the result of diffi rent circulation spheres. In continental Europe the older coins were recycled and restruck; in Britain they remained in circulation, becoming not only worn but sometimes clipped, perhaps to reduce their weight to one more compatible with that of the newer lighter Gallo-Belgic gold issues.35 Of the six British hoards thought to contain Gallo-Belgic A (Table 2), one 'hoard' must be discounted. The finds from Selsey cannot be regarded as a closed find and

op. cit. in n. 3, p. 79; Fitzpatrick and Megaw loc. cit. inn. 32, p. 440, where the statement that Gallo-Belgic A and C and were associated in the Longueil-Saint -Marie hoard is, along with spelling, a misprint for C and E.

33

D. F. Allen (ed. D. E. M. Nash) The Coins of the Ancient Celts (Edinburgh, 1980),

pp. 79-81, map . 14. 34 Kent loc. cit. in n.1. 35 Haselgrove loc. cit . in n. 28, esp. App. 2; id., loc. cit. in n. 32, pp. 12, 50, n . 12; id.,

12

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

Holdsworth's reassessment of the site holds no immediate prospect of establishing their context. 36 Van Arsdell has suggested that, although accepted by Allen, the contents of the Clacton-1 and 2 hoards were mixed and that the record originally published by Hill may be more satisfactory. This argued that Gallo-Belgic A were not found with the Gallo-Belgic C and E. 37 However, Hill discounted Gallo-Belgic A as having been incorporated in the hoard simply because he thought them too early. The sole record of the hoard is of those coins found in the coin trays at Colchester and Essex Museum and this suggests that Gallo-Belgic A, C and E were associated. To attribute the Gallo-Belgic A to the Clacton-2 hoard of dynastic issues creates more problems than its discovery in Clacton-1, while falling prey to the same preconceptions as Hill's. Other than Clacton-1, Gallo-Belgic A and E are definitely GOLD COIN TYPES PRESENT

Gallo-Belgic A

B

British

C

D

X

X

E

A

B

Other

HOARD Snettisham Carn Brea Clacton-1 W esterham Harpsden Wood Haverhill Higham Ryarsh

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X X X

X

Folkestone-1 W eybourne

X

Grimbsy Southend Marks Tey-1 Le Catillon

X

X X X X

X

X

X

X

X

TABLE 2. Composition of selected hoards of Gallo-Belgic and the earliest typologically

distinctiveBritishgold coins. Coins which were not certainlyfound with the hoardshave been excluded.

36

F. G. Aldsworth, 'Prehistoric and Roman Selsey', SAC 125 (1987), 41-50; A. Bone and A.M. Burnett, 'The 1986 Selsey Treasure Trove', BNJ 56 (1986), pp. 178-80. 37 G. F. Hill, 'A find of ancient British gold coins', NC 4 19 (1919), pp. 172-8; Van Arsd ell op. cit. in n. 6, pp. 535-6.

13

ANDREW

FITZPATRICK

associated in only one hoard, from Harpsden Wood, Oxfordshire . Here there was one Gallo-Belgic A and 16 Gallo-Belgic E. 38 The other three major hoards with Gallo-Belgic A at Carn Brea, Snettisham-1 and Westerham all contain other Gallo-Belgic gold coins: but not Gallo-Belgic E. 39 With due reservation as to the small number of finds and the quality of their records, there seems to be a greater overlap between series than in continental Europe and it appears that Gallo-Belgic A circulated with other Gallo-Belgic coins, but less frequently with Gallo-Belgic E. This is supported by the die-links between Gallo-Belgic E coins found in Britain and continental Europe. 40 If the later classes of the Gallo-Belgic E series are accepted as the coinage of the Belgic confederacy during the Caesarian campaigns, it follows from the evidence of the British hoards that the earlier Gallo-Belgic coinages arrived in Britain before it did. In arguing this we should acknowledge our dependence on an implicitly historical chronology. THE EARLIEST BRITISH GOLD COINAGES

Although it takes us beyond the south east of England, a further conclusion can be deduced from these hoards. The earliest typlogically distinctive British gold stater, British A (Pl. 1, 10), was incorporated in the Carn Brea and Wester ham hoards, implying that they were in circulation before the arrival of Gallo-Belgic E. This further weakens Kent's argument that British A was not issued until the Caesarian invasions of Britain. 41 Mackenson's study ofBritish A made this point clear on typological grounds, and it is emphasised by Haselgrove's careful study of all the earliest British coinages and their typological relationships. As Haselgrove suggests although the Le Catillon hoard may not be of Caesarian date, this does not necessarily invalidate the relative chronology which Allen deduced from it. 42 The metallurgical analyses of Cowell, Oddy and Burnett, and of Northover (see the pap r lsewhere in this volume) add further support. The composition of British Al falls within the range encompassed by Gallo-Belgic C and E (Fig. 7). British A coins were made from a range of alloys but those employed by British B (Pl. 1, 11) were more restricted. This may suggest that British A was made over a longer period, or that it used both Gallo-Belgic C and E as the source of their metal. The latter idea is compatible with the observation that while British A occur in some hoards in which Gallo-Belgic E were not incoporated, British A also occur in some hoards in which it was (Clacton-1 and Marks Tey-1). 43 It is noteworthy that a number of coins from these half a dozen early hoards are die-linked .44 This would further suggest that the earliest typologically distinctive British gold staters appeared during the circulation ofGallo-Belgic C, but at a time quite close to the time when it was replaced by Gallo-Belgic E.

38 39 40 41

M. Mackensen, 'Die alteste keltische Gold- und Silberpragung in England ' , ]NG 24 (1974), pp . 7-63; Haselgrove op. cit in n. 3, pp . 81-92 . 43 ibid ., pp . 274-5. 44 ibid. , pp. 280, 324. 42

Haselgrove op. cit . in n. 3, p. 282. id., op. cit. in n. 3, pp . 313, 324, 280. Huysecom et al op . cit. in n. 29. Kent loc . cit. in n. 1.

14

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

Individually the strands of evidence are still fragile, but cumulatively the metrological, metallurgical and typological evidence, as well as that provided by hoards, bind to suggest that typologically distinctive British gold coinage appeared before the Caesarian campaigns, perhaps in the 60s BC. Nor should it be forgotten that some series of Gallo-Belgic A and Band C may have been struck in Britain at an .~arlier date, or that gold fractions may have preceded the staters (see below). The recently discovered Whitchurch, Hampshire, hoard contained 34 GalloBelgic E and 108 British B. 45 As with the Ironshill hoard, also from Hampshire, the British B coins are worn but apparently the Gallo-Belgic E are not. 46 If this is not the result of the British coins being struck with worn dies, it might suggest that British B also appeared before the Caesarian campaigns. THE INTERPRETATION

OF THE EARLY GALLO-BELGIC GOLD COINAGES

In interpreting the imported Gallo-Belgic coins Allen did 'not think that any explanation other than that of a series of migrations is satisfactory'. 4 7 Subsequently a range of interpretations have been proposed. Following the chronological difficulties raised by Birchall's reconsideration of the pottery found in 'Aylesford' burials and the new thoughts of Hawkes, Rodwell took Gallo-Belgic XA, A and B to repres ent invasions, equated Gallo-Belgic C with the coinage of Diviciacus, and suggested Gallo-Belgic E to represent trade. This effectively applied three different interpretations to essentially similar archaeological and numismatic evidence. 48 Others have been more noncommittal, interpreting the distributions as reflecting systems of 'social and economic relationships'. 49 In a series of papers Kent argued that the coins were transferred in the course of mercenary services. While from a different theoretical viewpoint, Nash has interpreted them in the context of a core-periphery relationship in which Belgic Gaul is the core and Britain the periphery. Again the coins are interpretated as the payment for the services of skilled warriors in Britain and Gaul. Nash is also careful not to suggest that the coins reflect settlement. 50 Though stressing the range of possible interpretations, including refugees, Haselgrove also sees the earlier coins (particularly A, Band some ofC) in the context of relations of dependence between patrons and their migrant clients which involved exchanges, gifts, tribute and inducements. 51 Contrarily, Van Arsdell sees most of the coins from a strongly functionalist perspective as money associated with trade, perhaps 'at a wholesale level', and other ties. Even so he does not exclude the possibility that Gallo-Belgic B represents 'a movement of people from the continent'. 52

45 S. S. Frere, 'Roman Britain in 1987, I. sites exp lor ed' , Britannia 19 (1988), pp . 41687, at p. 477; A . M . Burnett and M . R. Cowell, 'Ce ltic Coinage in Britain II' , BNJ 58 (1988), 1-10, published after the submission of this pap er. 46 Cowell et al. Joe. cit. in n . 24, p. 6; M. R. Cowe ll pers. comm., op. cit. in n. 45. 47 Allen loc. cit. in n. 5, p. 127. 48 A. Birchall, 'T he Aylesford-Swarling culture: the problem of the Belgae re-

considered', PPS 31 (1965), pp . 241-367; C. F. C. Hawkes , 'New thoughts on the Belgae', Antiquity 52 (1968), pp . 6-16; Rodwell loc. cit. in n. 15, pp. 183-90, 194-8. 49 J. R. Collis, 'Functional and theoretical interpretations of British coinage', WA 3 (1971), pp. 71-84 , at p . 73. 5° Kent Joe. cit. in n . 1; Nash loc. cit. in n . 20, pp. 103-4; id., op. cit. inn. 3, pp. 109-23. 51 Haselgrove op. cit. in n. 3, pp . 191-5. 52 Van Arsdell op . cit. in n. 6, pp. 32, 5.

15

ANDREW

FITZPATRICK

This diversity of interpretation reflects not only different political and theoretical perspectives but continuing uncertainty as to why the the coins were issued and how they were used. Clearly there is no need to see the coins as indicating an invasion or invasions. That interpretation has been prompted by the texts and other than the coins there is presently no convincing evidence to support it. In itself the disjunction between the archaeological evidence and the literary testimony of Julius Caesar that maritime Britain was settled by people from out of Belgic Gaul and that they had retained their original names (BG V, 12) need not present problems. 53 Equally Van Arsdell's suggestion that the early gold coins were exchanged in the context of trade 54 founders on the rarity of these coins in central southern England. The virtual absence of the brilliant first phases of Armorican coinage is particularly striking. The ancient world may have differed from the modern world system not only scale but in kind, making it difficult to follow Nash in her core-periphery analysis. However, her argument that the distribution of coins within Britain reflects enduring contacts, deriving ultimately from the settlement from Belgic Gaul mentioned by Caesar, may be endorsed. 55 If Gallo-Belgic XA are accepted as part of this contact, this could place a s ttlement in the third century BC or earlier. In my opinion the most attractive interpretations are those of Haselgrove and Nash, who interpret the coins as having been used for payment for military services, loyalty, marriag and other alliances, and gifts. We may see the coins as having been a means of payment, of storing wealth, a standard of value, and a medium of exchang . They will have been adopted alongside other existing forms of primitive currency. 56 These interpretations imply that only a small part of a community may have had access to, or used, coinage. They may have been an elite, or part of one, and they may have been exclusively male. The question of where the settlement out of Belgic Gaul occured is pivotal to many interpretations. Following Bushe-Fox, Champion suggested that the settlement may be identified with the Atrebates and Belgae of central southern England who shared names with continental European tribes. This has been endorsed enthusiastically by Cunliffe as the region where settlement took place. 57 The association of tribal names may be correct, but it does not demand the supposition that settlement occurred in only one region. The historical texts have held a hegemony of interpretation, yet in themselves texts are also artefacts in the way that the archaeological record is also a text. 53

Haselgrove op. cit. in n. 3, pp. 193-4. Van Arsdell op. cit. in n. 6, p. 3. Van Arsdell does not consider Allen or Nash's interpretations of the roles of gold coinages (n. 57 below). 55 Nash loc. cit. in n. 20, pp. 103-4, 110. 56 D. F. Allen, 'Wealth, money and coinage in a Celtic society', in, J. V. S. Megaw (ed.), To Illustrate the Monuments. Essays on Archaeology Presented to Stuart Piggott (1976), pp. 199-208; D. E. M. Nash 'Coinage and state development in central Gaul', in Cunliffe (ed), op. cit. inn. 1, pp. 10-17; id., op. cit. in n. 3, pp. 39-55.

J. P. Bush -Fox, Excavation of the LateCeltic Urn-Field at Swarling, Kent (Oxford, Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 5); T. C. Champion 'The Iron Age (c. 600 BC - AD 200), A. Southern Britain and Ireland', in, J. V . S. Megaw and D. D. A. Simpson, [eds], Introduction to British Prehistory (Leicester), pp. 334-421; B. W . Cunliffe, 'Relations between Britain and Gaul in the first century BC and the early first century AD', in, Macready and Thompson (eds), op. cit. in n . 20, pp. 3-23 . 57

54

16

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

GOLD

• ◊ ■

GALLO-BELGIC BRITISH A BRITISH B

A.B,C&E

•••

GALLO-BELGIC

TREND LINE

COPPER

SILVER

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

FIG. 7. The metallurgical composition of Gallo-Belgic gold and British A and B coinages. (After Cowell et al., op . cit. in n . 24, Figs. 1-2).

SCHEERS NO. 80 e

CERTAIN

0

POSSIBLE

FIG. 8.

Distribution of Scheers Series 80 Gallo-Belgic bron ze coins.

17

ANDREW FITZPATRICK

Different readings of the written record can lead to different interpretations of essentially similar archaeological material. Thus Cunliffe interprets Later Iron Age changes in settlement patterns, ceramic traditions and funerary rites as evidence of settlement in central southern England, but as evidence for the influence of crossChannel contact, particularly trade, in south eastern England. 58 These contradictions in interpretation reflect widespread difficulties in the interpretation of classical texts about Barbarian peoples. One of the central points is the way in which Barbarian peoples are constructed as 'Other' and is integral to the creation and structuring of romanitas or hellenism. 59 Here Caesar emphasises the barbarism of an island at the edge of the known world. Thus while statements to the effect that Caesar claimed that the Belgae had invaded Britain 25 years before his own invasions 60 are unwarranted by either literary or archaeological evidence, they also misconstrue one of the probable meanings intended by Caesar in using the description 'on the strength of their own [oral] tradition' (BG V, 12). That is they (the Barbarians) did not hav e a written tradition. In stating that the most civilised Britons live in the maritime area Caesar also em phasis es the 'civi lisation ' imparted by pro xi mity to the classical world. But the description of what has been misconstrued as 'Celtic Cowboys', also serves to emphasise the barbarism of those in the interior who did not grow cereals. The latter device may be seen as part of a classical and ancient Mediterranean ideology which distances Barbarians as 'eaters of flesh, drinkers of milk' geographically, chronologically, and so culturally. 61 Perhaps most important here is Caesar's description of British society in the Maritime areas as polygamous, apparently patrilineal and, perhaps, patrilocal (BG V, 14). This bears on how the relations which bound the cross-Channel contacts which the Gallo-Belgic gold coinages witness were renewed. And it brings us up sharply against the difficulties of interpretation . To take an androcentric example, it might be thought that the male descendents of the Belgic settlers in Britain depended on exogamy if marriage partners from Belgic Gaul were necessary to reproduce these links. Conversely endogamous marriage, dowry, and systems of inheritance and the maintenance of joint property might also be thought appropriate in the densely settled landscape Caesar describes (BG V, 12). 62

58

ibid. cf. F. Hartog, The Mirror of Herodotus. The R epresentationof the Other in the Writing of History (1988), 60 e.g. R . Megaw and J. V. S. Megaw, Celtic Art. From its Beginnings to the Book of Kells (1989), p . 190. 61 D. Timpe, 'Der keltische Handel nach historische Qu ellen ', in K. Diiwel, H. Jankuhn, H. Siems and D . Timpe, (eds), Untersuchungen zu Handel und Verkehr der vor- und fruhgeschichtlicher Zeit in Mittel und Nor~europa. Teil 1, methodische Grundlagen und 59

Darstellungen z um Handel in vorgeschichtlicher Zeit und in der Antike (Gottingen, Abhandlung en der Akadami e der Wissenschaften in Gottingen, Philologisch-Historische Klasse, Folg e 3, 143), pp. 258-84; B. D . Shaw , 'Eaters of flesh , drink ers of milk : the ancient Mediterannean ideology of the pastoral nomad', AS 13/14 (1982/83), pp. 5-31. 62 cf. J. Goody, Production and R eproduction (Cambridge, 1976); H. L. Moor e, Feminism and Anthropology (Cam bridg e, 1988), pp. 42-72.

18

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

Neither of these generalised systems of marriage and inheritance may be valid; male marriage partners may have been secured from Belgic Gaul or Britain and Gaul may have been regarded as the same community. Or in creating his own virtue by crossing beyond the known world was Caesar merely casting the Barbarians as 'other', unconcerned by and/ or not understanding their marriage system (s)? The difficulties are clear, but if we are to achieve better understandings of these peoples, we must attempt to interpret how coins were employed in maintaining and periodically reaffirming the structures of everday life. The imported Gallo- Belgic gold coins may have been used both to articulate clientage and dependency in an overtly militaristic society and to maintain traditional, ancestral, familial links. Both reinforce the other. But as with other military materials they may have been ambiguous symbols of tradition and threat which also mask and maintain contradiction. In making votive offerings of these coins and removing them from circulation the coins continued to be excluded from many people, yet in doing so they can be presented as natural and integral to the reproduction of the everyday: the structures of authority and the control of land and fecundity. Thus imported Gallo-Belgic coinages were accepted and given meanings by some of the Mid-Later Iron Age peoples of south east England by drawing on resources of knowledge which created and reproduced daily life. It also suggests that there were shared traditional knowledges on both sides of the Channel as to how these coins might be used and that this also reproduced social discourse. Coins do not have instrinsic, independent, values: 'the primary function of Celtic coinage in precious metals must be sought within the communities to which they were confined'. 63 We should recognise that these knowledges were maintained over comparatively great distances and in reproducing them those involved will have been placing them, and the ways in which they helped structure their world(s), at some risk. Abstract discussions of 'trade' or 'social and economic systems' will not greatly advance our attempts to understand how these traditions were maintained. The commitment to warfare by the Belgic confederacy demonstrates the importance of these traditions and that they might also be radically altered and placed in considerable physical danger. One of the consequences of this position is the rejection of Van Arsdell's conclusions that because coinage was carefully controlled it represents money. 64 In many ways Celtic coinage was 'money', it was payable, measurable and acceptable. 65 Some uses of Celtic coinage may have been similar to those of

Allen ·1oc. cit . in n. 56, p. 200; A. P. Fitzpatrick, 'The deposition of La Tene Iron Age metalwork in watery contexts in southern England', in, B . W . Cunliffe and D . Miles (eds), Aspects of the Iron Age in Southern England (Oxford, Oxford Univ. Committee for Archaeology Monograph 2, 1984), pp. 178-90, at pp. 183-8 .

63

64 Van Arsdell op. cit. in n. 6, pp. 31-2; id., the paper in this volume. 65 cf. J. Cribb (ed.), Money. From Cowrie Shells to Credit Cards (1986).

19

ANDREW

FITZPATRICK

contemporary western society, but the contexts in which it was ascribed meaning were different and those of the Iron Age peoples must be central to our analyses. The patterns of deposition of Iron Age coinages which Haselgrove has demonstrated so clearly strongly suggest different functions for different types of coins, and perhaps different spheres of use. This does not lead me to the conclusion that it was a general purpose money. 66 If these monetary distinctions seem semantic, then this is rightly so.67

THE EARLIEST BRITISH COINAGES

It may seem surprising that the evidence presently available suggests that the earliest British coins issued regularlywere not the gold coinages of British A and B, or some classes of Gallo-Belgic A and B, but potin coins. This is demanded by their archaeological context, 68 but it is also important to recognise that while Belgic Gaul may also have had potin coinages, the apparent continuity of issue within Britain of potin coinages implies a different ascription of value to these coins from the import, perhaps episodic, of Gallo-Belgic coinages. It was the same peoples who gave meanings to the imported gold coinages who also sanctioned the casting of the potin coinages. To maintain a rigid distinction between two levels of coin use with its attendant implications for different historical trajectories would be to create a false distinction. As more potin coins have been found outwith hoards an increasing number of typologically early coins have been recorded. While endorsing traditional numismatic reservations about how representive hoards are of the coinage population originally in circulation, two recently discovered hoards have been of particular importance. One hoard allegedly from Folkestone is composed either of 'first' generation Central Gaulish copies relatively close to Massiliote originals or of successive 'second' generation British coins. 69 The second hoard is from Thurrock, Essex (PL 1, 12). There is some typological diversity within this hoard: Van Arsdell distinguishes some 16, presumably broadly contemporary, varieties. The typologically earliest coins are similar to Massiliote examples, but they too may be closer still to Central Gaulish coins which Nash has classified as Bituriges types A and B. 70 The Central Gaulish coins might have been used in surmoulage.Van Arsdell has suggested that the British coins were copied directly from Massiliote originals, citing the discovery of these coins at Richborough and Canterbury. However, neither the

66

69

G. Dalton, 'Aboriginal economies in stateless societies', in, T. K. Earle and J. E. Ericson (eds), Exchange Systems in Prehistory .(1977), pp. 191-212. 67 P. Grierson, Numismatics (1975); K. Polanyi, 'The semantics of money uses', in, G. Dalton (ed.), Primitive, Archaic and Modern Economies.Essays of Karl Polanyi (Boston, Mass., 1968), pp. 175-203. 68 C.C. Haselgrove, 'The Archaeology of British Potin Coinage', Arch. j 145 (1988), pp. 99-122.

ibid., p. 102; id ., op. cit. inn . 3, p. 279. Van Arsdell op. cit. in n. 6, pp . 7, 3208, 542; D. E. M. Nash, Settlement and Coinage in Central Gaul c. 200-50 BC (Oxford, BAR S.S. 39, 1978), pp. 230-1, pl. 24, 588-93. I am grateful to J. P. J. Catton for information about th e hoard in advance of its publication. 70

20

CELTIC COINAGE IN

OUTH EAST ENGLAND

Richborough coin or one from Wroxeter seem likely to be Iron Age introductions, while the identification of the Canterbury coin is uncertain. 71 The rarity of other southern French coins in Iron Age Britain, most notably the monnaies ala croix, also mitigates against this. And as Haselgrove points out, it may be mistaken to look for a single typological prototype. 72 Both Haselgrove and Nash suggest a late second century BC date for the earliest British coins. Similarly Van Arsdell suggests a date around 100 BC for the earliest Kentish coins. 73 A potin which seems to be gilded (Pl. 1, 13) is, as Van Arsdell argues, intelligible most readily when gold quarters staters were struck on a. thick flan (i.e. Gallo-Belgic A and B) to which the module of the potin was similar. A possible metrological relationship between quarter staters and potins, both insular and continental European has also been suggested by Haselgrove. 74 The British potin coins have been found in a sufficient variety of settlement contexts to suggest that they appeared by or within the first half of first century BC. 75 Despite well-founded reservations about the homogeneity of the hoards which argue that they cannot be held to demonstrate that they form a single horizon, the location and date range of some of the hoards does suggest that a Caesarian date for some of them should not be excluded totally, though it may be impossible to verify. However, at the moment there are no indisputable criteria for preferring a date more precise than c. 120-80 BC. If the British potins do prove to be derived from Central Gaulish coins then, as Nash has suggested, 76 they may have been copied because they were the only prototypes available. These coins may have arrived alongside other imports from continental Europe and accordingly the British series may have run largely in parallel with some of the Gaulish ones. It should be recognised that the arguments for dates towards the earlier part of this range for the continental European series are largely based on the presumed integrity of changes attributed to La Tene D/III. 77 THE PURPOSES

OF THE BRITISH POTIN COINAGES

Haselgrove has suggested that the earliest potins may have been cast as an alternative to gold coins, consequent on a decline in their import, and that potin were used in R. D. Van Arsdell, 'A note on the date of the British potin coinage', NCirc 92 (1984), pp. 257-8; Haselgrove op. cit. inn. 3, p. 191.; id., Joe. cit. in n. 613,p. 102. 75 ibid. 76 D. E. M. Nash, 'Five first century BC coins from Gaul found recently in Kent', AC 95 (1979), pp. 298-9 . 77 An integrity which is crumbling rapidly; e.g. I. B. M. Ralston, 'Central Gaul at the Roman conquest: conceptions and misconceptions', Antiquity 62 (1988), pp. 78694; Haselgrove Joe. cit. in n. 20; A. P. Fitzpatrick, 'The uses of Roman imperialism by the Celtic barbarians', in, J. C. Barrett, A. P. Fitzpatrick and L. Macinnes (eds), Barbarians and Romans in North-West Europe from the later Republic to late Antiquity (Oxford, BAR I. S. 471, 1989),. pp . 27-54. 74

71 Van Arsdell op. cit. inn. 6, p. 7; D. F. Allen, 'The pre-Roman coins', in, B. W. Cunliffe (ed.), Fifth Report on the Excavations of the Roman Fort at Richborough, Kent (Oxford, Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 23, 1968), pp. 184-8, at p. 187, no. 130; C. C. Haselgrove, Supplementary Gazetteer of Find-Spots of Celtic Coins in Britain, 1977 (Inst. Archaeol. Univ. London Occasional Paper 11a, 1978), p. 129. Allen op. cit. in n. 5, p. 281 for the Canterbury coin. 72 id ., loc . cit. in n . 68, p. 101. 73 id., op. cit. in. n. 3, p. 100; id., loc . cit . in n. 68; Nash op . cit. in n. 3, p . 122; Van Arsdell op . cit. in n . 6, pp. 7-8, 52-4, 76-8.

21

ANDREW

FITZPATRICK

long distance transactions. Only later may potin have become less valuable. In contrast, Nash has regarded it as a local, lower value coinage, for paying dependants within the Belgic territories, but one which could still secure valuables. Van Arsdell is again entirely confident that they constituted the small change of a market economy. 78 In contrast to the gold coinages, many of the early potin coins are from settlement contexts and Haselgrove's earlier suggestion that it was a special purpose currency remains attractive. 79 I would suggest that potin coins were introduced to make the imported gold coinage more accessible by means of a carefully controlled and defined special purpose coinage but one which was not intended as an all purpose 'early cash'. From being a material derived from without Britain, coinage had been transformed to one created within and which had different meanings and which will have changed those of the imported gold coins. As the overall pattern of deposition of potin coins is in marked contrast to that of gold coinages, a different purpose from the gold is extremely likely and, if there were settlement hierarchies, then potins used throughout them . None the less, the hoarding of potins suggests a distinction between them and the later struck bronze coins of south east England . If potins are likely to have been the earliest British coinage produced regularly in Britain, it poses a further question which again takes us beyond the south east. Why were the earliest typologically distinctive British gold coinages introduced? British A and B seem to have appeared towards the periphery of the distribution of the imported Gallo-Belgic gold coinages, although there are considerable and increasing overlaps, 80 emphasising the difficulties in interpreting distributions represented by a small number of findspots. We have argued that while individually small, the cumulative weight of evidence points to these coins having been introduced before the Caesarian invasions of Britain, perhaps during the 60s BC. It may be suggested therefore, that Gallo-Belgic A and B were struck to emulate some of the uses of the imported Gallo-Belgic coinages and their insular varieties within south east England, and that the inspiration for them was of British rather than continental European origin. As British A and B are again found mainly in non-settlement contexts it suggests that they were used in similar ways to the imported gold coinages. Nash interprets the restricted distribution of British A as indicating the pay of mercenaries. 81 The similarity of weights between the early British coinages strongly suggests, if not interchangeability, similar functions within Britain. The close control recognised within both the gold and potin coinages may also imply that a royal or confederate authority was responsible for their issue. By this time, however, the south east of England was using imported gold and indigenous potin coinages, a situation which Collis envisaged as 'an overlapping system.' The situation may be even more complicated. The quarter stater British 0 is unrelated typologically to either British A or B but derives from Gallo-Belgic D. 78

Haselgrove loc. cit. in n. 68.; Nash op. cit. in n. 3, p. 122; Van Arsdell op. cit. in n. 6, p. 7. 79 C. C. Haselgrove, 'The significance of coinage in pre- conquest Britain', in, B. C. Burnham and H . B . Johnson, (eds), Invasion

and Response. The Case of Roman Britain (Oxford, BAR 73, 1979), pp. 197-210. 80 Van Arsdell op. cit. in n . 6, maps 1720. 81 Nash op. cit. in n. 3, pp. 45-6.

22

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

Some coins have a higher gold content than British B 82 (notionally the earliest of the 'Durotrigian' series) and rather than accompanying British B, it may represent a fraction issued to complement the imported gold coinages or to imitate GalloBelgic D. In conjunction with the remarkable Corieltauvian coins discussed by May elsewhere in this volume, it emphasises the potential diversity that we may expect in the ways that different peoples ascribed meanings in adopting the issue of coinage. In suggesting that the inspiration for the first British gold coinages was British, I would contest the emphasis which has recently been placed upon cross-Channel contact, with both Celts and Romans, as a factor in determining how coins were used. This is not to deny the undoubted continental links, 83 and as we have seen the idea of using potin may also have arrived in Britain alongside other imports. Of these imports the principle ones were the later Republican amphorae containing wine from Italy. Graeco-Italic amphorae may have begun to reach temperate Europe by 200-175 BC and Dressel 1A may, potentially, have been reaching Britain from around 120 BC. Although found in modest numbers only at Hengistbury Head, Dorset, Dressel 1A are widely distributed, from Cornwall to Essex, and from Hertfordshire to Sussex. The suggestion that the dominant variety of amphora in south east England, the Dressel 1B, is post-Caesarian must be firmly rejected . New evidence from Roman forts, tituli picti and from reassessments of known shipwrecks makes it clear that the variety was in existence by the 90s and 80s BC. I have argued that the majority of these amphorae were transported within small scale exchanges between Celtic societies and there was little direct Roman involvement. 84 The idea of potin coinages may have arrived alongside these amphorae, perhaps with some of the Gallo-Belgic coinages: A-C, and possibly, D and XB. In summary, potin coinages may be seen as having been produced to expand the range of coin uses and that this occurred within the broadening of the range of external contacts of south east England. These contacts may have been essentially Celtic rather than Roman. The peoples of the south east of England may not originally have wanted or needed to, been able or allowed to, strike typologically distinctive gold coinages and so used imported Gallo-Belgic gold coins or insular varieties. In casting potin coins they both diversified and altered the role of coinage, creating coins for internal uses seemingly discrete from, but related to, those of the gold coins whose uses were agreed and maintained by shared knowledges on both sides of the Channel. On presently received chronologies the first British gold coins issued regularly may have been struck by other British peoples emulating some, but not necessarily all, aspects of the ways that their neighbours used precious metal coinage. In emphasising continental European contacts, recent works may have underemphasised the British contribution.

cit . inn. 3, pp. 87, 192, 247, 250, 264, where it is also suggested that British G and HA may have been struck in Kent, if they are not indeed imported classes of Gallo-Belgic

82

Collis loc. cit. inn. 49, pp. 71-3 , fig. 1; Van Ar sdell op. cit. in n. 6, p. 551. 83 For exampl e some British versions of Gallo-Belgi c C seem to be die-link ed with contin ental European ones, Haselgrove op.

C. 84

23

Fitzpatrick loc. cit. in n. 77.

ANDR EW FITZ PA TRI CK

With the exception of Van Arsdell, these works have not usually interpreted the imported gold coinages in terms of trade. In contrast the British issues, and particularly the bronze coinages, have often been seen as steps towards a market economy or as a differentation within the coinages. 85 The difference has sometimes been drawn towards the end of the imported series, for exampl e, we have seen that Rodwell envisaged Gallo-B elgic E arriving in the cont ext of trad e and political links , but generally the distinction has been between imported and indigenous coins. The analytical separation of them, and of external and internal contacts and exchanges , can lead to the assumption that th ey had different functions . Stated simply : imported coinages are interpreted as paym ent for m ercenaries but bronze coinag es as the evolution of a mark et econom y. Thi s distinction is incorr ect. It obscur es an important and coherent pattern of numismatic links between Britain and Belgic Gaul over 250 years, but more importantly , it pays inad equate att ention to th e peoples who ascrib ed meanings to the coinag es. It was essentially similar peopl es who accept ed gold coinag es and th en introdu ced th e manufactur e of potin and eventually th e dynasti c inscrib ed trim etallic coinage s. Th e impli ed evolution of coin use ma y also be mi splaced , particularl y if th e issue and use of coin wa s episodi c, bound by its social as opposed to economic roles: as ever, there is both continuity and change. THE DYNASTIC

COINAGES OF SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

In s eking to understand how coin use was maintained, one of the most important questions is when the dynastic coinages first appeared. The earliest certainly typologically British gold issues in the south east may be British E and F types. In progeny neither of these coinages seems to have been particularly influential. That role belongs to British L (Pl. 1, 14). Van Arsdell has argued that these coins derive from Gallo-Belgic F and so should be Caesarian in date . It is from this coin, via British M, that the coins at the head of the inscribed dynastic series, those of Addedomarus, derive. 86 Van Arsdell has suggested an uninterrupted sequence of coin issue in the south east from the Caesarian wars , with the first coins of Addedomarus appearing around 40 BC ( ± 5). In suggesting this he follows Rodwell in attributing many of the coins which Allen classified as LX (Pl. 1, 15) to Addedomarus, and these often have both silver and bronze units . In Kent gold coinages seem to have been issued only after new supplies Gallo-Belgic gold coins became unavailable .87 Both Haselgrove and Nash have suggest ed a pr e-Ca esarian dat e for th e silver of Belgi c Gaul, perhaps in the 60s BC . As with their datings of the gold coinages , this is slightly earlier than those suggested by Scheers. 88 However, as some of the British

85

e.g. Van Arsdell op. cit. in n . 6, p . 32; Ha selgro ve loc. cit. in n . 68, pp. 119-20. 86 R. D . Van Arsdell, 'The origin of the Br itish L stater and 'the pro blem of the Cat uvellaun i", NC irc 92 (1984), pp . 9- 11. 87 id ., op. cit. in n. 6, p . 90; D. E. M . N ash op. cit . in n . 3, p. 125. Ho w ever, the attribution of some LX typ es to Add e-

domarus , for exa mple LX 21-22 , is cont entious and it may be doubted if the earlier LX 6-8 are 'Trinovantian ' issues. The assum ed reg ular debasement and weig ht loss in the series as a wh ole leads to furth er difficulties. 88 Haselgrove op . cit. in n. 3, pp. 100-1, 241-2; id., loc. cit. in n. 4 (1988), p. 85; N ash op . cit. in n. 3, p. 114.

24

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

gold coins issued at the time of the Caesarian campaigns may have had silver units, it seems likely that silver coins w ere being used and probably also struck in Britain around this time. Recycled denarii may have been the source for the Gallo-Belgic silver and one or both of these coinages may in turn have been used to manufacture the British coins. Struck bronze coins also seem to appear in Belgic Gaul at about this time. Accepting once more that the inspiration for the British coins ultimately came from Gaulish coins, a date from the 50s BC onwards may be appropriate for the beginnings of the British bronze series. In Essex and Hertfordshire at least, it seems likely that they b gan to supersede cast potin coins, much as Rodwell suggested. 89 The trimetallic coinages of the dynastic series of the south east have appeared to be an innovation of the last third of the first century BC, suggesting that its derivation from Roman currencies should be explored .90 If Addedomarus was the authority for many of the LX coins, it ·suggests that it was not necessarily an innovation rather than the formalisation of an exisiting situation with gold, with accompanying silver units, and typologically unrelated cast bronze. The date at which this combination was adopted and the origins of the dynastic series as a whole is extremely important. On most chronologies, for ex ample those of Allen, Haselgrov e and Nash, these inscrib ed series appear, with an important degree of uncertainty, between approximately 30-20 BC . If they appeared earli er it has important ramifications for many interpretations of the later Iron Age of south east England which have stressed contact with the Roman world as having played a central rol e in increased hierarchisation. 91 An earlier dating could sugg est that th e expansion of th Celtic kingdoms and founding of dynasties commenc ed before it is presently possible to discern significant diplomatic activities with Rom e, and well before the importation of comparatively larg e quantititi es of Roman goods. Inde ed they may follow directly from the pre-Caesarian situations. That is to say that th e origins of the dynastic kingdoms was larg ely an indigenous and endog enous development. Equally, th e continuing circulation of Gallo-Belgic silver and bronz e coins in Britain between c. 30-20 BC (Fig. 8) might suggest that th ere was still significant contact with Belgic Gaul wher e 'romanisation' had barely begun and that whil e maintaining a greater ability to issue gold coinage, the south east of England was strongly influenced by cont emporary coin uses in Belgic Gaul. Similarly th e bronze and silver coinages of Kent drew upon the rep ertoire of the post-conquest coinag s of th e Ambiani, emphasising the depth of tradition .92 At present we can pose th ese questions of chronology but not answer th em.

91 e.g . Haselg ro ve op. cit. inn . 3, pp. 199203; id ., loc. cit. in n . 4 (1988, pp . 87-8, and for th comi ng); N ash op . cit. in n . 3, p. 127; Van Arsdell op. cit. in n. 6, pp . 18-25, 321. 92 cf. Haselg rove Joe. cit. in n. 32; id ., loc. cit. in n. 28, pp. 94-9; N ash loc. cit. in n. 20, p . 104.

89

R odwell Joe. cit . in n . 15, pp . 206-7 . H aselgrove op. cit. in n. 3, p . 197-8.; A . P. Fitzpatrick, 'T he Celtic Co ins', in, N . E. France and B . M . Go bel, The R omano-British T empl e at Ha rlow, Essex (Gloucester, 1985), pp . 49-66, at p. 62. 90

25

ANDREW

THE SIGNIFICANCE

AND FUNCTION

FITZPATRICK

OF DYNASTIC

ISSUES

The complex dynastic narratives which can be attempted on the basis of the inscribed coinages are well known. For our present purposes it is necessary only to reiterate that the sequence of the coinages published by Allen in 1944 and subsequently elaborated on, most notably by Rodwell, is essentially correct. 93 Van Arsdell's Celtic Coinage of Britain incorporates a number of valuable insights, but in this work the coinages of the Trinovantes and Catuvellauni are arranged in a united series with a single, uninterrupted, chronological sequence. I believe this to be wrong. It remains clear that certain coins were struck specifically for circulation in different regions. For example those coins of Cunobelin struck for circulation in Hertfordshire proclaimed him to be the son of Tasciovanus. Corresponding issues which circulated in Essex did not carry this message. 94 While closely related stylistically, the bronze and silver coins of these regions were clearly separate and the purpose of this was to make them acceptable and 'natural' within the appropriate context. That those who were responsible for the coinages of Cunobelin saw it necessary to maintain this distinction should warn us that it was regarded as important and that it is not to be dismissed lightly. Chronological difficulties are also posed by Van Arsdell's arrangement. For example, the close stylistic similarities between some of Tasciovanus and Cunobelin's coins are difficult to understand if they were separated by 20-30 years as Van Arsdell would suggest. This arrangement also requires the suggestion that Cunobelin attempted monetary reform by restoring the weight of the gold coinage. It might be thought likely that the 'reform' coins are actually of the same date as those to which they are suggested to aspire. For our present purposes this is not the most important aspect of the coins. What is beyond reasonable doubt is that collectively the stylistic connections of, and inscriptions on, the coins show three main trends. The first is the fluctuating but constant links between Essex and Hertfordshire. The second is the assimilation of north Kent to Essex, and the third the ties between Kent and north Hampshire and Berkshire which were also eventually incorporated within the ambit of Essex. The ultimate effect of this was in part, to secure the paramount kingdom of Cunobelin: what Nash has called the Eastern Kingdom. 95 The variety of these coins is notable. The inscribed series have gold staters and accompanying quarters, silver units and bronzes. This is in marked contrast to the bimetallic coinages of the other regions, where coins often have a silver wash. Late in the reign of Tasciovanus the so-called half denominations appear while qouble

93 D. F. Allen, 'The Belgic dynasties of Britain and their coins' , Archaeologia 90 (1944), 1-46; Rodwell loc. cit. in n. 15, pp. 243-77. 94 ibid., pp. 268-77, fig. 34-7; Fitzpatrick loc. cit. in n. 90, pp. 60-1.

95

Nash op. cit. inn. 3, pp. 130-6. Besides the difficulties with the coinages attributed to Addedomarus (n. 87 above), there are certain links between the 'Essex' and 'Kent' coinages of Dubnovellaunus which challenges Van Arsdell's conclusion that they were issued by different people (op . cit. in n. 6, pp . 18-20).

26

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

denominations also occur. Therefore by the later first century BC or early first century AD six varieties of coin could be issued: the gold stater; gold quarter stater; silver unit; bronze standard unit; bronze double; and bronze half. As yet the metrology of these denominations is not clearly understood but the potential sophistication of coin usage is clear and they suggest a rapidly increasing complexity of coin use. The dies employed for Cunobelin's gold series are distinguished by privy marks in the form of crosses and dots above or below the inscription CAMV, but as yet they have not been positively identified amongst the other metals. These gold coins have been estimated to have required some 3000 Roman pounds of gold and perhaps 1,000,000 staters were issued using 100 pairs of dies. The bronzes were issued in at least six separate series and dies may also have been cut for subordinate kings. 96 THE PURPOSES

OF THE INSCRIBED

DYNASTIC

COINAGES

Despite the increased variety of coin, inscribed gold coinages continued to be deposited in essentially the same way as the earlier imported coins, that is in nonsettlement contexts. The gold coins ofTasciovanus and Cunobelin are distinguished from earlier issues, however, both imported and indigenous, in that they were only infrequently deposited in large hoards. It may be suspected that the indigenous gold coins had similar purposes as the earlier imported gold coinages, but if these earlier coins were used, at least in part, to renew cross-Channel contacts then some of the uses and meanings of the indigenous coins will have been different. Silver is generally rare in the Eastern Kingdom. Instead most finds, around 90%, are bronzes. These bronze coins are widely found on settlements but as Haselgrove shows, most site assemblages are very small. His eight key settlement sites in the south east (as defined here) are characterised as having 10 or more recorded coin yielding contexts. The mean site list is much shorter. At the moment, therefore, the sample available is perhaps most useful for inter-site considerations, although intra-site variation is discernable at larger sites such as Braughing or Colchester. 97 The number of coins lost provides a crude index to what appears to be an increasing volume of coinage in circulation. The earlier coins of Cunobelin issued, over say 15 years, are alone equal to about 66% of the previous indigenous dynastic series issued over a period of approximately 30 or more years. The later issues of Cunobelin outnumber early ones by approximately 2:1. Similarly the overall trend is for settlement finds of coins of Cunobelin to outnumber those of pre-Cunobelin coins, without discernable variation amongst different types of site, by approximately 3:1. 98

96 D. F. Allen, 'Cunobelin's Gold', Britannia 6 (1975), pp. 1- 19; Fitzpatrick Joe. cit. in n. 90, pp . 58-62; D. E. M . Nash., 'Adminius did strike coins', OJA 1 (1982), pp. 111-14, at p. 113; Van Arsdell op . cit. in n . 6, pp. 319-427 .

97 Haselgrove op. cit. in n. 3; id., loc. cit. in n. 4 (forthcoming); id., 'The archaeological context of Iron Age coin finds on major settlements in eastern England: Colchester and Saint Albans', in Bemont et al. (eds), op . cit. in n . 21, pp . 483-96. 98 id., op. cit. in n. 3, pp. 163-88; id., loc. cit. in n. 4 (1988), p. 88.

27

ANDR EW FITZPA T RI CK

Here, perhaps, it is possible to see the development of a situation where coinage was used regularly as what Dalton would call 'early cash'. 99 We may envisage these coinages as having been used to fulfill the obligations of clientage, which as Nash observes may well have been a protoype of a tax, 100 as well as market transactions. But the discrete distributions of some of the coinages of Cunobelin in Essex and Hertfordshire indicate that the circulation of coinage was still tightly controlled, even in the heart of the Eastern Kingdom. Where political alliance and subordination to Cunobelin is apparent, such as in the case of Amminus, coins appropriate to the circulation pool of that area were struck, perhaps at separate mints but using prepared dies rather than introducing the standardised products of a single, central mint at Camulodunum. 101 Therefore even allowing for the symbolism and legitimation of descent as central to their acceptance or naturalisation, at present it is not possible to assert that simple economic factors were in operation generating an 'open market ' or that minting was decentralis ed. As w e hav e seen, this expansion of coin use is has been widely associated with increas ed centralisation and hierarchisation associated with contact, and particularly trad e, with th e Roman world . In these int erpr etations Colchest er is frequently regarded as having been ideally placed to control Roman trade which crossed the Channel or North Sea from th e Rhine delta. 102 It has be n argued elsewhere that this was not th e case. It is clear that Dressel 1 wine amphorae were not admitted by the Germanic or related peoples of the lower Rhineland. Instead the amphorae of this type which are found in south east England probably arrived via the Seine basin, and quite possibly via Belgic Gaul, before the Roman occupation of the lower Rhineland. It seems plausible that even when the Rhineland was occupied by Rome it still did not become an important artery for trade with Britain. Instead the Roman goods found in the lower Rhineland arrived in the conte xt of an administered military supply to the Roman forces which occupied th e area in a form of military colonialism. 103 So ifCunobelin's eventual supr emacy as paramount king in the Eastern Kingdom was based on a trade monoploy, either Colchester is not located in the best place to control such a trade or the interpr etation requires, at best, some revision. Approximately 90% of British Celtic coins found in continental Europe were issued in south east England (Fig. 9). The earliest types are potins but the majority are coins ofCunobelin and the greatest number of them are found in Belgic Gaul. Some may

99

10 3

pa ce A . Tc herni a, 'Mod eles economiqu es et comm erce du vin a la fin de la republiqu e et au debut de l'e mpire ', in , El vi a l' antiguitat: economia, producci6 i comerf al M editerrani occidental. A ctes I colloqui d'arqueologia romana. Badalona, 28, 29, 30 novembre i 1 desembre de 1985 (Barcelona , M onografies Bada loni nes 9, 1987), pp . 32736, at pp . 33 1-2 .; cf. A . P. Fitzpatri ck , 'Th e distribution of Dr essel 1 amphora e in northw est Europ e', OJA 4 (1985) , pp . 305-40 , esp . pp . 311-13.

Dalton loc. cit. in n . 66, pp. 197- 200; Haselgrov e. op . cit. in n. 3, pp. 17-23. 100 Nash op . cit . in n. 3, p . 40. 10 1 id ., loc. cit . inn . 96; M . H enig and D . Nash , 'Amminus and th e kingdom of Veri ca' , OJA 1 (1982), pp. 243-6; M etalluri gcal analyses of the bron ze coin s mi ght reso lve thi s un certainty . 102 e.g . H aselgrove loc. cit. in n . 4 (1988), p. 88; N ash op . cit. in n. 3, p. 133; Van Ar sdell op . cit . in n. 6, p . 393.

28

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

BRITISH CELTIC COINS •

CERTAIN OR PROBABLE FINDS

0

BRITISH QA

FIG. 9.

Distribution of British coins in continental Europe.

29

ANDREW FITZPATRICK

well be post-conquest exports but most may have been earlier 'exports' when they may have circulated with Gaulish Celtic coins. As there is arguably also sufficient evidence to suggest that major British sites such as Silchester and Canterbury enjoyed direct contact with continental Europe, this contact may very well have also been with Belgic Gaul. These contacts with by then traditional and ancestral partners in Belgic Gaul had been sustained and renewed for over two centuries. CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND AND THE TRADITIONS EVERYDAY

OF THE

In the course of our argument we have dwelled on aspects of chronology for the earlier coin series. This is proper, for while chronology is arid, it is also vital. Standing back from these intracies there is clear numismatic evidence for links with Belgic Gaul from the third century BC until the Roman conquest of Britain. These contacts are seen not only in the adoption of imported coinages, but perhaps also in the adoption of potin coinage. The idea of potins may have arrived alongside other imports, most notably wine amphorae which arrived via central and north eastern France in th course of small scale exchanges between Celtic peoples. Coin use and issue in southern England may gradually have expanded to some neighbouring peoples who initially had not used coinage to the same extent. They may have started issuing their own coinages to emulate at least some uses of the imported gold coinages by their neighbours. The adoption of the issue of coinage in Britain was, however, complex and varied and we may only now be beginning to discern the variability. The origins of the south eastern trimetallic coinages may also lie in or shortly after this and may reflect its formalisation rather inception. It is largely through these trimetallic coinages and particularly their inscriptions that it is possible to the formation and consolidation of a paramout kingdom in south east England. There may well have been significant re-ordering in the aftermath of the Caesarian invasions but if we are correct to see the early coinages, both gold and potin, as carefully controlled, royal or confederate issues, then the origins of these dynasties may lie in the 60s BC or decades earlier. The casting of potin will have transformed the meanings of coinage, making coinage indigenous and changing the way gold coin was used. If many of the Gallo-Belgic gold series were also issued in Britain then the first typologically distinctive indigenous gold coins in the south east will have further altered the roles of coinage and may mark an important change. At the same time contacts with Belgic Gaul appear to have been maintained and it may have been through these relationships which were essentially between Celtic peoples that the bulk of Roman goods arrived in south east England rather than through a trade with the Roman world. Through much of this time Cunobelin's gold was maintained at a virtually constant standard of5.40g with 40% gold for approximately thirty years (Pl. 1, 16). The archaeological context suggests some continuity in the uses of gold coinage and I would argue that it was this gold which secured the cohesion of the Eastern Kingdom. The silver and struck bronze coins may have been used to fulfill the obligations of clientage and in limited market exchanges, as 'early cash', whose use seems to have increased exponentially. But the careful control of all denominations of the dynastic coinages; gold, silver and fiduciary bronze, does not suggest that there was an independent market economy. These coins helped create and maintain

30

CELTIC COINAGE IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

strong internal boundaries seen most clearly with ~he Iceni to the north east but also in the differences between the bimetallic coinage of the Southern Kingdom which was struck to a consistent but now different standard. 104 Coinage was therefore a medium of inclusion and exclusion. Nor was the creation of the Eastern Kingdom dependent on contact with the Roman world. The cross-Channel contacts even after the Caesarian campaigns were probably with kith and kin - it was ever thus. The standard list of 'exports' deployed to account for the apparent absence of British exports serves only to emphasis modern assumptions about the existence of a 'balance of trade' which must be made with 'invisible exports'. Instead Roman goods may have been added to existing networks and are effectively more immediately discernible in the archaeological record. The tendancies to separate analytically external and internal contact, and to create a dichotomy between imported gold coins as associated with mercenary services and indigenous coins as being associated with the development of a market economy are both mistaken. In arguing that the Later Iron Age of south east England, and that of Belgic Gaul in its Later Iron Ag andgallo-romaine precoce,had their own internal logic, this is not to deny the importance of other external contacts. The use of the Roman symbolism of victory and related propaganda on the coins clearly pronounces change. British coins copy an idiosyncratic range of Roman prototypes and the wide range of gems also used as prototypes 105 can hardly be explained as the copying of imported intaglios as they are so rare in Iron Age Europe. The range of antique numismatic prototypes discussed by Scheers elsewhere in this volume is also so extraordinary that it is difficult to explain them other than in the context of patternbooks and/or die-cutting expertise being presented to friendly kings by Rome upon their acccession to power. This accession had to be negotiated with, and approved by, Rome, 106 but this need not suggest either economic imperialism or a new ideology of pow er rather than a new iconography of power: a new Machtkunst which ambiguously achieves both continuity and change (Pl. 1, 17). This returns us to th e position that our explanations of why the coins were issued and the ways in which they were used must be located in the context of the peoples who ascribed meanings to the coins. Numismatists sometimes claim that coinage is 'a political rather than a cultural manifestation'. 107 This is not so; culture creates the political in a reflexive relation and the material world is used to guide these actions. Coins wer e part of the material world which could ascribe authority, wealth, status and demand obligations and service or be gained as the products oflabour. This does not, however, make it a window through which we may view those peoples who e.g . I. E. Moor e with J. Plouviez and S. W est, The A rchaeology of Roman Suffolk (Ipswich, 1988), ill. 9. 105 S. Scheers, 'Les imitation s celtiqu es des monnaies romaines en Angl eterre et leur significatio n historiqu e', in, Hackens and W eiller (eds), op . cit. in n. 9, pp. 619-23; Haselgrove op. cit. inn. 3, pp. 92-4, fig. 5:5; M . Henig, 'T he origin of some ancient British coin types ' , Britannia 3 (1972), pp . 209-23, id ., 'Verica's hound ', OJA 7 (1988), pp . 253-5; Henig and Nash loc . cit. in n. 101.

106

104

But not the Miinzrecht , cf. D. C. Braund, Rome and the Friendly King. The Characterof the Client Kingship (Beckenham , 1984), pp . 23-37, 123-64; Haselgrove op . cit. in n . 3, pp. 199-201. 107 Kent op. cit. (1975) in n.1 , p. 314.

31

ANDREW

FITZPATRICK

used it, tor it is a reflection of and a reflection on daily life. It may create and conceal tensions and contradictions, and if gold coinage was the prerogative of an exclusively male elite or elites, this ambiguity may have been an important role. That so many gold coins were carefully disposed ofby deliberate deposition suggests that they had carefully ascribed meanings which their sacrifice apart from the domestic world helped reproduce. It was essentially similar, if not the same, peoples who accepted and gave meanings to the imported and indigenous coinages. We have concentrated on the chronology of change, but while changing the meanings and the uses of coinage through time, these peoples appear to have also maintained contacts with Belgic Gaul by drawing on coinage in the reproduction of these knowledges and social practises for over 250 years. If this is correct, it is this remarkable continuity rather than any externally derived or imposed change which deserves more attention that it has recently received. The Later Iron Age peoples of south east England experienced both change and continuity in their daily lives and coinage was one of the materials with which these relations were both maintained and changed. Celtic coinage was a potent material, but a better understanding of why this was so depends on our locating our analyses in the archaeology of the everyday, where coinage is interpreted alongside much other archaeological material prematurely dismissed as unlovely and intractable.

KEY TO PLATE 1 Selected principal earlier Gallo-Belgic and British coin types. Unless otherwise noted all the coins are gold staters. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

cheer eries 2, la te2te barbue, from Milton , Kent . Gallo-Belgic A Gallo-Belgic B Gallo-Belgic Gallo-Belgic D (quarter stater) Gallo-Belgic E Gallo-Belgic XB (?stater) Gallo-Belgic F British QA British A British B Potin, from the Thurrock, E sex, hoard Gilded Potin (Van Arsdell 127-1) British LA Briti sh LX Cunobelin, Biga series (6) Cunobelin (M 235) AE

Scale 1:1. No . 1 - British Mu seum; 2, 4-7, 10, 17 - Ashmo lean Mus eum; 3, 6, 8-9, 11-16, - R.D. Van Ar sdell.

32

Celtic coin types 1n Britain and their Mediterranean origins 1 SIMONE SCHEERS [PLATES 2-8)

M EDITERRANEAN influence on coins of the Celtic tribes in Britain began fairly late and can be link ed with the coming to power from c. 20 BC onward of the great 'kings' of the Belgi c trib es, who were the first to put their names on the previously uninscribed coins: Tincommius (c. 20 BC - AD5), Eppillus ( c. AD5-10), Verica (c. 10-40), rulers of the Atr ebat es and Regni; Tasciovanus (c. 20 BC - AD 10), Cunobeline (10-40), Epaticcu s (25-35) rulers of the Catuvellauni; Dubnovellaunus (c. 15-1 BC) and Eppillus (c. 10-25), rul ers of the Cantii. The chang es are largely due to diplomatic contacts with the Romans. Both Tincommius and Dubnovellaunus were supliants to Augustus ( Res Gestae 60, 19, 1) and Verica lived as a fugitive at the court of Caius c. 40 (Cassius Dio LX, 19, 1). The presence of th e Romans in nearby Gaul probably had a greater impact on the British trib es than th e invasion of Caesar in 55 and 54 BC. In Gaul, the Celts were confronted with a different society and a different material and spiritual culture. The w ealthy, especially those of the reigning families, were the first to benefit from th e advantages offered by this situation: support in their struggle for power, gifts, and eventual visits to Rome. In this way romanization set in long before the conqu est of Claudius in 43. Th e most outstanding evidence therefore is the coinage of th e local kings . On e of th e new ideas which reached Britain was the artistic conception of realism. For centuri es, th e only decoration had consisted of an intricate pattern of stylized elem ent s. Th e uninscribed coins frequently showed a linear pattern or cross-design borrow ed ultimately from the continental Belgae . These traditional types were perp etuat ed on the gold coins as if the Celts were unwilling to break away from tradition for th e gold . But from c. 20 BC , silver and bronze coins, frequently of very small size, wer e struck and they bore realistic types. Th ere is no doubt that in those early times artists and die-engravers needed the aid of a model , as they were unable to conform to realistic representations. As had been the case in Gaul twenty years earlier, the models were mainly small objects entering the country as gifts or by trade, such as coins and gemstones. But the field of

T his text is a corr ected and enlarg ed version of th e paper pr esent ed at th e Symposium in Ap ril 1989.

33

SIMONE SCHEERS

probabilities is a very large one, and other objects, such as pottery, etc., may have served as a source of inspiration. The fact that Roman coins were frequently imitated is well known, 2 but a large number of types are found which never occur on Roman coins and some of these certainly derive from Greek prototypes. It is not always easy to trace the exact prototype. Some types were very popular and can be found throughout the Mediterranean World, on Greek coins as well as on Roman ones. Besides, the Greek coins, especially the bronze ones, because of their abundance and their great variety, are still imperfectly known. And last but not least, the Celtic die-engravers did not always make close copies, but frequently interpreted rather than copied their model, either intentionally or by misinterpretation or because of the worn condition of the model. An astounding characteristic of these Celtic coinages is the large number of varied types adopted, as if these small local barbarian kings wanted to swell their importance by a very large and varied output of coins. The most prolific was certainly Cunobeline, king of the Catuvellauni. This exceptional monetary activity combining the striking oflarge numbers of coins and the adoption of many types of different origin, can only be compared with the monetary output of some Lycian kings of the fifth/fourth centuries BC, of whom Kuprlli was certainly the most prolific. 3 Most of the Roman prototypes are well known and can easily be identified, as shown in our previous study. But some new coins, discovered in the meantime, can be added to this list. Augustus' Victoria standing on a globe and carrying a palm branch and a crown (Pl. 2, 2) was copied on a small silver coin of Cunobeline (Pl. 2, 1). a winged boy riding a dolphin on a silver coin ofTincommius (S. 93 c) (Pl. 2, 3) is copied from the denarii of L. Lucretius Trio of 76 BC (C. 390/2) or of Mn. Cordius of 46 BC (C. 463/3) (Pl. 2, 4-5). Augustus' capricorn (Pl. 2, 8) is copied on a silver coin of Cunobeline (Pl. 2, 6), and the type is also used by Eppillus (Pl. 2, 7). the male head with short hair and dotted beard on a coin ofEpaticcus (Pl. 2, 9) is very similar to the head of Ahala on the denarius struck in 54 BC by Q. Servilius Caepio Brutus (C. 433/2) (Pl. 2, 10). there can be little doubt about the Roman origin ofCunobeline's Neptune (M. 259) (Pl. 2, 11), which is a copy of the god represented on the as of Agrippa (Pl. 2, 12), now attributed to the reigns of Caius and Claudius, which places the coin at the end of Cunobeline's reign. In all these cases, the Roman origin needs no comment. But an obverse type of Verica (M. 131) (Pl. 2, 13) is less evident. It bears a naked male figure facing, head

0. M0rkholm and J. Zahle, The Coinage of Kuprlli. Numismatic and ArchaeologicalStudy, in Acta Archaeologia43 (1972), pp. 57-113. 3

S. Scheers, 'Les imitations celtiques des monnaies romaines en Angleterre et leur signification historique', in Proceedingsof the 9th International Congress of Numismatics, Bern 1979. I. Ancient Numismatics (Louvain-laNeuve - Luxembourg, 1982), pp. 61-623 . :L

34

CELTIC COIN TYPES IN BRITAIN

turned right, his left hand raised, in his right hand a lituus, his left leg bent. Naked male figures in this particular swaying posture are very rare. A denarius ofP. Clodius struck in 42 BC (C. 494/16) (PL 2, 14) shows Mars, naked but helmeted, holding a spear in his right hand and a sword in scabbard in his left hand. There is little doubt that Clodius' Mars was used as a model. We can only guess why the Celtic artist 'forgot' the spear, but he certainly failed to identify the sword which was turned into a sort of lituus. But a large number of types do not appear on Roman coins, and their presence on Celtic coins seems difficult to explain. It is probable, and in some cases certain, that the sources of inspiraton for many of these types were Greek coins. This is for instance the case for such subjects as com-ears, leaves or vases which occur quite frequently on Greek coins. This Greek connection is an interesting feature of the later bronze and silver coins of Celtic Britain. So, to clarify the origin of a number of iconographic themes we must turn to the Greek coins. The case is not an easy one, as stylization and (mis-)interpretation by the Celtic engraver and the popularity of some types in the Hellenistic world frequently defy the exact identification of the prototype, always bearing in mind that there may be other sources of inspiration beside the coins. Epaticcus' Heracles-head (M. 263) (PL 2, 15) is a good illustration of these difficulties. The Greek origin of the type is probable. Hercules' head appears only on Roman bronze coins, mostly quadrantes, but differs notably from the head on Epaticcus' coin, especially as to the rendering of the lion-skin and the knotted paws. The type was very popular in the Greek world and frequently used on the coins. This and the somewhat crude and simplified engraving by the Celtic artist make it nearly impossible to identify the exact model. In the same way, we must assume a Greek origin for all the representations of an eagle standing on or capturing a serpent. Roman coins show the eagle only standing majestically on a thunderbolt. The type was frequently used on Greek coins although the attitude of the bird can vary considerably. Tincommius' facing eagle standing on a serpent which rises on his right (M. 105) (PL 3, 16) is close to the eagle of Chalcis on Euboea on the octobol of the second century Bc. 4 The eagle standing left, wings expanded and struggling with a serpent on a very small silver coin ofEpaticcus (M. -) (PL 3, 17), bears a scene similar to that on some bronze coins of Kroton and Akragas (PL 3, 19)5 or Chalcis (PL 3, 18). 6 But our record is by no means complete and needs more research. Vases are a subject unknown on Roman coins, but frequently represented on Greek coins. The fine beautiful krater (?) with elegant handles on a small silver coin of Verica (PL 3, 20), can only have been inspired by a Greek model. This type of vessel is unknown in Britain and although one cannot exclude the possibility that the coin depicts a real krater, it does not seem very likely. The krater is not often represented on Greek coins, but nonetheless it is impossible to trace the exact

4

0. Picard, Chalcis et la confederation eubeenne. Etude de numismatique et d'histoire (IVe-Ier siecle) (1979), pl. XIX, 57-65. 5 U . Westermark, The fifth century bronze coinage of Akragas, in Le origini della mone-

tazione di bronz o in Sicilia e in Magna Grecia. Atti del VI Convegno del Centro Internazionale di Studi Numismatici (Napoli, 1977), pp. 317, pl. V, 7, 10, 11.

35

SIMONE SCHEERS

prototype, especially because of the squat form and the low and somewhat fanciful handles, which make any resemblance to an actual krater uncertain. As a possible example we propose a coin from Cyzicus (Mysia) (Pl. 3, 21). 7 The vine-leaf on the gold staters (M. 124-125) (Pl. 3, 22) and very small silver coins of Verica (Pl. 3, 23) is beautifully rendered. There is no explanation for the appearance of the vine-leaf at this stage in Britain, and even less why it should decorate a Celtic coin. The idea may derive from a Greek model. The vine-leaf with its five dented lobes, short stem, and detailed nervation is very close to the selinusleaf of the city of Selinus in Sicily (Pl. 3, 24), which took its name from the wild parsley growing only in that region. It decorates the sixth century coins of Selinus and serves as the city-badge on the later coins until the destruction of the city by the Carthaginians in 409 BC. Likewise the sixth and fifth century coins of Camirus and ldyma in Caria 8 bear a fig-leaf, but it is less detailed. Gemstones of the Augustan period sometimes bear a vine-leaf and may hav e served as a more immediate model. 9 The wheat-ear is a frequent symbol on the gold coins ofCunobeline (M. 203-213) (Pl. 3, 25-26) and Epaticcus (M. 262). The grain-ear was a very popular type on Greek coins and referred mostly to the fact that the wealth of the city was due to agriculture, especially to the cultivation of com. The type was initiated by Metapontum in the sixth century BC and continued as the city-badge on the coins well into the third century BC. But the types was also adopted by many Greek cities, especially on small silver and bronze coins struck from the fourth to the first centuries BC. That leaves us with a wide range of possibilities, chronologically as well as geographically. The Celtic grain-ear has an interesting detail: a short leaf is added on either side of the stem near the bottom and forms a symmetrical design. This detail occurs only on the coins of Paras (Pl. 3, 27), Rubi (Apulia) (Pl. 3, 28), Hera (Lucania), lsinda (Pisidia) and on some large bronze coins from Spain dating from c. 150 BC to the age of Augustus, as for instance Ilipense (Pl. 3, 29) 10 and Carma (Pl. 3, 30) 11 to cite only the less crude examples. A small silver coin ofEppillus (Pl. 4, 31) bears a rosette of four flower-buds arranged around a central circle with point. It resembles curiously similar compositions on a series of archaic Thraco-Macedonian coins (Pl. 4, 32). 12 The Celtic arrangement is more schematic, which is in line with the Celtic tradition. But for such simple symmetrical designs the resemblance may be purely fortuitous . The coin ofTasciovanus with the letters ofVERLAMIO written between the rays of an eight-pointed star-like pattern (M. 174) (Pl. 4, 33) seems to take its inspiration from a small number of Greek coins of which Corcvra's silver coins of the third

p. 53, no . 125) considers the possibility of a Roman engrav er: this cou ld explain the pr esence of the vine-leaf. 10 A.M. De Guadan, La moneda iberica. Catalogo de numismatica ibericae ibero-romana (Madrid, 1980), nos. 886, 893. 11 Ibid . no. 847 12 J. Svoronos, L'hellenisme primitif de la Macedoine (Paris-Athenes, 1919), pl. XVI, 28-35.

6

Picard, op. cit. in n. 4, pl. XVII-XVIII. W. Wroth, Catalogue of Greek coins in the British Museum. Mysia (1982), pl. XII, 1. 8 C. Kraay, Archaic and Classical Greek Coins (1976), no. 92. 9 M . Schlut er, G. Platz-Horster and P . Zazoff, Antike Gemmen in deutschen Sammlungen. IV. Kestner-Museum Hannover, Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (1975), nos. 1308-1311, especially 1310. R.P. Ma ck, The Coinage of Ancient Britain (1964). 7

36

CELTIC COIN TYPES IN BRITAIN

century BC are the best representatives (Pl. 4, 34) 13 : the letters KOPKYPAIfilling all the spaces between the eight rays. Tasciovanus' star is a little crude and more fanciful, but the pattern is the same. The Mediterranean origin of most human heads engraved on the Celtic coins is obvious, but it is rarely easy to trace the exact prototype. It may be coincidence that two coins of Cunobeline depict the bearded and horned head of Zeus Ammon (M. 251 and 253) (Pl. 4, 35 and 37). The interesting point is that two entirely different prototypes have been used, one bearing a Zeushead with very curly hair and beard, the other a head more severely rendered. None of these heads seems to have been inspired by the Roman denarii of Q. Cornuficius of 42 BC (C. 509/2), or L. Pinarius Scarpus of31 BC (C. 546/1 and 4) (Pl. 2, 2 and Pl. 7, 77). The models were probably late fifth to early fourth century tetradrachms of Cyrene (Pl. 4, 36 and 38). 14 As on the tetradrachms ofCyrene, the Celtic Zeus-head with curly hair (Pl. 4, 35) has no ornament in the hair, while the Zeus of severe style (Pl. 4, 37) wears a diadem with uraeus-like ornament in front as on the coin of Cyrene (Pl. 4, 38). There is only a superficial resemblance to the Roman representations of Zeus-Ammon: there is no diadem, and the arrangement of the hair is different. The majestic bearded head on a small silver coin ofEppillus (M. 305) (Pl. 4, 39) is less easy to place, but the resemblance to the rather compact Zeus-head on the silver coins of Locri of the fourth century BC (Pl. 4, 40) 15 is remarkable: the broad neck with slightly curved basis, the long forward pointed beard, the moustache, and the large ear are similar, although the Celtic type has been considerably simplified (no laurel-wreath, the beard is not curled). The head of Zeus is a frequently used type on Greek coins, but nowhere is the similarity so striking as with the coins of Locri. The female head with the enigmatic head-dress on a silver coin of Dubnovellaunus (M. 288) (Pl. 4, 41) is certainly an imitation of a Hera-head with floral crown as represented on the small bronze coins of Paphos (Pl. 4, 42) 16 or Kition (Pl. 4, 43). 17 The profile Medusa-head of Cunobeline's bronze coin M. 248 (Pl. 5, 44-45) is certainly of Roman origin and can be compared with a similar head on the denarius ofL. Cossutius of74 BC (C. 395/1) (Pl. 5, 46), and on many Roman gemstones (Pl. 5, 47). 18 Especially the resemblance with the gemstones is very striking. The reverse of the same coin shows a seated workman modelling a vase with a hammer. The figure is draped, his hair bundled in a chignon at the back, and sits on a chair with straight back, his right foot advanced. Although the workman is presumably a man, the resemblance with the sitting nymphs on the small fifth century coins of several Thessalian cities such as Larissa, Perraiboi, and Tricca is striking. Clad in a chiton, the hair in a small chignon, they are always seated on a backed chair, the right foot

13

P. Gardner, Catalogue of Greek coins in the British Museum. Thessaly to Aetolia (1883), pl. XXIII, 1. 14 E.S.G. Robinson, Catalogue of Greek coins in the British Museum. Cyrenaica (1927), pl. IX, 4 and XI, 7. 15 Kraay, op . cit. in n. 8, no. 719

lb E. Babelon, Traite des monnaiesgrecques et romaines. Description historique, I-IV (19071932), pl. CXXXV, 2. 17 Ibid. pl. CXXXI, 22 18 G. Richter, Engraved Gems of the Romans (1971), no . 242.

37

SIMON E SCHEERS

advanced, and bear an object such as a helmet, a mirror or a cup (Pl. 5, 48). 19 Some Roman imperial gemstones show similar representations of nymphs. 20 The activity of hammering a vase may have been inspired by a group of gemstones from the second and first centuries BC which portray a partly naked, bearded workman hammering a helmet or a cuirass. 21 This reverse type is one of the more complicated themes of Cunobeline, apparently composed by the artist by borrowing elements from different models. Several gold and silver coins ofVerica (M. 126, 129) (Pl. 5, 49-51) undoubtedly bear a seated Athena or Roma, helmeted, a sceptre in the left hand, a scabbard(?) in the right hand, a round shield behind th e thr ee-ribbed seat: obviously th e figur e has been invert ed and was originally turn ed to th e left . T his typ e of Ath ena/Roma is very rare, as she mostly supports a small Victoria with on e hand. Mallus and Tarsus in Cilicia both struck c. 370 BC a silver coin which show s a similar Ath ena seated left, but without scabbard (?) (Pl. 5, 52-53) . 22 It is possibl e that th e scabbard wa s borrow ed by th e Cel tic artist from th e mor e tradit ional Ath ena/Ro ma typ e or else th e exact prototype has still to be found. Many gemstones are decorat ed with a sitting Athena/Roma , either bearing Victoria or a sceptr e. 23 The obverse type of the silver coin (M. 129) (Pl. 5, 50-51), a sceptre(?) between two cornucopiae above a broad vase with two handles, is shared with a very small silver coin of the same king (S. 111 D) (Pl. 5, 54). There is no doubt that the inspiraton has been drawn from the denarius of M. Antonius struck in 40 BC (Pl. 5, 55), which bears on the reverse a caduceus between two cornucopiae set on a globe. This is proved by the fact that the two cornucopiae are placed above the vase as they are above the globe on the Roman coin. The only remarkable feature of the composition is the substitution of the globe by a vase and the fact that on the large silver coin (Pl. 5, 50-51) a bunch of grapes hangs on the inside of each cornucopia. This detail is absent on Antonius' coin, but it is a normal feature on Ptolemaic coins struck for the queens. The ornam ental ribbon is totally absent on the Celtic coin. This example proves again that the Celtic artists could make innovations by borrowing elements from several models bearing related types. A small bronze coin of Cunobeline (M. 238) (Pl. 5, 56) bears on the reverse a half draped seated figure playing a lyre. There can be no doubt that it copies the reverse of the silver tridrachm struck c. 280 BC by Cyzicus: 24 here Apollo sitting on th e omphalos holds a phiale in the right hand and a kithara in the left (Pl. 5, 57). The Apollo of Chersonesos (Crete) 25 adopts a different attitude, while the cramped position , especially of the legs, of th e Apollo of Zacynthos 26 eliminat es this coin immediately as a possibl e prototype. The tree behind Apollo on the C eltic coin is an element borrowed from the gemstones, where it is used freqently. The draped bust 19 F. Imhoof-Bliimer , 'Nymph en und Chariten auf gri echischen Miinzen', in]IAN 11 (1908), pl. V, 23-24 , 36, 39. 20 E. Brandt and E. Schmidt , A ntike Gemmen in deutschen Sammlungen. I. Staatliche Mun zs ammlung M unchen 2 (1970), no. 3582. 21 Ibid., no . 747 and no . 1617 22 Kraay , op. cit. in no . 8, no s 1025, 1042 23 V. Scherf, P. Gercke and P . Z azoff, A ntike Gemmen in deutschen Sammlungen. III. H erz og A nton-U lrich Mu seum Brauschweig, Sammlung im A rch. Inst. der Universitiit Got-

tingen, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Kassel (Miinchen , 1970), pl. 35, no. 80; M . M aaskant-Kl eibrink , Catalogue of the engraved gems in the Royal Coin Cabinet The Hague (The Hague, 1978), no . 655. 24 H. von Fritze, Die S ilberpriigung von Ky z ikos, in Nomisma 9 (1914), pl. 6, no. 3. 25 W . Wrot h, Catalogue of Greek coins in the British Mu seum. Crete and the Aegean Islands (1886), pl. IV, 1. 26 Kra ay, op . cit. in n. 8, no. 314.

38

CELTIC COIN TYPES IN BRITAIN

on the obverse may represent Diana, because she seems to wear a small crescent in her hair, but the detail is not very clear. There is no great likeness with any of the goddesses on the Roman denarii, and the type may well have a Greek origin, but we must wait for a better preserved example. One of the most precise imitations is the standing soldier on a bronze of Cunobeline (M. 244) (Pl. 5, 58): it is an imitation of a bronze coin struck at Aitna (Sicily) after 210 BC (Pl. 5, 59). 27 The posture of the helmeted soldier, standing facing, head turned left, leaning on the spear in his right hand, a round shield in the left, his legs clad in greaves (?), is only found at Aitna. The imitation is very accurate, although the execution is somewhat awkward. The silver coin M. 239 (Pl. 6, 60) ofCunobeline shows two mythical figures of the Greek world. The obverse bears Hercules leaning on his club. The 'tired' Heracles is not so frequently represented on Greek coins. He stands for instance on some coins of Heraclea (Lucania), struck in the third century BC (Pl. 6, 61), but there are other possibilities outside Italy too. The reverse is less easy to identify, but it certainly represents Europa side-saddle on the bull and clinging with both hands to its back. There is no indication of clothing or of a veil, and the animal has a long tail and turns its head. There is seemingly no direct prototype for this scene, but a silver coin of Gortyn (Crete) (Pl. 6, 62) shows a lively representation of Europa on a running bull with head turned: the attitude of the backwards-looking animal is identical, but the tail is short, and Europa wears a veil. The Roman denarius ofL. Volteius (C. 377/1) is a less likely model, as the attitude of both Europa and the bull are different. Cunobeline's small silver coin M. 240 (Pl. 6, 63-64) is puzzling in a high degree. There are no direct prototypes for the scenes on either side. On the obverse, the partly clothed man going to the right, holding in his right hand a sword (?) and carrying on his left shoulder a large object, animal or man, is similar to the figure of Ajax carrying the body of Achilles on a gemstone (Pl. 6, 65): the clothing is different, but the posture is identical. The hunter on the reverse is also difficult to trace: standing, partly clothed, a bow in his left hand, a dog at his right side: it is probably a representation of Diana/ Artemis, but there is no direct prototype. Some elements may have been borrowed for instance from the Artemis on the coins of the Bruttii, struck at the end of the third century BC (Pl. 6, 66), but here the goddess carries, as in most cases, a long torch instead of the bow. Only the Diana of Augustus' ·aurei and denarii struck at Lyons c. 11-9 BC (Pl. 6, 67) holds a bow, but the composition here is different. Some gold coins ofTasciovanus (M. 194, 154-155) (Pl. 6, 68) bear on the reverse a horseman to the right brandishing a carnyx above his head. This is one of the misleading cases, where misinterpretation is possible: is the scene only a variety of the numerous horsemen brandishing a spear or is it a Celtic adaptation of the horseman swinging a lagobolon as on the early fourth century BC drachma of Pharsalos in Thessaly (Pl. 6, 69) ?28 Victory, either walking or seated, is frequently represented on Celtic coins of Britain. Sometimes the Roman origin is beyond doubt as is the case with the seated Victory, holding a wreath in the extended right hand, on the silver coins of R. Calciati , Corpus Nummorum Siculorum. La Monetaz ione di bronz o, III (Milan, 1987), p. 148, no. 8a. 28 Kraay , op . cit . in n. 8, no . 390.

27

39

SIMONE SCHEERS

Epaticcus (M. 263a) (Pl. 6, 70) and Cunobeline (M . 215, 221) (Pl. 6, 71-72): she is borrowed from the denarius of M. Porcius Cato Uticensis of 47/46 BC (C. 462/lb) where Victory holds a wreath instead of the usual patera (Pl. 6, 73). But Victory walking to right and holding a wreath, as on two bronze coins of Cunobeline (M. 231, 232) (Pl. 6, 74-75) appears frequently on Greek coins. She is also engraved on the denarii struck in 31 BC by M. Antonius (C. 545/1) (Pl. 6, 76) and by L. Pinarius Scarpus (C. 546/2a) (Pl. 2, 2). The absence of a palm in the left hand could plea in favour of a Greek prototype (Pl. 7, 77), but this is not necessarily so. There is no doubt about the Greek origin of the Victory on the gold staters of Eppillus (M. 301) (Pl. 7, 78): this is the Victory created for the staters of Alexander the Great (336-323 BC) (Pl. 7, 79) and frequently borrow ed on other Greek coins: walking left, with spread wings, holding a wreath in the extended right hand. The replacement of the stylis by a palm is only natural as this is the normal symbol of the goddess. The wreath surrounding the goddess is a frequent featur e on Gr eek coins of the second century BC and appears also on a small numb er of Roman denarii (for instance C. 545/1 struck by Marcus Antonius in 31 BC) . From the hybrid creatures of Greek mythology, only two occur on the Celtic coins: the centaur and, more frequently, the sphinx . The centaur is a rather unusual type even on Greek coins, where it appears only in the second century BC. It is represented bearing a branch on the bronze coins of Magnetes (Thessaly), struck c. 197-146 BC (Pl. 7, 81) 29 and playing the cithara on the bronze coins of Prusias II ofBithynia (183-149 BC). 30 The horn-blowing centaur of Cunobeline (M. 242) (Pl. 7, 80) is not represented on coins nor on gemstones. There is a good possibility that the type was inspired by the coin of Magnetes, where the attitude of the centaur, with outstretched arm, is very similar to the Celtic one. The centaur playing the double pipe ofTasciovanus (M. 192) (Pl. 7, 82), however, may derive from the gemstones where it is a rather common type: 31 they are Augustan and later. The rather characteristic bearded head of this bronze coin of Tasciovanus (Pl. 7, 82) may derive from the Hercules-head of the denarius of Cn. Domitius struck in 39 BC (C. 532/1) (Pl. 7, 83): the small tufts ofhair and the pointille beard are very similar. The sphinx appears on coins of Verica and Cunobeline. In all cases, the sex is stressed by three or four mamillae, a detail which never appears on Greek coins. There is no doubt that the sphinx ofVerica's small silver coins (Pl. 7, 84 and 89) is a poor copy of the denarius of Ti. Carisius of 46 BC (C . 464/1) (Pl. 7, 85) or of Augustus ' aureus or tetradrachm (RIC 12 , nos. 511-512 and 527) (Pl. 7, 86). It is less easy to trace the origin of Cunobeline's seated sphinx with upwards curving wings and rising tail (M. 237) (Pl. 7, 87). A possible source are the gemstones (Pl. 7, 88).32 Animals other than horses are frequently represented on the Celtic coins of Britain. The sleeping dog is pictured on a small silver coin of Verica (S. 1098) (Pl. 7, 89). Th e origin of the type is certainly the bronze coinag e of Hatra (Picenum) (Pl. 7, 90) of the third century BC, but the type is common on gemstones from th e second to 295; E. Bran dt, W . Gerck e, A. Krug and E. Sch m idt , Ant ike Gemmen in deutschen Sammlungen. I. Staatl. Mun z sammlung M unchen 3 (Miin chen, 1972), no. 3066. 32 Ri cht er, op . cit. in no. 18, no. 245.

Gardn er, op . cit . in n. 13, pl. Vil , 4. SNG Deutsch/and. Sainmlung von Aulock . Pontus, Paphlagonien, Bithynien (Berlin , 1957), nos . 255-256. 31 V. Scherf et al., ~p. cit . in n. 23, no s. 29

30

40

CEL Tl

COIN TYPES IN BRITAIN

first centuries BC. 3 3 The goat is only represented on Greek coins, where it is used by several cities on the continent and in Asia Minor from the fifth to the first centuries BC. But very seldom is the fur detailed as is the case on the bronze coin ofTasciovanus M. 182 (Pl. 8, 91). This detail appears, as far as we have been able to ascertain, only on the bronze coins of Paros (Pl. 8, 92), 34 which probably served as a model for the Celtic engraver. Tasciovanus' ram running left, with long tail (M. 167) (Pl. 8, 93-94) could have been inspired by Greek coins as well as by the Roman denarius ofL. Rustius of76 BC (C. 389/1) (Pl. 8, 96). A similar ram is visible on the coins of Clazomenae (Ionia) of the fourth century BC (Pl. 8, 95). But the general attitude of the animal, the compact form, the long tail standing away from the body, seem to be more in favour of the Roman denarius as model. The bucranium, a very popular theme on Greek coins, is represented on two Celtic coins, but the representations are totally different. Eppillus' bucranium (S. 96 D) (Pl. 8, 97) is compact, the horns forming a horizontal line together with the skull, the ears protruding, the eyes bulging. This type ofbucranium is engraved on a number of small Greek silver and bronze coins of Grece and Crete, as for instance on those of Phaestos (Crete) (Pl. 8, 98). 35 Verica's bucranium (Pl. 8, 99) is of Roman origin: it is borrowed from the quinarius of C. Antius Restio of 47 BC (C. 455/4) (Pl. 8, 100): the upward curving horns separated by a few pellets are characteristic for both and are moreover never seen on Greek coins. Indeed the obverse too is of Roman inspiration as it represents the altar of Tiberius' as (BMCRE I, nos 146-150). It is rather curious to encounter a profile boar-head on two Celtic coins, one of Epaticcus (M. 264) (Pl. 8, 101) and another of Verica (Pl. 8, 102). The type is very characteristic of archaic Greek coins and boar-heads are rather exceptional on Greek coins. The only city where the type is used on silver and bronze coins is Lyttus (Crete) from the fifth to the third centuries BC. 36 On some of these bronzes the boarheads show striking similarities with those on the Celtic coins (Pl. 8, 103-104). The hippocamp on the small silver coin ofVerica (S. 111 E) (Pl. 8, 106) and on the bronze coins of Amminus (M. 314, 315) (Pl. 8, 105) is of a rare type, especially with the upward curving tail, and does not appear on Greek or Roman coins. But a small bronze coin of Cese (Spain) struck from the end of the second century BC until Augustus, bears a similar animal (Pl. 8, 107), 37 as does also a gemstone. 38 In all societies coin-types have an important function and their choice is always carefully made by the authorities. Where the Celts are concerned, the coin-types have frequently been considered as the fantasies of clumsy engravers, who copied Greek and Roman types without understanding their meaning, as could be expected

L. Villarong a, Les monedas iberiquesde Tarraco (Barcelona, 1983), p. 154, no. 33, pl. IX , 33 and pl. XXVIII, 30. 38 Ma askant-Kleibrink , op . cit . in n. 23, no. 766. 37

33 E. Brandt and E. Schmidt, op. cit. in n . 20, nos. 2010-2011; M . Schlut er et al., op. cit. in n. 9, nos. 690 and 1220. 34 W. Wroth , op . cit. in n. 25, pl. XXVI, 18. 3s Ibid., pl. XVI, 1-3. 36 Ibid., pl. XIII, 12-15 and pl. XIV, 1-3, 5-6, 8-9 .

41

SIMONE SCHEER

of barbarians. This may be so in some cases. But it is my belief that the importance of coin-types was fully understood by the Celtic chiefs and that they acted accordingly. As everywhere else, the coin-types were carefully selected and their significance considered before being finally chosen and reproduced. In ancient times, originality was not looked for as it is today: copying was a normal practice by Greeks and Romans alike, and many Greek coin-types were adopted by different Greek cities as well as by the Romans. When the Celtic tribes of Britain were confronted with the Roman world, they were obliged to copy in their effort to adapt themselves to a new world so utterly different from their own. This attempt is reflected in their artistic production. The oldest and the best dated artistic realizations of the British Celts are their coins. They betray perhaps the very first foreign influences in Britain and, by being closely attached to the person of the king, they show the part played by the reigning families in this evolution. Up until now, the coin-types of Britain have been studied only in their relation to the Roman coins. This is the first attempt at a more general approach concerning the origins of these types by widening the field of research and taking into account Roman and Greek coins as well as gemstones. There are several reasons for this choice: both coins and gemstones are best documented and best known to the author, and the transfer coin-to-coin or gemstone-to-coin is a more easy and natural one in this early formative stage than is the one from pottery, mosaics, etc. to coin. In a later stage of research, other possible sources of inspiration will be examined. As the present study finds, there are serious limitations to a typological research of this kind, which are difficult to avoid. In any case, two major groups of imitations must be distinguished: the imitation, whether exact or with minor changes, where the exact prototype is clear and evident; the inspiration, where one or more related models may have been used, but where no exact prototype can be indicated; sources other than coins or gemstones may have been used. This study illustrates the complexity of the subject, especially where the enormous variety oficonographical themes is concerned, but it also permits a certain number of interesting observations. The scarce historical information explains why the Graeco-Roman iconography was suddenly adopted and promoted from c. 20/15 BC by the various kings, whose growing contact with Rome and the Roman emperors was the driving force for the change. If these more or less regular contacts sufficiently explain the presence of Roman coins in Britain - some may have reached the island through Gaul - and thus their local imitations, this is not necessarily so for the Greek coins. One of the interesting features of this study is the realization that there existed quite an important stock of Greek and Roman coins in this country. Most of them were recent or contemporary issues, from the late third century BC to the early first century AD, but a small number may have been much older. This is the case for the two tetradrachms of Cyrene, which date from the late fifth to early fourth century BC, and there is an inkling that these were not the only ones. It would be an error to discard these ancient coins just

42

CELTIC COIN TYPES IN BRITAIN

because of their great age. As yet, we do not know how these coins reached Britain, even the more recent ones. The bronze coin of Aitna (Pl. 5, 59) may have come to Britain through the Romans, but the type is a rare one, and in any case its local origin makes it unsuitable for an official present by the emperor. Nevertheless it was there for Cunobeline to use as prototype for his own issues. At this early stage of research, we must be careful when trying to interpret facts which are still insufficiently known. Too many of our comparisons are still too vague. This is partly due to the fact that our documentation of Greek coins and gemstones is still incomplete. And we should not overlook the possibility of other sources ofinspiraton beside the coins and gemstones. Especially under Cunobeline, foreign coin-types are extremely abundant and varied. At the same time, some of these types become more complex: they are no longer imitations, but the scenes seem to have been composed by using different related types (see Pl. 5, 54-55 and Pl. 6, 63-64). The presence of a foreign engraver may be doubted, as most of these types are in a rather clumsy style. We have no means to date with any accuracy the different coins within the reign of Cunobeline, but it is possible that the coins with complex scenes come rather late in his reign. It is possible that they constitute a new phase in the artistic evolution of the Celtic artists: the ability to innovate. The swift way in which the Mediterranean iconographic themes were introduced into Britain is fascinating: it appears as though the local kings could hardly wait to conform to the new mode oflife and were actively preparing for the invasion of 43. It is striking that the process of romanization was hastened by the second generation of kings, such as Cunobeline. It leaves us wondering if romanization was similarly promoted in the other aspects of Celtic life, or was it mainly restricted to the king and his entourage? One of the most singular and striking features of these coinages is the presence of types which are exclusively related to the Greek world, such as leaves, grain-ears, and boar-heads. Certainly, most of these types bear some relation to actual objects or circumstances of the Celts, but is not this the reason why they were chosen? Because they conveyed a special meaning within the Celts' own cultural heritage?

43

SIMONE SCHEERS

KEY TO PLATES 2-8 1. London 1989-4-6-1 (Cunobeline, S. 224 A, AR, 1.24 g) 2. Paris d' Ailly 11033 (L. Pinarius Scarpus, RIC 12 535, AR) 3. London (Tincommius, S. 93 C, AR, 1.218 g) 4. London (L. Lucretius Trio, C. 390/2, AR) 5. Paris AF 1062 (M. Cordus, C. 463/3 , AR) 6. London (Cunobeline, AR, 1.071 g) 7. London 1378 (Eppillus, M. 308, AR, 1.22 g) 8. Brussels, Cab. Med. (Augustus, RIC 12522) 9. London (Epaticcus, AR, 1.266 g) 10. Paris d'Ailly 11386 (Q. Servilius Caepio Brutus, C. 433/2, AR) 11. London 459 (Cunobeline, M. 259, AE, 1.13 g) 12. Brussels, Cab. Med. (Caius, RIC 12 58, AE) 13. London 865 (Verica, M. 131, AR) 14. Paris AF 3058 (P. Clodius, C. 494/16, AR) 15. J. Elsen 1987 (Epaticcus, M. 263, AR, 1.27 g) 16. London 860 (Tincommius, M. 105, AR) 17. London 1984, 6-1 (Epaticcus, AR, 0.36 g) 18. Paris, Chalcis 69 (Chalcis, AE) 19. Paris, Croton 1810 (Croton, AE, 6.53 g) 20. London (Verica, S. 109 C, AR, 0.189 g) 21. Paris, Cyzicus 263 (Cyzicus, AE) 22. London 962 (Verica, M. 125, AV, stater) 23. London (Verica, AR, 0.208 g) 24. Credit Suisse Berne, 7, 1987, no 113 (Selinus, AR, 8.28 g) 25. Paris 9558 (Cunobeline, M. 210, AV, 5.37 g) 26. Paris 9562 (Cunobeline, M. 209, AV, 1.35 g) 27. BMC Crete, op. cit. in n. 25, pl. XXVI, 2 (Paros, AE) 28. S.W. Gros , Catalogue of the McClean collection of Greek Coins, Cambridge, I (1923), pl. 18, no 3 (Rubi, AR) 29. Credit suiss Berne, 5, 1986, no 37 (Ilipense, AE as, 16.92 g) 30. Credit suisse Berne, 5, 1986, no 29 (Carmo, AE as, 29.24 g) 31. London 302 (Eppillus, AR, 0.342 g) 32. A. Baldwin Brett, Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Catalogue of Greek Coins (Boston, 1955), pl. 33, no. 604 (Thrace, AR, 8.37 g) 33. London (Tasciovanus, M. 172, AE) 34. Paris AF 1067 (Corcyra, AR, 2.44 g) 35. London 556 (Cunobeline, M. 253, AE, 2.71 g) 36. BMC Cyrenaica, op. cit. in n. 14, pl. IX, 4 (Cyrene, AR) 37. London 549 (Cunobelin e, M. 254, AE, 2.64 g) 38. BMC Cyrenaica, op. cit. inn. 14, pl. XI, 7 (Cyrene, AR) 39. J. Elsen 1987 (Eppillus, M. 263, AR, 1.27 g) 40. Paris, Locri 1878 (Locri, AR , 6.74 g) 41. London 1324 (Dubnov ellaunus, M. 288, AR, 1.14 g) 42. Babelon, op. cit inn. 16, pl. CXXXV, 2 (Paphos, AR) 43. Paris, Kition (?) 669 a (Kition, AE, 2.08 g)

44

CELTIC COIN TYPES IN BRITAIN

44. London Harlow 4 (Cunobeline, M. 248, AE) 45. London 537 (Cunobeline, M. 248, AE, 2.55 g) 46. London (L. Cossutius, C. 395/1, AR) 47. Richter, op. cit. in n. 18, no. 242 (gemstone) 48. Svoronos, 1908, pl. V, 39 (Tricca, AR) 49. London 997 (Verica, M. 126, AV, 0.92 g) 50. London 437 (Verica, M. 129, AR) 51. London 390 (Verica, M. 129, AR) 52. Paris, Mallus 715 (Mallus, AR, 10.56 g) 53. Babelon, op. cit. in n. 16, pl. CXXXVII 4 (Tarsus, AR) 54. J. Elsen, 1987 (Verica, S. 111 D, AR, 0.24 g) 55. Paris AF 3050 (M. Antonius, C. 520/1, AR) 56. London 448 (Cunobeline, M. 238, AR, 1.23 g) 57. Paris, Cyzicus 154 (Cyzicus, AR, 10.83 g) 58. London 526 (Cunobeline, M. 244, AE, 2.76 g) 59. Calciati, op. cit. in n. 27, p. 148, fig. 8 a/5 (Aitna, AE) 60. London 443 (Cunob lin , M. 239, AR, 1.33 g) 61. Paris, Heraclea 1049 (Heraclea, AR, 6.39 g) 62. J. Svoronos, Numismatique de la Crete ancienne (Macon, 1890), p. XV, 22 (Gortyn, AR) 63. London 446 (Cunobeline, M. 240, AR, 1.06 g) 64. London m 240 (Cunobeline, M. 240, AR, 1.09 g) 65. G. Platz-Horster & I. Luckert, Die antiken Gemmen in Rheinischen Landesmuseum Bonn (Koln - Bonn, 1984), no. 106 (gemstone) 66. Paris, Bruttii 1617 (Brutii, AR, 2.18 g) 67. Brussels, Cab. Med. (Augustus, RIC 12194 a, AR) 68. London (Tasciovanus, M. 194, AV) 69. BMC Thessaly, op. cit. in n. 13, pl. IX, 10 (Pharsalos, AR) 70. London 869 (Epaticcus, M. 263 a, AR) 71. London 463 (Cunobeline, M. 215, AE, 1.18 g) 72. London 490 R (Cunobeline, M. 221, AR, 3.05 g) 73. Paris (M. Porcius Cato Uticensis, C. 462/1 a, AR) 74. London (Cunobeline, M. 232, AE) 75. London 480 (Cunob line, M. 231, AE) 76. Paris AF 2960 (M. Antonius, C. 546/2a, AR) 77. Paris, Side 536 (Sid , AR, 16.77 g) 78. London 1371 (Eppillus, M. 301, AV, 5.35 g) 79. Paris H.S. 973.1.71 (Alexander the Great, AV, 8.55 g) 80. London Harlow 3 (Cunobeline, M. 242, AE) 81. Paris, Magnesia 351 (Magnetes, AE, 5.59 g) 82. London 341 (Tasciovanus, M. 192, AE, 1.38 g) 83. Paris d' Ailly 9183 (Cn. Domitius, C. 532/1, AR) 84. London 913 (Verica, S. 111 G, AR, 0.163 g) 85. Brussels, Cab. Med. (Ti. Carisius, C. 464/1, AR) 86. Paris AF 14 (Augustus, AR tetradrachm) 87. London 452 (Cunob lin , M. 237, AE, 1.24 g) 88. Richt er, op. cit. in n. 18 no. 245 (g mston ) 89. London (Verica , S. 109 B, AR, 0.20 g)

45

SIMONE SCHEERS

90. SNG Deutsch/and. Munzsammlung der Universitdt Tu.bingen. 1. Hispania - Sikelia (Berlin, 1981), no. 223 (Hatra, AE) 91. London 371 (Tasciovanus, M. 182, AE, 1.01 g) 92. BMC Crete, op. cit. in n. 25, pl. XXVI, 18 (Paros, AE) 93. London 319 (Tasciovanus, M. 167, AE, 2.01 g) 94. London 318 (Tasciovanus, M. 167, AE) 95. BMC Ionia, pl. VI, 15 (Klazomenai, AE) 96. Brussels, Cab. Med . (L. Rustius, C. 389/1, AR) 97. London 345 (Eppillus, S. 96 D, AR, 0.241 g) 98. Paris (Phaestos, AR) 99. London, ex. Chichester (Verica, AR, 0.29 g) 100. Paris (C. Antius Restio, C. 455/4, AR quinarius) 101. London 898 (Epaticcus, M. 264, AR, 0.24 g) 102. London 441 (Epaticcus, S. 109 A, AR, 0.198 g) 103. Paris, Lyttus 440 (Lyttus, AE) 104. Paris, Lyttus 1985-487 (Lyttus, AE) 105. London 264/898 (Amminus, M. 314, AR, 1.00 g) 106. London 442 (Verica, S. 111 E, AR) 107. Credit suisse Berne, 5, 1986, no. 34 (Cese-Tarraco, AE quadrans, 1.75 g) Most photographs have been enlarged 2 or 3 times. Natural siz : nos. 36, 38, 73, 100, 107. Reduced size: no. 90 Paris = Bibliotheque Nationale, Cabinet des Medailles London = British Museum, Dept. of Coins and Medals

46

Snettisham and Bury: some new light on the earliest lcenian coinage t

TONY

GREGORY

[PLATE 9]

THE FIR T volume of Britannia opened with a paper by the great (and I make no excuses for the use of such an epithet) Celtic numismatist, Derek Allen, on the coinage of th lceni. 1 In what remains the definitive treatment of the coinage of the Iron Age tribe of northern East Anglia, he described and analysed the rather heterogeneous gold issues ascribable to the tribe, and had what remained for many years the last word on the thre principal silver types, the Boar-Horse, Face-Horse and Pattern-Horse series. The fact that his work has gone largely unchallenged, and indeed has been the subject of so few published additions, is evidence of its authority, and a tribute to his scholarship and the breadth and depth of his knowl dge of Celtic coinage. His work is also characterised by a shrewdness which led him to follow lines of thought only as far as was necessary or profitable, and not to waste time and words on aspects of the subject which at the time w re not illustrated by a large enough sample of coins. Two such aspects, which were noted and briefly discussed, but not pursued in detail, were the relationship between the gold and silver coinages, and the beginnings of each of the main silver series. He noted th ; close similarity between the gold staters ofTasciovanus which he saw as prototypes of the lcenian Early Gold series (British NA, All n la, Mack 397-399, Van Arsdell 620), and his Early Patt rnHorse (Allen IV a-c, Mack 414-5, Van Arsdell 675, 679, 681 and 683) 2 and so Acknowledgements My thanks are due to many friends and colleagues who have supplied information and have discussed many of the issues considered here, particularly Amanda Chadburn, Jeffrey May, Peter Northover and Bob Van Arsdell . Several institutions have generously supplied photographs, including the Norfolk and Suffolk Archaeological Units, the Oxford university Institute of Archaeology and Birmingham University whose help I acknowl edge with gratitude . Ian Finney kindly gave permission for a coin in his ownership (Pl. no. 12) to be reproduced here , and the indefatigable Derek Harrison went to considerable trouble to supply

prints of coins from the Wimblington hoard (Pl. nos. 22 and 23). Finally, and probably most importantly, I must thank those collectors and detector-users, particularly in Norfolk, who have made their finds available for study, and whose conscientious recording of their discoveries is the basis of this study . Amongst these I must single out Robin Brown, John Burk, Charles Hodder, David Evans, Ron Rice and Derek W oollestone. Without them, we should be little further forward than we were in 1970. 1 D. F. Allen, 'The coins of the Iceni ', Britannia 1 (1970), pp . 1-33. 2 Ibid., pp. 6, 10.

47

TONY

GREGORY

tentatively suggested that the Pattern-Horse series as a whole should begin towards the end of the life of the Early Gold. The other gold types and the earliest varieties of the other two silver series were fitted v ry loosely around this, 3 and no effort was wasted on what would surely have been a fruitless pursuit of a more coherent picture. Since 1970 the situation has changed; with the discovery of a major hoard of both gold and silver coins, and an enormous increase in the numbers of non-hoard finds, some of the gaps which Allen left can be filled. This paper has taken note of all coins recorded in the Oxford Index and in the Norfolk and Suffolk Sites and Monuments Records up to June 1989. THE METAL-DETECTOR

Whatever stance is taken over the ethics of metal-detecting and of co-operation between archaeologists and detector-users, there can be no doubt that metaldetector finds have revolutionised the state of our knowledge of Celtic coinage, particularly in distributional terms, in the last twenty years. From time to time hoards of Celtic coins are still found by orthodox means, during agricultural or building operations, but individual finds, whether 'site finds' or 'casual losses' are nowadays almost invariably the result of metal-detecting. Thus Allen studied about 1150 coins, mostly from hoards; of these 56 were from 33 non-hoard findspots, of which thirteen were from eleven such findspots in Norfolk. Between 1970 and the end of 1988 Norfolk has yielded a further 228 Icenian coins from 28 non-hoard findspots, and two hoards. In the light of figures like these, it is no surprise that new types, or substantial numbers of types previously repr sented by single examples, should appear, and the importance of the metal-detector in providing this information should not be underestimated. As important as the new coin finds is the emergence of a number of sites in Norfolk and Suffolk which have produced substantial numbers of Celtic coins. From eleven sites there are totals of more than five coins, while seven of these have produced more than 20. One of these, in the east part of the county, is a confidential findspot; throughout it is referred to as 'East Norfolk' and is arbitrarily plotted on the distribution maps to th east of Norwich. The eleven sites are:

Norfolk: Ditchingham Threxton Walsingham Wicklewood 'East Norfolk'

3

Total

Icenian

43 87 6 32 21

39 68 5 32 21

Ibid., fig. 8.

48

SNETTISHAM AND BURY

Suffolk: Claydon Coddenham Covehithe Hacheston Icklingham Mildenhall

21 56 6 25 12 17

1? 32 6 12 7 15

Most of the coins remain in private hands, but details are held in the appropriate county Sites and Monuments Record. Of th se sites, all apart from Claydon, Coddenham and Hacheston lie within what can be identified as the main area of distribution of lcenian coins (defined on the distribution maps by a dotted line, encompassing Norfolk, North Suffolk as far south as Bury St Edmund and the east part of the Fens).Within the Icenian area these sites produc predominantly Icenian coins, usually more than 80 per cent although Icklingham, exceptionally, barely tops 50 percent. Outside the area the three sites, Claydon, Coddenham and Hacheston ar situated on rivers draining south- astwards off the watershed which roughly forms the south boundary of the Icenian coin distribution, and thus should be regarded as broadly 'Trinovantian'. However almost a half of the coins from Coddenham and Hacheston are Icenian, the result perhaps of cross-border xchange, while Claydon, only a few kilometr s from Coddenham, has yielded only one possibly Icenian coin out of a recorded total of twenty-one. Inscribed and later Celtic coins are relatively rare at Claydon, and th assemblage may be generally earlier than the other two. But the evidence so far is much too slim to hypothesise about th changing patterns of flow of Icenian coins through time. SAMPLE VARIATION

AND CIRCULATION

The study of Celtic coinag in Britain is beset by the inadequacy of our knowledge of patt ms of coin use, circulation and hoarding. Nationally there are still relatively few large assemblages of site finds. Th recent proliferation of finds in Norfolk and Suffolk, together with the relatively large numb r of hoards, provides an opportunity for d tailed studies which might elucidate changing circulation patterns during the currency of Celtic coinage. Seven sites in the two counties have produc d more than twenty coins, while more than five coins have be n recorded from eleven. Comparison of such groups with each other and with those hoards which are generally agreed to be of Boudican date would be a useful step towards understanding circulation patterns. It must be stressed that these large groups are of unstratified coins; while the horizontal position of coins on the site may be known in some detail, there are no stratified sequences of Celtic coins from Norfolk or Suffolk. It is possible that factors influencing the recovery of coins are so gross that they are compl tely obscuring the true situation. The apparent geographical differences in distribution of Bury A and B discuss db low may be fortuitous, the result of bias in the small number of sites available for study. Periodic recoinings and the general recycling of metal could cause substantial differences betwe n site assemblages and hoards, particularly if th majority of the hoards belong to a single, lat date. Questions like these need to be studied, and until the processes involv d are properly understood, th e suggestions made in this paper can be no more than tentativ e. 49

TONY

THE SNETTISHAM

GREGORY

CELTIC COIN HOARD

The Hoard Firstly, we must anticipate considerable confusion over Snettisham. The parish of Snettisham has produc d large numbers of spectacular metalwork finds, including several Late Bronze Age hoards, 4 the Iron Age Snettisham Treasure, which contained fourteen gold coins as well as a large number of potin coins, 5 and a second-century Roman hoard of jewellery and coins. 6 All these are completely separat e sites, and separate again in turn is the find-spot of the Celtic coin hoard under consideration here (as opposed to the Treasure). The silver Early Face-Horse coin catalogued below (Pl. 9, 16) is also from a separate site. During 1987, 1988 and 1989, metal-det cting in a field at Snettisham has yi ld d 91 Celtic coins, all from the topsoil of a restricted area some 20m by 1Om. Although sherds of Iron Age pottery, so small and generalis d as to make closer dating impossible, have be n found elsewhere in the same field, there is no suggestion that this group of coins is part of a settlement scatter. It is isolated from any possible settlement areas, which ar currently undatable within the Iron Age, and there seems little doubt that it repr sents a deliberat hoard, concealed in a single episode. The purpose of this note is simply to draw attention to the hoard, to the types which occur and the association, which is of profound significance. Full publication will follow later. Of the 91 coins recovered so far, 44 are gold staters of the Norfolk wolf type with left-facing 'wolf, BritishJb (Mack 49b), and are the most worn group in the hoard . The mean weight within the hoard is 5.53 g (85 grains) and the range 5.85 - 5.13 g (90-79 grains). There are seven examples of a Whaddon Chase derivative stater comparable with Mack 141 (British Lb,close to, but not identical with Van Arsdell's Trinovantian F, 1500 and 1502); it bears a rough obverse showing vague traces of an Apollo head pattern, sometimes with a groove or a dotted cross superimposed. The reverse is characterised by a doubl -tailed horse below ring and dot which lies in the trough of sharply curv d lin of dots. The right hand end of this line shadows the horse's mane while the left curves back sharply to end in a left-facing caricature of a human head. The mean weight is 5.64 g (87 grains) and the range 5.77 - 5.60 g (89 - 86 grains). A closely-related but distinct Whaddon Chase derivative stater, Mack 143 (British Lb, similar to Van Arsdell's Trinovantian F, 1505), is represented by 23 examples; the obverse usually bears an incuse cross, often with a dot at its centre and a crescentic pattern of three converging curved lines towards the end of one of the arms. U nd r the cross there are sometimes faint irregularities reminiscent of the ephemeral traces of the Apollo pattern on the previous type. The reverse motif is an open-headed horse, stylistically different from and simpler than the horse on the previous type, with a similar caricature of a human head above the horse in some examples. The mean weight is 5.56 g (86 grains) and the range 5.65 - 5.41 g ( 87 - 83 grains). 4

A Lawson, 'The evidence for Later Bronze Age settlement and burial in Norfolk', in J. Barrett and R . Bradley (eds.), The British Later Bronze Age (BAR 83, Oxford , 1980), pp . 271-94 .

5 R. R . Clarke, 'The Early Iron Age treasure from Snettisham, Norfolk', PPS 20 (1954), pp. 27-86. 6 S. S. Frere, 'Roman Britain in 1985', Britannia 17 (1986), p. 403.

so

SNETTISHAM AND BURY

The fourteen remammg gold coins are quarter staters, of which thirteen are generally comparable with Mack 76 (British Lx4, Van Arsdell Atrebatic B 234), with a good Apollo pattern on the obverse but a variety of horses on the reverse which appear to share traits with both the Whaddon Chase derivative staters Mack 141 and 143 above, and it is likely that fractions of both these types are represented. The mean weight is 1.09 g ( 17 grains) and the range 1.14- 1.05 g (17 -16 grains). The fourteenth has a similar reverse to the others, but its obverse is closer to Mack 73 (a variety of British Qc, Van Arsdell Atrebatic B 242) with a central ring and dot from which sprout four curving lines. However the similarity is only general. The remainder of the hoard consists of three silver coins of on of the types which Allen amalgamated into his Early Face-Horse group (Allen Illa), and which, as will be discussed below, can now be differentiated as specific varieties. The closest comparison with previously-published examples is with Allen's no. 81, 7 re£ rred to below as Early Face- Horse Ca. The three from the Snettisham hoard have a mean weight of 1.22 g (19 grains); the range is 1.27 - 1.17 g (20 - 18 grains) The importance of this hoard is two-fold, to be found on th one hand in the occurrence of certain types in Icenian territory and on the other in the associations within the hoard.

Distribution of the Types To begin with the occurrences: geographically the presence of Early Face-Horse silver coins at Snettisham is no surprise. Neither is that of British] staters which have long been recognised as an East Anglian type. Recent finds have increased the numbers of this type from known provenances to 26, excluding the Snettisham hoard. Of these sixteen are Norfolk finds, seven from Suffolk and three outliers from Peterborough, Mark's Tey in Essex, and a confidential site on the North Downs in Kent (Fig.1). The distribution of the Whaddon Chase derivatives is poorly known: Allen 8 recorded an example of Mack 141 from the presumed hoard found on Clacton beach, in association with a a Whaddon Chase stater, a Gallo-Belgic A stat er and a stater of Addedomarus. Another of the same variety in the Evans collection in the British Museum 9 was labelled by Evans 'probably Icenian'. No provenanced examples of Mack 143 seem to have been recorded until 1988 when one was found at Ormesby St. Margaret on the east coast of Norfolk. Further examples of both these types are now awaited, and will surely appear. Van Arsdell's map, 10 showing all the Whaddon Chase staters and derivatives, gives a clear Essex-Hertfordshire distribution with outliers on Selsey Bill. Until the varieties within this are plotted separately it remains unclear how the Snettisham and Ormesby coins relate. The distribution of the quarter staters is better known: Mack 73, with which no. 88 can be generally compared, has been found at Harlow. 11 The commoner quarter

7 8

9 10

Britain (1989), p . 493. 11 R. P . Mack , The Coinage of Ancient Britain (3rd ed., 1975), p . 46.

Allen, loc. cit . in n . 1, pl. 3; Mack 413e. Allen, loc . cit. in n. 9, p. 185. BM 1919 2.13 541. R. D. Van Arsdell, Celtic Coinage of

51

TONY GREGORY

stater type in the hoard, comparable with Mack 76, has now been recorded from three sites in Norfolk, Wicklewood, Ditchingham and the 'East Norfolk' site. An example recorded by Allen 12 from Wormley, Herts., as 'not typical' remains an unknown quantity to the pr sent writer. The general distribution of the Atrebatic B types as recorded by Van Arsdell 1 3 covers most of the south and south-east of England, with Norfolk on the northern extremity. So to what extent can the coins in the Snettisham hoard be regarded as 'Icenian'? There seems little doubt about the silver Early Face-Horse coins, and the distribution of British], and less securely of Mack 76, suggests that the c ntre of their distribution was Norfolk, and thus the lcenian tribal area, whether tribal identities in coinage had emerged at that time or not. If they had, then these two types should surely be so called. The two Whaddon Chase derivative types await further provenanced examples, but it will be no surprise if their distribution eventually appears to be East Anglian. If this should prove to be so, then it would become possible to make a strong case that the types represented in the hoard should all be regarded as 'Icenian'. Van Arsdell's attribution of the Whaddon Chase derivative staters to the Trinovantes and the quarter staters to the Atrebates is based on the distribution of sup rtypes, defined much more coarsely than the distinctions used here. It is possible that a multitude oflocal variations and distributions lie below the surface ofhis tribal attributions and that his Trinovantian and Atrebatic series will eventually be seen to harbour other local divisions.

Association In the following discussion no attention is to be paid to no. 88, which as a singleton has little significance for studies of association. Th small number of silver coins, three in all, might also militate against their value in such a connection, but the fact that they are all of a single type, and the importance of any association between gold and silver in Icenian coin studies, justifies their inclusion. From a subjective assessment of the state of wear of the coins, it appears that the British Jb gold staters had been circulated longer than any of the two types of Whaddon Chase derivatives or the quarter staters. Th three silver coins appear perhaps to be slightly more worn than the three latter gold varieties, but such comparisons are made difficult by the theoretical differences in handling and therefore in wear in gold and silver coins. Assuming (a dangerous assumption in itself) that the four gold varieties would each have been subjected to a similar rat of wear per year of circulation, the difference between the mean weight and the standard weight (the maximum after any 'obvious' freak valu shave been xcluded) would give a fairly objective measure of length of tim in circulation before the coins were withdrawn and hoarded. In the absence of standard weights calculated from all known specim ns, the heaviest coin in each category within the hoard has been substituted, after excluding any obvious freak values.

(London Institute of Archaeology, Occasional Paper 11, 1960), p. 187. 13 Van Arsdell, op. cit. in n . 7, p·. 470.

12 D. F. Allen, 'The origins of coinage in Britain - a reappraisal', in S. S. Frere (ed.), Problems of the Iron A,ee in Southern Britain

52

SNETTISHAM AND BURY

• British Ja and b @ Snettisham hoard ........ Limit of main lcenian coin distribution

10 0

50km

----====---===---======i

FIG.

1.

Distribution

of British

53

J Staters.

TONY

GREGORY

The variations betw en maximum and mean weight within this hoard, expressed as a percentage of the former are as follows: 5.5 percent 2.2

British Jb Mack 141 Mack 143 Mack 76 Early Face-Horse

1.6

3.5 3.4

This broadly supports the observed degree of wear; whether any importance should be attached to the smaller variation, and therefore less wear, in Mack 143 than 141 is less certain. Perhaps the safest interpretation is that Mack 141, 143 and 76 had been in circulation for roughly the same length of time, and British Jb rather longer.

The Date of the Snettisham Hoard and its Implications If we were to follow All n's 14 chronology, the concealment of the hoard would be dated to the first decade or two of the first century AD, since all the Icenian silver series followed on, in Allen's terms, from the adoption of the crescent pattern from coins of Tasciovanus. This would give a time-span for the hoard of 60 or 70 years since the earliest, British], are likely to have been produced around the middle of the first century BC. This is not impossible, but the rapid development of types in the second half of the first century BC from Gallo-Belgic prototypes to the dynastic coinages might suggest that individual issues were not current for long, and that a shorter timescal would be more appropriate. The weakness in Allen's suggested chronology is his assertion that 'Icenian coinage starts with a group of rare gold staters which hav crescent patterns on the obverse ... [which] belong to the phas initiated by Tasciovanus [Mack 149-150, 154, 186-186a] or his immediate predecessors [Mack 147-8] in which back-to-back crescents first become a feature of the design'. 15 On this basis the whole lcenian coin series is deemed to begin c.10 BC. This argument holds good for the Early Gold (Allen la, British Na, Mack 397-9), the Freckenham type (Allen lb, British Nb and Ne, Mack 400-403), and for the Pattern-Horse silver (Allen IV - IX), whose obverses can clearly be d rived either from the Early Gold or a common ancestor. However, this common ancestor need not be th issues of Tasciovanus, but might be the earlier issues with back-to-back crescents, Mack 136, 137 or 138, Whaddon Chase staters of British Lb, whose date might be comparable with British Jb. The rest of the Icenian coinage, notably the silver Face-Horse issues including the Early Face-Horse, and the Boar-Horse, should be kept separate from this equation. They do not appear to be derived from any of the stater typ s with the back-to-back

14

15

Allen, loc. cit. in n. 1, fig. 8.

54

Ibid., p . 6

SNETTISHAM AND BURY

crescents. However, ther is a strong stylistic similarity between the silver coins in the Snettisham hoard (referred to below as Early Face-Horse Ca) and the Whaddon Chase derivative staters Mack 143, the two types sharing the stiff-legged horse bracketed between thre ring-and-dot motifs. If this comparison can be converted into a real relationship, then it would become possible to derive both the Icenian Face-Horse and Pattern-Horse series from the Whaddon Chase types, the former via the gold staters Mack 141 and 143, the latter through Mack 136/7 /8 and possibly their derivatives, and in turn through the Icenian Early Gold. Thus the date of concealment of the Snettisham hoard could be pushed back well before the time of Tasciovanus, possibly to the third quarter of the first century BC. Certainly, serious consideration should be given to the possibility that the Icenian silver coin series were in existence by that date.

BURY

AND THE FACE-HORSE

COINS

During the last 20 years a large number of new types of Celtic coins have been discovered, as a result of the increase in the absolute number of coins known, largely because of metal-detecting. It is therefore no surprise that new types should be isolated and named by the metal-detecting fraternity without being subjected to rigorous scrutiny. This is precisely what has happened in East Anglia, where a number of very fine silver coins, bearing naturalistic face and horse motifs, were found, apparently on sites in south-west Norfolk and north-west Suffolk, centred on Bury St. Edmunds (Fig. 2). Since none of them had been considered as Icenian before, they were attributed to a separate series and dubbed 'Bury Tribe'. Although it will be suggested below that these are in fact Icenian, the name 'Bury' has b en retained and the coins will be referred to below as 'Bury type'. (A note on the illustrations: in view of the large numbers of coins involved, a complete coverage has not been attempted; instead certain photographs are published as representative samples or to illustrate specific points. The illustrations are an attempt to give a composite impression of the type, but it must be stress d that this is an impression, and if a particular type needs to be subdivided at a later date the composite may become invalid.) BURY TYPE

These are silver coins of high weight (1.73 - 1.09 g, 17 - 26 grains), struck on large, deeply-dished flans, and characterised by a most naturalistic portrayal of a sprightly, galloping horse and a finely executed face in which considerable emphasis is placed on the head band. The examples recorded so far fall into three groups, denoted A, B and C. The differences are stylistic, but within the three types th range of variation is very small, and no borderline cases hav been encountered. The weights confirm, to a degree, the stylistic classifications:

55

TONY

GREGORY

Range 1.73-1.23 g 26.5-19 grains

Mean 1.42 21.9

Bury B

1.45-1.09 g 22. 5-17 grains

1.31 20.2

Bury C

1.40-1.26 g 21.6-19.5 grains

1.33 20.5

Bury A

Both Bury Band Bury C have produced single examples of fractions, at 0.79 g (12.2 grains) and 0.97 g (14.9 grains) respectively. Bury Type A (Pl. 9, 1-5)

Bury A is distinguished by a very fine left-facing head with a sharp nose, head band, curving eyebrows, ears formed of crescents with recurved ends and a compl x curl pattern behind the ear. In front of the face is a large S-curve with a terminal expansion, possibly a snake. The reverse bears a left-prancing horse with a solid head and pronounced ear surrounded by ring and pellet motifs, one of which, above the horse's back, is surrounded by a circle of dots. The horse's nose is slightly bulbous and the mane consists of seven S-curves. The further front leg is raised, with a Y framed thigh, while the nearer leg is lower and more stick-like. The hooves are clearly defined and exaggerated. A ridge defines the leading edge of the horse's body from chest to belly, and runs into a moulded thigh. The type has been recorded previously: the specimens in the British Museum and the Ashmolean Museum were illustrated by Mack as his no. 438; it was Mack who pointed out the resemblance between them and the six gold quarter staters from Selsey (no. 79). The resemblance is actually very close, and further examples of the silver coin have only r inforced this. Why a silv r issue should be found scatt red through East Anglia while its gold counterpart is restricted to a single site in Suss xis far from clear. Mack 16 suggested that the coll ction of coins found on Selsey beach in 1873 and in following years was a hoard. It is indeed an odd collection, ranging from Gallo-Belgic B to Verica, with a marked predilection for quarter staters. These include quarter staters of Mack 73 and 76 similar to those in the Snettisham Celtic coin hoard, and so an East Anglian connection is already established. Such is the wilfulness of distributions discussed here that it will be no surprise if Mack 79 quarter staters appear in East Anglia in the near future. Bury A also displays some generic similarities to the bronze coins Mack 273 and 274, which Allen 17 tentatively identified as uninscribed precursors of the Tasciovanus coinage, from Verulamium. However, the styles are completely different, and while the two may have common ancestry, or one be the inspiration for the other, their execution leaves no doubt as to their differentiation.

16 17

Mack, op. cit. in n. 8, p. 173. D. F. Allen, 'Celtic coins from the

Romano-British temple at Harlow', BNJ 36 (1967), p. 2.

56

SNETTISHAM AND BURY

•

BuryA

•

B

■

C

D

Site with five or more Celtic coins

· · · · · · Limit of main Icenian coin distribution 50km 10 0 -=-iaca===---=======----====

Fie. 2.

Distribution of Bury Types in East Anglia .

57

TONY

GREGORY

This is the most widespread of the three Bury types, with 20 examples recorded; exactly-provenanced coins are concentrated in the south part of the Icenian coin area, with five from Wicklewood. Less exact provenances include two from Cambridgeshire and one from North Lincolnshire. Van Arsdell 1 8 was uncertain whether the type (Diadem type, 80) and the attendant gold quarters (Diadem type, 78) should be regarded as imports or British, but dated them to 65-50 BC, presumably because he regarded them basically as imports. The emergence of a localised distribution, at least for the silvers, and a regional, if not necessarily a tribal attribution, calls this into doubt.

Bury A gazetteer (In this and the following gazetteers, the circumstances of discovery are either unknown, or metal-detector finds, unless otherwise stated)

Provenance

Collection

Norfolk Fincham Wicklewood Wicklewood Wicklewood Wicklewood Wicklewood

Ref no.

Private possn . Private possn.

Wtg

Wt grains

1.475

22.7

1.37

21.1

Private possn .

328 347

1.37

21.1

Pl. 9, 2

Private possn.

401

1.29

19.9

Pl. 9, 3

Private possn .

413 478

1.725 1.54

26.5 23.7

Pl. 9, 4

Private possn .

BM

Cat . 1474

1.23

19

Private possn. Private possn.

893

1.45

22.4

1.45

22.4

Birmingham City Mus.

1.37

21.1

Birmingham City Mus .

1.428

22

Suffolk Nr. Bury St Edmund Carlton Colville Coddenham Lackford

Private possn.

Livermere Mildenhall

Private possn . Private possn .

Cambridgeshire Nr. Cambridge Cambridgeshire Fens

Private possn . Private possn .

Lincolnsliire N . Lines. (or Humberside)

Private possn.

s.

Unprovenanced

Sold through Baldwin s Nat . Mus . Wales

C 509

Ashmolean Mus .

18

Pl.

Van Arsdell, op. cit. inn. 7.

58

1.42

21.9

1.47

22.7

1.3

22.1

Pl. 9, 1

Pl. 9, 5

SNETTISHAM AND BURY

Bury Type B (Pl. 9, 6-10) This type appears not to have been published before; it is characterised by a rightfacing face and horse. The face is more stylised than in Bury A, with hair standing almost vertically in rolls from the head band, and a pair of locks like coiled springs hanging down at the back and one at the front. At the back of the head the hair is pulled into a spiral, with a small palm-frond motif below. In front of the face are three five-armed stars each with a dot at the centre, while between the uppermost and middle stars is a hairpin curve around a dot. The reverse type is a horse to the right, generally similar to that on Bury A, but with a star below, and above either a dot in a double beaded circle or a wheel-like motif with the rim formed by dots. The mane is formed of a series of fine, inverted Cs and the ear much less prominent. In the clearest examples, bands oflines and dots can be made out around the body behind the front legs, and from the shoulders to the muzzle, presumably a rare example of harness represented on Celtic coins. This is less well-known than Bury A; only fifteen examples have been recorded so far. Its distribution is generally similar to the former, and its scarcity in Suffolk, and the presence of only one exampl in north-west Norfolk may not be significant.

Bury B gazetteer Provenance

Norfolk Denver

Collection

Ref no.

Wt.g

Wt. grains

Pl.

Norwi ch

Castle Mu seum *

Flitcham

Private possn.

Hockwold

Private possn. (false prov.

1.43

22.0

Mildenhall) Wicklewood

Private possn .

255

1.09

16.8

Wicklewood

Private possn.

385

1.36

21.0

Pl. 9, 6

Wi cklewood

Private possn.

399

>0 .94

>14 .5

Wicklewood

Private possn.

424

1.36

21.0

Wicklewood

Private possn .

457

1.38

21.3

Pl. 9, 8

Wicklewood

Private possn.

479

1.45

22.5

Pl. 9, 9

Wicklewood

Private possn.

463

0.79

12.2

Pl. 9, 10

'East Norfolk'

Private possn.

12

'East Norfolk '

Private possn .

96

Pl. 9, 7

Suffolk W ethering ett nr . Bury St. Edmund

Unprovenanced

Private possn . Private possn .

1.17

18.1

seen BM , 9.10.81

1.37

21.1

* Published in D . Gurney, Settlemrnt, Religion and Industry on the Roman Fen-Edge, Norfolk (Norfolk, East Anglian Archaeology Report 31,

1986), pp . 106-7.

59

TONY GREGORY

Bury Type C (Pl. 9, 11-13) The head is right-facing, closest to that of Bury A in execution, but closer to B by virtue of the direction, the spiral behind the ear, and the row of motifs in front of the face, although here they are pellets rather than stars. Berween the ey~ and the ear the cheek is decorated with a triangle of dots or a pair of elaborate flame-like motifs. The horse prances to the left above an exergual line. It has a tail of single line shadowed by a line of dots, a raspberry roundel above its back, below an arc of at least four pellets, and reins. It is not unreasonable to see the type as transitional (stylistically rather than chronologically) between A and B. With only six provenanced examples out of a recorded total of seven, the distribution is unreliable. However, it is not out of keeping with that of A and B.

Bury C gazetteer Collection

Provenance

Norfolk Caistor Costessey L. Melton Norfolk u/p Suffolk Hach eston Hasketon Bish(?p Stortford

Private Private Private Private

Ref no.

possn. possn. possn. possn.

Private possn. Private possn. Nat. Mu s. Wales

THE EARLY FACE-HORSE

Wt.g

Wt. grains

Pl.

0.967 1.267 1.40

14.9 19.5 21.6

Pl. 9, 11

1.34

20.7

Pl. 9, 13

1.425

22.0

Pl. 9, 12

SERIES (Pl. 9, 14-28)

In his Icenian study Allen 19 left unresolved a small group of silver Face-Horse coins which differ substantially from the main Fae -Horse s ries. Thes differ from the main series in their less sketchy ex cution, and, where they are associated with exam ples of the main series.in hoards, they are well worn. Allen thus identified them as ancestral and dubbed the the 'Early Face- Horse' series. The number of recorded examples has grown substantially in the last few years, and more detail can be added to Allen's original framework. The coins now known divide clearly into three types, here labelled A, Band C. Of these A and C are full-denomination silver coins, the former struck on large flans like the Bury coins. B is a half-denomination, whose relationship with the others is

19

Allen, loc. cit. in n. 1, p. 9.

60

SNETTISHAM AND BURY

····················· ...... .

•

Early Face -Horse A

A

B

■

C

D 10 0

Site with five or more Celtic coins Limit of main lcenian coin distribution 50 km

Fie. 3.

Distribution of Early Face Horse Types.

61

TONY GREGORY

unclear. Styli;tically it has few links with either Bury or the other Early Face-Horse types but might be seen as corresponding to the full-denomination Early Face-Horse A. The latter is close in weight to the lightest of the Bury types, and rather heavier than Early Face-Horse C, so a sequence might be discernible on the lines ofBury Early Face-Horse A/B - Early Face-Horse C - Face-Horse. The position of Early Face-Horse Cd in this sequence is rather anomalous.

Early Face-Horse A

Early Face-Horse B

Early Face-Hors e C

Range

Mean

Standard

1.40-1.09 g 21.6-16 .8 grains

1.32

1.40 21.6

20.4

0.79-0.64 g 12.2-9.7 grains

0.74

1.31-0.94 g 20.2-14.5 grains

1.15 17.7

11.4

0.79 12.2 1.26 19.5

The distribution of all three types is weighted heavily in favour of the north part of th area, Norfolk and the mid Fens (Fig. 3). The absence from Suffolk may be due in part to partial research, since throughout this study colleagues and metal-detector users were more aware of my interest in the Bury types than the Early Face-Horse. Even so, the Suffolk Sites and Monuments Record has records of only one coin, and it is probable that the distribution recorded is fairly representative.

Early Face-HorseA (Pl. 9, 14-17) Allen published a single coin of this type, 20 with a provenance of Caistor by Norwich. In fact, the records of Norwich Castle Museum, where the coin is held, give a provenance of 'Norfolk', with no further details, and it is probable that Allen's attribution is a mistake, not necessarily on his part, rather than the result of some extra data which cannot now be traced. This coin has a badly worn and defaced obverse, but in 1978 Henry Mossop published an example with a clear obverse, showing a h ad which more than fills the large flan. 21 Further examples have clarified the obverse as an elongated face under hair defined apparently top and bottom by a border, ending in a curl on the neck. An antenna-like projection, apparently from the hair, ends in front of an oblique lentoid eye. Below the antenna is a ring and dot containing and surrounded by rings of dots whil th head r sts on a curved shoulder of double line, with a four-pointed star below the chin. The reverse bears a right-facing horse, sprightly but rather stiffer than the Bury type horses. Its hooves are characteristically turned back and the tongue is eith r barbed, as in Allen's example, or more usually rendered as an S-curve. Above the horse's back is a five-pointed star comparable with those on Bury B, and a concavoconvex triangle with a dot at each corner and in the centre, and an upper edge of dots. A pattern oflines springing from the top left-hand corner of the triangle may include the tail of a crescent. Eleven exampl shave now been recorded, from Norfolk and the mid Fenland. 20

21

Ibid., pl. 3.83.

H. R. Mossop, 'A new silver Celtic coin found in the territory of the Iceni', SCMB (1978), p.74.

62

SNETTISHAM AND BURY

Early Face-Horse A gazetteer

Provenance

Norfolk Brettenham Ditchingham Ditchingham Oxborough Snettisham Thetford (from Norfolk Arch . Unit excavation s at Fison Way)

Wicklewood Norfolk u/p

Collection

Ref no.

Private possn. Private possn. Private possn. Private possn. Private possn. Norfolk Museums

B126a 87

Private possn. (Allen's

'Caistor Norwich')

Wt .g

Wt. grains

1.092

16.8

SF 111

1.395 1.27

21.5 19.6

81

1.31

20.2

1.40

21.6

1.39

21.5

Pl.

Pl. 9, 14 Pl. 9, 15 Pl. 9, 16

Pl.9, 17

by

Cambridgeshire

Stonea

Private possn.

Unprovenanced

Seen at BM

Unprovenanced

Birmingham Mus .

Early Face-HorseB (Pl. 9, 18-20) A silver half-denomination, possibly to be associated with type A above. The two show few similarities however, beyond the mouth and chin. The hair and neck are formed by lines of dots while the ear and brows are clearly visible. The horse is a curious b ast, facing left on one example (Ditchingham S70). It is open-headed and the trunk constricts alarmingly between the front and hindquarters, to produce an elegantly-curved underside. A ring and dot below and a concave-sided kite above are reminiscent of the reverse of Early Face-Horse A, which also shows an incipiently curved underside. The reverse matches that of Early Face-Horse Cd, but since that type has its own half-denomination and the obverses are entirely different, the exact nature of the relationship is a puzzle. The open head and curved belly can also be paralleled in the Early Gold staters (Allen Ia, Mack 399), and in the least ·grotesque examples of Freckenham staters (Allen lb, Mack 401-3), Irstead quarter staters (Allen Id, Mack 404), the Boar-Horse B (Allen Ild, Mack 408) and ANTED/ECEN/EDsilver series (Allen Vb and VI, Mack 419-20, 423, 424 and 430). The stylistic similarity and neatness is closest in the comparison with the Early Gold staters and there seems a good chance of a link here.

63

TONY GREGORY

Early Face-Horse B gazetteer: Collection

Ref no.

Wt.g

Ditchingham

Private possn.

Ditchingham Wickl ewood

Private possn .

2NW S70 333

0.785 0.755

Provenance

Wt. grains

Pl.

Norfolk

Privat e possn.

Cambridgeshire Stonea

0.637

12.1

Pl. 9, 18

11.6 9.7

Pl. 9, 19 Pl. 9, 20

BM

Early Face-Horse C (Pl. 9, 21-28) Like Allen's 1970 paper, this study has now extracted the well-defined and is left with a miscellany. When the study was presented to the conference, some order had been drawn from out of the apparent confusion, and the sub-types so isolated were labelled Ca - Cd. The arrival of Van Arsdell's new classification was a nail-biting time. Would we be at odds? The answer is not, nor should it ever have been expected to be, simple; the type Early Face-Horse C, corresponding to Allen's Early Face-Horse once the obviously exceptional no. 82 had been removed, is Van Arsdell's 22 Celtic Head type, lcenian E. Within this, however, Van Arsdell regards the subtypes as no more than die varieties. While this may be true, there is also sufficient variation within the subtypes, and between them, to suggest that they may be of greater significance than differences between dies, particularly with regard to similarities to other types, and the subdivision of the type is therefore offered below.

Early Face-Horse Ca (Pl. 9, 21) The most coherent subtype, and the most easily justified: it includes Allen's 23 nos. 81 and 83 from the Wimblington and March hoards (Mack 413e and 412, Van Arsdell 665-7 and 665-1), and six previously unpublished coins. The hair of the head is shown as three zones of oblique lines in a triple herring-bone; the eye is elliptical and poorly defined while a lentoid below the nose appears to take the place of the mouth. Traces of a curving line in front of the nose perhaps reflect the loop on Bury A and B. The horse is open-headed with stiff legs, and surrounded by ring and dot motifs, below the belly, above the back and in front of the forelegs. One example shows a barbed tongue similar to that which occurs in some examples ofEarly Face-Horse A. The coin from the March hoard (Allen no. 83) corresponds well in its reverse type, but the obverse is rather different, with a left-facing head, a more elaborate depiction of the hair and a prominent ear. Its attribution to this group is more for convenience than through absolute conviction.

22

Van Arsdell, op. cit. in n. 7.

23

64

Allen, loc. cit. in n. 1, pl. 3.

SNETTISHAM AND BURY

Early Face-Horse Ca gazetteer Collection

Ref No.

Norfolk Snettisham hoard Snettisham hoard nettisham hoard Walsingham Wicklewood

BM BM BM Private possn . Private possn.

43 83 84

Suffolk Mildenhall

Private possn .

Provenance

Cambridgeshire March hoard ?Wimblington hoard

BM BM

Wt.g

Wt. grains

1.17 1.16 1.11 1.52

18 18 17

0.94

14.5

Pl.

Pl. 9, 21

489

Allenno83 Allenno81

Early Face-Horse Cb (Pl. 9, 22-23) This type bears a similar head to the normal Ca obverse, but on the reverse the openheaded horse is livelier and spikier with a wheel above its back. Van Arsdell has separated the two examples which he illustrates (665-3 and 665-9) but they are grouped here as die varieties. Ther is thus no disagreement. The differences between Ca and Cb are minor.

Early Face-Horse Cb gazetteer Provenance

Cambridgeshire Stonea Wimblington hoard Wimblington hoard

Collection

Ref No.

Private possn. (Allen no 80) (Allen no 79)

Wt.g

Wt. grains

Pl.

1.21 1.05

18.7 16.2

Pl. 9, 22 Pl. 9, 23

Early Face-Horse Cc (Pl. 9, 24-26) This is distinguished portrayed by shorter mouth. In front of reminiscent of Bury

by a right-facing head similar to that on Ca but with the hair lines, a round r y , and a hint of a ring of dots in front of th the forehead is a hair pin loop containing two dots, clearly A, Bury B and Early Face-Horse Ca. Th horse, facing right,

65

TONY

GREGORY

has a solid head, a linear motif, either a cabled stick or a feather, protruding from the underside and a ring of dots around a central pellet above the back. Exceptionally, Wicklewood 146 has a left-facing horse with a distinctive head below a boucephalon.

Early Face-Horse Cc gazetteer Provenance

Collection

Ref. No.

Private possn .

447

Private possn . Private possn.

Wt.g

Wt grains

Pl.

146

1.26 t.23 1.31

19 19

Pl. 9, 24 Pl. 9, 25

20 17

Pl. 9, 26

1.08

Norfolk Threxton Wi cklewood Wickl ewood Wi ckelwood

Private possn .

166 480

Wickl ewood

Private possn .

517

Early Face-Horse Cd (Pl. 9, 27-28) Surprisingly, perhaps, the remaining coins fit fairly neatly into a single category, with relatively little bending and squeezing. The two classic examples, from Ditchingham,have a long head with a mournful face, a thick ear, and hair formed of lines and dots ending in a curl on the neck. The type suggests a simpler form of the head on Early Face-Horse A. The horse, on the other hand, is very similar to that on Early Face-Horse B, exaggeratedly curving, below a concave-sided kite, but facing left (note here the single Early Face-Horse B , Ditchingham S70, with a left- facing horse). The other two examples are slight variants, the half-denomination Wicklewood 424 + s with its high-stepping, right- facing horse, which is otherwise similar to the others, and the example from the Honingham hoard (Allen no. 78, Van Arsdell 665-5) with precisely the right sort of head, but a completely different horse, which could almost have been taken from an inscribed silver coin of the ECEB, AESV or SAENV types.

Early Face-Horse Cd gazetteer Provenance

Collection

Ref No.

Norfolk Ditchingham Ditchingham Honingham hoard

Private possn . Private possn .

BM

lONW (Allen no

Wicklewood

Private possn.

424+5

Wtg

Wt grains

S58

78)

66

Pl.

Pl. 9, 27

1.14 0.642

18 10

Pl. 9, 28

SNETTISHAM AND BURY

CONCLUSIONS The crucial issue raised by this study is the place of the Face- Horse series generally in Icenian coinage, and it is the Snettisham hoard which provides the key. There are other matters to consider, however, including the significance of the large site collections. Why do the proportions of Bury types and Early Face-Horse types vary so widely?

Bury Total

No

Norfolk Ditchingham Threxton Walsingham Wicklewood 'East Norfolk'

43 87 6 32 21

0 0 0

Suffolk Cod den ham Hacheston Mildenhall

56 25 17

Early Face-Horse %

12 2

No

%

8 2

18 2

37

6

19

10

0

2 4 6

0 0 0

The answer to this will only come from detailed analysis of the assemblages as a whole, which is outside the scope of the present paper. A chronological explanation is the most obvious one but considerable work is needed before this can be confirmed. The distortion of our knowledge by differential recording of metal-detector finds is also a cause for alarm; perhaps statistical techniques can be evolved to deal with this in distributional studies. To return to Snettisham and the Early Face-Horse coins: the weights and styles suggest a sequence of Bury followed by the Early Face-Horse which are replaced by Allen's Normal Face-Horse series. Leaving aside the question of the identification of the latter coins with Boudica, 24 the Early Face-Horse coins which appear with them in the hoards are considerably worn and therefore of greater age. While there are several common strands in the design of Bury types, Early Face-Horse and Normal Face-Horse coins, the three are clearly distinct and the distinction is likely to be chronological. The high weights of the three Bury types clearly puts them at the beginning of the sequence.

24

R. D. Van Arsdell, 'The coinage of Queen Boudicca', NCirc. 95 (1987), p. 150.

67

TONY GREGORY

Among the Early Face-Horse sub-types there are several intermingling strands, a mixture of open- and closed-headed horses, the occasional presence of motifs like the hair pin loop from the Bury types and the contrasting styles of the horses. These features might suggest a heterogeneous group, minted over a considerable period of time. But the borrowing and recombination of motifs could also be taken to indicate the opposite, that all the Early Fae -Horse varieties were struck or in use together, and that the chronological element is marked by the change to the Normal FaceHorse variety. The three Early Face-Horse Ca coins in the Snettisham hoard are relatively unworn. They should be regarded as contemporary with the Whaddon Chase derivative staters and th quarter-staters, and dated to the third quarter of the first century BC. The Bury Type coins might then be as early as the middle of that century, and the Normal Face-Horse series could begin b fore its end. This latter date is clearly at odds with Van Arsdell, and if this chronology is to stand for th e Early Face-Horse types then we must either revert to Allen's date for the Normal Face-Horse, c. AD 20-60, stretch the Early Face-Horse to fill a period of80 years or so, or postulate a gap between the Early and Normal series. I do not feel inclined to stretch the life of the Early Face-Horse coins to such a length, although it is feasible. I am therefore left with a choice between Allen's chronology allowing for continuity and Van Arsdell's which demands a gap. This is a choice which, at the moment, I do not feel qualified to make. The Bury and Early Face-Horse coins represent exuberant precursors to the much more staid and uniform Normal Face-Horse series. Perhaps a similar phenomenon, but less marked, can be seen in the Early Pattern-Horse series (Allen IV a and c, Mack 414 and 415, Van Arsdell 675,679, 681 and 683), as prototypes of the inscribed Pattern-Horse series. This leaves the Boar-Horse series without such an ancestor. A single coin from Stanton, in Suffolk (Pl. 9, 29) has an elaborate obverse centred on a boar, and on the reverse a horse with pronounced hooves, a tail emphasised by a line of shadowing motifs, and a compl x exergual line, very similar in style to the horse of Bury C. This similarity and its general exuberanc suggest that it occupies an analogous position in the Boar-Horse series to that of the Bury coins in the FaceHorse series. A few years' work and a small number of sites hav led to a re-assessment of a substantial part of the Icenian series. It will only take one more site like Wicklewood and one more hoard like Snettisham to stand the Icenian coinage on its head once more and cause this study to be re-examined.

Amanda Chadburn writes: A number of Bury and Early Face-Horse coins have been recorded since Tony Gregory wrote his paper. They do not alter the substance of what he·writes at all, but fill in som e additional detail , and his classification works equally well on the new data, which is given below . All coins known to m e up to November 1991 are given, including those in the sale of H.R. Mossop 's coin collection by Glendinings , London .

68

SNETTISHAM AND BURY

Bury A 5 are unprovenanced, 4 with weights: 0.97, 0.98 (plated core), 1.43, 1.44 3 are from Norfolk, 2 with weights: 1.46, 1.095 3 are from Cambridgeshire: 1.41, 1.45, 1.45 31 specimens (new grand total, formerly 20 in total).

Bury B 5 1 1 1

are unprovenanced: 1.18, 0.91, 1.30, 1.39, 1.28 is from Norfolk (no weight) is from Cambridgeshire: 1.45 is from Suffolk: 1.39

23 specimens (new grand total, formerly 15 in total). Additionally, the Hockwold coin in the Bury B table has a weight of 1.37.

Bury C 1 is from Norfolk (no weight) 5 are unprovenanced, 4 with weights: 1.18, 1.36, 1.38, 1.36 13 specimens (new grand total, formerly 7 in total).

Bury unclassified A further five badly eroded specimens which are probably Bury types are also known.

Early Face-HorseA 3 more unprovenanced examples are known: 1.32, 1.25, 0.78 14 specimens (new grand total, formerly 11 in total).

Early Face-HorseB 1 2 1 2

from Norfolk: 0.814 from near Partney, Lines: 1.00, 0.874 from Cambridgeshire: 0.87 are unprovenanced: 0.87, 1.00

10 new specimens (new grand total, formerly 4 in total). The coin from Stonea given in the table weighs 0.51 g.

Early Face-HorseCa 4 2 1 1

are unprovenanced: 1.37, 0.68, 1.03, 1.10 are from Cambridgeshire: 1.24, 1.05 is from Lakenheath: 1.24 is from near Partney, Lines: 0.915

16 specimens (new grand total, formerly 8 in total). The coin from Walsingham weighs 1.515 g.

69

TONY

GREGORY

Early Face-Horse Cb 2 are unprovenanced: 1.05, 1.07 2 are from Norfolk: 0.95, 1.07 1 is from Thetford: 1.23 3 are from Cambridgeshire, 2 with weights: 1.09, 1.10 11 specimens (new grand total, formerly 3 in total). The coin from Stonea given in the table weighs 0.98 g.

Early Face-HorseCc 2 are unprovenanced: 1.20, 1.39 1 is from Norfolk (no weight) 1 is from Cambridgeshire: 1.30 9 specimens (new grand total, formerly 5 in total) .

Early Face-HorseCd 3 are from Cambridgeshire : 1.10, 1.01, 1.13 1 is from Norfolk: 1.037 1 is unprovenanced: 1.14 9 specimens (new grand total, formerly 4).

Obituary TONY GREGORY belonged to a rare breed of human. He poss ssed an inexhaustible supply of enthusiasm, humour and knowledge of his chosen subject, archaeology, as well as an extraordinary ability to inform and enthuse others. He was a brilliant excavator, a field worker who read the archaeological landscape with great fluency, and a findsman with a deep knowledge of many periods, especially of the pre-Roman Iron Age. Born in Nottinghamshire, he went up to Cambridge to read Archaeology and Anthropology at Peterhouse. After graduation he spent three years as a research assistant on the important Roman site at Dragonby, near Scunthorpe. In 1974 he was appointed Assistant Keeper of Archaeology at Norwich Castle Museum. After four years he became Roman-period Field Officer at the Norfolk Archaeological Unit, and Deputy County Field Archaeologist in 1983. He left Norfolk to becom an independent archaeological consultant in 1989, shortly afterwards becoming Research Officer with Heritage Projects in York.

70

SNETTISHAM AND BURY

During his period at· Norwich Castle Museum, Gregory saw that an increasing number of archaeological objects brought in for identification had been found not by chance but with metal detectors. He realised the importance of the objects and their provenance, and so began to foster links with detector users. In this he was truly in his element, mixing with the rich variety of characters who pursue the detecting hobby. He helped to found clubs for enthusiasts, which entailed working hours that would have broken a more normal archaeologist, and, most importantly, recorded the deluge of archaeological information that resulted; all of this at a time when the mainstream of British archaeology was largely hostile to any dealings with metal detectorists, and oblivious to any loss ofinformation that might ensue from this noncommunication. Gregory continued in his work despite considerable flack from some colleagues and took a leading part in the national debate. Thanks to his endeavours, a spirit of active co-operation between archaeologists and metal detectorists now exists in many areas. Not content with mere personal contact as a means of fostering public interest in archaeology, he took to the airwaves, making frequent appearances on radio and television, particularly in East Anglia. These produced many converts, and the latter not a few complaints to BBC and ITV about his informal appearance, open-toed sandals, scruffy jeans and his constantly unbuttoned hairy-chest-revealing shirt. This image was recently modified for Now When, a BBC television series aimed very successfully at enthusing children in archaeology. Between 1980 and 1987 Gregory excavated a massive ceremonial enclosure of the first century AD at Thetford, which may well have had close associations with Boadicea and her family. Despite early signs that the site was of international significance, it was excavated on a shoe-string budget by a team staffed almost entirely by the Youth Employment programme . Gregory dug the site non-stop for over two years with a skill and enthusiasm which led several of the unemployed youths to become professional archaeologists. The excavation report, an inspired work of synthesis, is now in progress, and will join a long list of popular and academic publications. Tony Gregory's early death has robbed British archaeology, the interested British public and many friends of a great scholar and a great character.

Anthony Keith Gregory, archaeologistand broadcaster,born 16 December 1948, died 26 June 1991. This obituary (written by A. Rogerson) appeared first among the obituary pages of The Independent, who have kindly allowed us to reproduce it here.

71

A preliminary analysis of the hoard of Icenian coins from Field Baulk, March, Cambridgeshire AMANDA

CHADBURN

INTRODUCTION

THIS paper details the preliminary results of the analysis currently being undertaken by the writer on the lcenian coin hoard from Field Baulk, March, Cambridgeshire. Allen's classification of Icenian coins 1 will be followed throughout, except where indicated. One Sunday in early March 1982, Mr Samuel Hills, a farmer from Field Baulk Farm, in the small town of March (see Fig. 1), discovered the largest coin hoard so far recorded of the Celtic tribe the Iceni of East Anglia. He was digging a hole in the orchard on the north side of his farm (TL 416957) to plant an apple tree, when he uncovered the broken remains of a small pot and several hundred coins. The hole was about 0.5 m deep, c.0.75 m by 1.0 m in breadth, and the pottery was buried c.0.4 m below the ground surface. At the time, Mr Hills was uncertain whether the small metal objects were in fact coins, and carried on planting the tree. Mr Hills' brother, Mr Clive Hills, contacted Dr Tim Potter of the British Museum that evening, who visited the site the following day to collect the remains of the pot and th coins. Prior to Potter's visit, the Hills discovered more Icenian coins which had been washed out of the soil by overnight rain. They dug up the tree, enlarged the pit to the south, and retrieved yet mar coins by sieving the soil. They had discovered over 800 coins before Potter arrived, who, recognizing the importance of the find, organized a team of ten professional archaeol~gists to investigate the area, and to check for forth r hoards. This work took place on Saturday 13th March, six days after the initial discovery. The hoard was declared Treasure Trove by a March inquest jury later that year, and the finder, Mr Samuel Hills, was compensated. The entire hoard is now held by the Dept. of Coins and Medals of the British Museum, where it is being

ways: Tim Potter, Jeffrey May , Tony Gregory, Colin Haselgrove, Andrew Burnett, John Kent, Christopher Hawkes, Melinda Mays and J. Goddard.

Acknowledgements I am most grateful to the following individuals who have either generously contributed unpublished material or discussed this subject with me, criticised earlier drafts of this paper, or given help in various

1

l

73

D .F. Allen, 'The coins of the Iceni', Britannia (1970), pp. l-33,

AMANDA CHADBURN

N 0

Lincoln

North Sea

1

Norwich 0

March Stonea Camp •Chatteris Thetford 0

0

0

°Cambridge

FIG .

-

1. Location of March.

-

examined. A full account of the hoard and its numismatic context will be published by the writer in Potter's account of the excavations at Stonea 2 and further work will be carried out as part of a doctoral thesis. THE IMMEDIATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL

CONTEXT

The prompt reporting of the discovery by the Hills brothers presented a rare opportunity for archaeologists to investigate the immediate archaeological context of an lcenian coin hoard. They (;xcavated a trench some 2.4 m by 3.0 m around the findspot, and combed the area with metal detectors to check that there were no further coins. Although the Hills had removed the burial pit of the hoard, other archaeological features were found. Below the topsoil there was a small curved ditch cut into the sub-soil, along with a post-hole and a small 2

A.D.B. Chadburn, 'The Iron Age coinage', in T.W. Potter , Excavations at Stonea Camp (forthcoming) .

74

THE FIELD BAULK

HOARD

depression. The ditch had been cut into yellow clay and its fill contained sherds of late Iron Age pottery. Potter 3 , believes it is likely that the pot containing the coins was set into the side of this ditch. Because of the limited size of the trench, it was not possible to establish whether the ditch was a ring-gully surrounding a circular building, as is common with Iron Age buildings in Britain, or whether it was part of some other structure. However, as the topsoil contained a scatter of Iron Age sherds, and the ditch also appears to be Iron Age, Potter concluded that there was certainly occupation on the site in the late Iron Age and early Roman period, i.e. c.AD 40-60, and that the hoard was probably buried within a settlement of some kind. There is very strong evidence to suppose that the vessel associated with the coins is the container of the hoard, as traces of corrosion products from the coins were found on the internal faces of its sherds. Although slightly damaged upon discovery, it is nearly complete, although it appears to have lost its rim in antiquity. It has been examined by Val Rigby, who describes it as a globular beaker imitating the Camulodunum form 91. She suggests a manufacturing date of AD60-70 for it. 4 The vessel is unusual, as most recorded Icenian coin hoards to date have not been associated with a container, although the gold Icenian hoard at Freckenham, Suffolk, was found in a small poorly-fired pot. 5 It is likely, however, that some hoards will have been buried in an organic container such as a leather bag. There are few statistics on the number of British Iron Age coin hoards associated with recov~rable containers, although Haselgrove 6 does indicate that about a third of Celtic gold hoards in south-east England are found in a container - usually a hollow flint or a pot. The containers include hollow bones, and possibly and rarely 'lead' boxes, and clay 'trays', although these latter were from poorly recorded gold hoards. 7 THE WIDER ARCHAEOLOGICAL

CONTEXT

The area around March is of clear importance in the late Iron Age and the Roman periods. March is situated in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, which would have been largely undrained in the late Iron Age. Just over two miles away from the findspot of the hoard are the Iron Age earthworks of Stonea Camp, the only 'hillfort' - if the site can be thus termed - in the Fens. These ear,hworks have been dated by Potter to c. AD 40-50, and were built on a gravel and clay 'island' in the Fens. There is a concentration of Iron Age and Roman material from the area: for the Iron Age, there are the two previously recorded Icenian coin hoards from Stonea Camp and from March, 8 found during the nineteenth century, as well as other artefacts from the vicinity dating to the Iron Age. These include a bronze terret, a bronze duck-like ornament which may have had coral eyes, pottery of

3

6

4

7

Personal communication . Pers. comm., Potter . 5 C.C. Haselgrove, Iron Age Coinage in SouthEast England: the Archaeological Context, (BAR 174.i, Oxford, 1987), p. 118.

8

75

ibid. ibid. Allen, loc. cit . in n.

1.

AMANDA CHADBURN

the period, and scattered Iceni coins. 9 A group of Claudio-Neronian samian, and brooches dating to AD 40-60 were found at the excavations at Stonea Camp, 10 and rumours of a number of Roman and Celtic coin hoards discovered in the Stonea area have been reported recently. Both Frere 11 and Potter and Jackson 12 have postulated that the camp was an Icenian stronghold, and may be connected with the events in AD 47, 13 when according to Tacitus, the Iceni rebelled upon being ordered to hand over their weapons. Potter and Jackson note that the description given by Tacitus of 'a battlefield at a place protected by a rustic earthwork with an approach too narrow to give access to cavalry' could be Stonea Camp, and point out that the marshy ground around the camp might also explain how the Iceni came to be 'imprisoned by their own barrier'. However, if we follow Allen's dating of Icenian coinage, there is now numismatic evidence that the area may have been in use for some time before AD 47 /48, and that occupation may date from the beginning of the first century AD, even if the earthworks themselves are later. THE NUMISMATIC

CONTEXT

The total number of lcenian coins recorded by Haselgrove in 1987 is 2,674, which includes the Field Baulk hoard. The hoard therefore constitutes almost exactly one third of the total number of lcenian coins published to date. Roughly half the known number of Icenian hoards include Roman coins, and Icenian coins are occasionally found in hoards of mainly Roman coins. Allen believed that the March area, despite the fact that there were two recorded Icenian coin hoards from March and Stonea Camp, was outside the main territory of the Iceni, and that the River Ouse formed its western barrier. However, there are now apparently eight hoards which include Icenian coins reported from the area around March, including Field Baulk itself; a hoard of 20 lcenian and Roman coins from Langwood Fen at Chatteris, some ten miles from March; and further hoard finds reported from th vicinity of Stonea, although some of these are metal detector finds and are not well recorded. Some of this new comparative material 14 was found about two miles away from the Field Baulk hoard, around the vicinity of Stonea Grange and Stonea Camp. Fifty-two Celtic coins, including 48 Icenian issues, were found by a Mr Amps, and, in view of the archaeological evidence, appear to represent site finds which were lost within an occupation area over a number of years. Certainly they do not come from a discrete hoard, and they were apparently found over a fairly large area n ar Stonea Grange on the Stonea 'island'.

9

T.W. Potter and R.P.J Jackson, 'The Roman site of Stonea, Cambridgeshire', Antiquity 56 (1982), pp. 111-20 . 10 ibid . 11 S. Frere, Britannia (revised ed ., 1978), p. 93. 12 Potter and Jackson, loc . cit . in n . 9. 13 Prof. Christopher Hawkes (pers. comm.,

1989) has kindly indicated to me that a more likely date for the Icenian revolt of AD 47 is in fact early 48, on the grounds that too large a number of military and other events would have had to have been squeezed into the latter half of 47 prior to the revolt . 14 Chadburn , loc. cit. in n. 2.

76

THE FIELD BAULK

THE COMPOSITION

HOARD

OF THE FIELD BAULK HOARD

The Field Baulk hoard is the largest recorded Icenian hoard, contains some 872 coins in total, nearly all of silver. The next nearest to it in terms of size is that from Lakenheath, Suffolk, which contained 479 Iceni and Roman coins. 15 No Roman or other Celtic coins were associated with the Field Baulk hoard, although this is not necessarily unusual with Icenian coin hoards, as less than half recorded so far are associated with Roman coins. It is composed of 14 recognizable Icenian coin types, along with a few unclassifiable Boar-Horse, Face-Horse, and Pattern-Horse issues, detailed below.

Boar-Horsecoins There are in total 35 coins, broken down as indicated in Table 1:

TABLE

1

Coin Type

Number of Coins 4 4 25

B-HA B-H B B-HC B-H D (CANS-DVRO or CANO-DVRO) B-H Unclassified

1 1 35

Total

Face-Horsecoins Face-Horse coins are more common, with a total of 172 coins as detailed in Table 2. Note that Allen's Face-Horse B and C have been amalgamated into a single group as the two 'types' form either end of a typological spectrum. There are no early Face-Horse coins in the hoard.

TABLE

2

Coin Type

Number of Coins 43 125 4

Normal F-H A Normal F-H B/C Unclassified F-H Total

15

G. Briscoe, R.A.G. Carson and R.H.M . Dolley, 'An lcenian hoard from Lakenheath, Suffolk', BN] 29 (1958) , pp. 215-19.

77

172

AMANDA CHADBURN

Pattern-Horsecoins Th~ Pattern-Horse coins numbered some 665 in total, and can be broken into the following types (Table 3):

TABLE

3

Number of Coins 1 189 173 96 73 86 10 14 20 3

Coin Type EARLY P-H B ANTED ECEN ED /EDN /Symbols ECE A ECE B AESV SAENV P-H Unclassified P-H Brockages

665

Total

THE NUMISMATIC

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HOARD

The hoard nearly doubles the total number of coins of certain types which were available for study by Allen. When he made his study in 1970, he used 1,150 specimens. In some cases, the hoard provides a larger number of coins than Allen had altogether. For example, Allen studied nine specimens of the coins of SAENV, whereas there are now 14 examples from Field Baulk alone. The three major types of Icenian coins, the Pattern-Horse, Boar-Horse and Face-Horse, are represented in slightly different proportions to the average worked out for hoards by Allen. At Field Baulk, there are 4 per cent of BoarHorse coins, 20 per cent of Face-Horse coins, and a large proportion - 76 per cent - of Pattern-Horse coins. By comparison, the average worked out by Allen is 7 per cent for Boar-Horse coins, 30 per cent for Face-Horse coins and 60 per cent for Pattern-Horse coins (Fig. 2). Apparently, then, both the Boar-Horse and Face-Horse types are underrepresented at Field Baulk, whereas the Pattern-Horse coins are over-represented. This contrasts with provisional distribution patterns noted by Allen, 16 who believed that for the Pattern-Horse series, the evidence was strong that their main distribution lay in the Breckland area of Norfolk. It is too early to say whether the distribution patterns deduced by Allen mainly from hoards still hold good, but evidence from Field Baulk and numerous recent single coin finds would tend to suggest not, and emphasize the provisional nature of his conclusions.

16

Allen, loc. cit. in n.

78

I.

THE FIELD BAULK

HOARD

F.i\.CE -HORSE

(~

BOAR-HORSE 7%

BO.AR-HORSE 4%

OTHER 01{ \ ,__ GO%

__ __ ./

/

OTHER 3%

\76%

,......._

PATTERN -HORSE ·, ....___

P.A. TTE~IN- HORSE

FIELD 8'°'UU< HQ,c,RO ).

AVERA.GE 1c rn1 COIN HOARD (AFTERALLEN)

FIG. 2. Comparison of proportions of Iceni coin types from the Field Baulk hoard with expected proportions (after Allen, 1970).

The Amps material from the Stonea 'island' discussed above, with its very high proportion of early Pattern-Horse coins, also suggests Allen may have been wrong on this point, and that the distribution of Pattern-Horse coins is more extensive than was previously thought. Until the numerous recent single Icenian coin finds are taken into account (work which is currently underway), all that can be safely said is that distribution patterns based on hoard evidence alone are apt to be misleading! The Amps material, containing a high proportion of early and plated coins- pr esumably contemporary forgeries - contrasts strongly with the Field Baulk hoard, which seems to have been carefully selected for good quality coins. If we accept Allen's chronology for Icenian coins, early Icenian issues represent only 0.5 per cent of the total number of coins in the Field Baulk hoard. This contrasts with a high proportion of early coins from the Icenian coins found by Amps, over 15 per cent of which were early issues, although this may in part be a reflection of sample size. Brown 1 7 noticed a large difference between Allen's average proportions of Icenian coin types from hoards, and the Icenian coins from Saham Toney, which latter he interpreted as a site occupied in the late Iron Age and into the Roman period. Similarly, the contrast between the Field Baulk hoard and the Amps material apparently emphasizes the differences between coin hoards and coins from settlements. Indeed, it is likely that an appraisal of site-related coin finds will alter our perceptions of Icenian coinage drastically. They have, after all, been drawn from hoards which may be atypical of the overall distribution pattern. Coins' weights have prov ed a useful m ethod of detecting what appear to be contemporary forgeries. There are three obvious candidates for forgeries, and the metal of these coins app ears to be very different in content to the remainder of th e hoard, one coin being a copper-alloy core, and the others being apparently base silver. The weights of these coins, which are an unclassified Boar-Horse coin, an EON/SYMBOLS coin and an ECE B coin, are well below the average for their

17 R.A. Brown, 'Th e Iron Age and RomanoBritish settlem ent at Woodcock Hall, Saham Ton ey, Norfolk', Britannia 17 (1986), pp. 1-

58.

79

AMANDA CHADBURN

types. Additional work is in progress on die links. Preliminary results indicate that there are large numbers of die links and relatively few dies. The hoard is also proving a good source for die reconstructiol'ls. Allen noted that about 20 per cent of the ECE B coins are entirely reversed (presumably because an unskilled die-cutter was making a die by copying exactly from another ECE B coin). Exactly 20 per cent of the Field Baulk ECE B coins were similarly reversed. The Field Baulk hoard has an unusual number of brockages (produced when a coin sticks in a die, and impresses a reverse image on the next coin being struck). Celtic brockages are rare; according to Van Ardsell 18 there is only one recorded British Celtic brockage, a Face-Horse coin also of the Iceni. Colin Haselgrove 19 has indicated that there are more, but that they are still most unusual. The hoard contains at least two Pattern-Horse brockages, with a possible third also of this type - although it could be a mis-struck coin. All are obverse brockages, made when a coin got caught in the hammer (or reverse) die. The number of brockages is high for a hoard of this number of coins, and would appear to be a higher than normal brockage frequency for Celtic coins, and indeed for the Roman Republican series too. 20 Although I have not yet looked at the condition of the coins in detail, one strong impression is that many of the Pattern-Horse coins appear to be very worn, both from circulation wear, and some quite obviously from die wear. More Pattern-Horse coins appear to be struck from worn dies than the BoarHorse and Face-Horse types. However, circulation wear is also apparent in all types, including the Boar-Horse C coins and the Normal Face-Horse coins. THEDATEOFTHEHOARD

Allen concluded that the majority of Icenian coin hoards were buried around the time of the Boudican rebellion, and since his paper in 1970, further Icenian coin hoard discoveries have not produced obvious evidence to indicate otherwise. Indeed, one of the recent discoveries at Scole 21 included a coin of Nero, dating to c. AD 61, which appears to substantiate Allen's argument. The Field Baulk hoard seems no exception, and the dating of the beaker to c. AD 60-70 would fit in with a burial date of c. AD 60. The low proportion of presumed early Icenian issues might also indicate a late deposition date. However, further work on the nature of Icenian hoards is needed to clarify the date(s) of their deposition, and we should remember that earlier historical episodes, e.g. AD 47 /48, might also be suitable dates when native wealth was hoarded. Further work is also needed to establish the mechanisms by which such a large collection of bullion was deposited, and whether it was the property of an individual, or was collective wealth.

21 A.M . Burnett, 'Scole , Norfolk, Treasure Trove ', CHRB (BM Occasional Paper 58,

18

R.D. Van Arsdell , 'Th e coinag e of Que en Boudicca ' , NCirc. 95 (1987) , p . 150. 19 Pers. comm. 20 J.P. Goddard, pers . comm ., and 'Roman brockages : a preliminary survey of their frequency and typ e' , MIN 3 (forthcoming).

1986), 7-12.

80

THE FIELD BAULK

HOARD

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, the archaeological and numismatic evidence is now pointing towards this part of the Fens as being highly important in the late Iron Age and Roman periods. The number of lcenian coin finds alone tends to suggest it is an important Iron Age settlement area, but when we take into account the other archaeological evidence, such as the occupation from Field Baulk and from Stonea, it seems obvious that the area is not outside the main territory of the Iceni, and that indeed there is a concentration of activity here in the Iron Age . Numismatically, the hoard is important for several reasons. First, it represents a third of the recorded Icenian coinage to date, and increases the number of recorded specimens by over half in some cases. Secondly, it forms part of a pattern which is starting to emerge for this area of the Fens, namely that the area is a focus of activity in the late Iron Age. Lastly, it appears to challenge Allen's distribution patterns of Icenian coins, although further work is needed over the whole of East Anglia in order to clarify this.

81

The decline and fall of the Icenian monetary system JOHN CREIGHTON

THIS article aims to examine certain parallels between one Iron Age coinage system and its Roman successor. The case in question is that of the Iceni of East Anglia, which from AD 43 was a friendly kingdom of the Roman state; neither being entirely free from Roman dictate, nor entirely bound. Alas, the events of AD 60/61 meant that this was only a transitional stage leading to the area's incorporation into the new Roman province. But how real was this transitional freedom? Did the Iceni have the right to mint coin during this period, or did the Icenian coin series enter on a terminal decline in 43? Van Arsdell has proposed the former. 1 He sees new issues inscribed SAENV, AESV and SVBRIPRASTOas all belonging to this period, ending with an enormous issue of Head-Horse coins which he would ascribe to Boudicca. 2 This article argues the contrary position in the light of a model of the way in which coinage becomes distributed throughout society. It does not go so far as to say that no new coins were produced in this period, but that certainly none except the SVBRIPRASTO issue had been issued for quite some time before the great revolt of 60/61. I do not wish to question here Van Arsdell's metrological ordering of the series, only the chronology to which it has been linked . Let us start by considering the dynamics of a currency system as perceived in the geographical make-up of the circulation pool (Fig. 1). New coin cannot be released into circulation everywhere in equal amounts at the same time . It is impossible. Instead it enters via a series of specific geographical locations. Today these might be the banks in the high street. In the Roman period they might have been at the frontiers where the state paid its troops. As regards the territory of the Iceni, we can only speculate. One possibility *would be to see new coin being distributed by the tribal elite in a series of socially reinforcing transactions, possibly taking place at high-status sites such as Thetford and Saham Toney.

Acknowledgement I would like to thank Colin Haselgrove and John Casey who kindly read an earlier draft of this pap er. Their comments were most helpful. All the errors which remain, however, are entirely my own.

1

R.D. Van Arsdell, Celtic Coinage of Britain

(1989). 2

id., 'The coinage of Queen Boudicca', NCirc 95 (1987), p . 150.

83

JOHN CREIGHTON

Whatever the mechanism or social use of coinage, it is the geographically specific point of entry of the coins into circulation which is emphasized here. Once issued, new coins would then start to circulate, slowly evening out the initial geographically unequal distribution. This spread would take the form of a large number of individual transactions, either of a commercial or social nature. This process would take place at a faster or slower rate depending upon the velocity of circulation of coinage within the system. If no further issues were released, then eventually the circulation pool would reach a geographically uniform composition. However, if a supplementary issue were subsequently released, this trend towards uniformity would be reversed, as geographical differences were once again introduced. One method by which we can examine this process is to look at hoards, taking them to represent samples distributed both geographically and chronologically through the circulation pool. If so, the variability or homogeneity of hoards of the same date could be interpreted in the following ways:

Observation

Interpretation

Hoards with variable composition

Coins are circulating slowly and/or New issues are continually being produced

Hoards with uniform composition

Coins are circulating very quickly and/or No new issues are coming out

With this in mind let us now turn to the actual data. Eleven hoards have been included in this analysis. Six yield good numerical data: Honingham and Santon Downham, 3 Lakenheath, 4 Eriswell, 5 Chatteris and Scole. 6 The remaining five are less useful. Often only a selective sample of coins was recorded: March, Wimblington, Brettenham, 7 Weston 8 and Joist Fen. 9 In more than half the cases, these lcenian silver coins were hoarded with Roman coins:

3

I 4

D.F. Allen, 'The coi~s of the Iceni', Britannia (1970), pp. 1-33.

G. Briscoe, R.A.G. Carson and R.H.M. Dolley, 'An Icenian coin hoard from Lakenheath, Suffolk', BNJ 29 (1958), pp. 21519. 5 J.P.C. Kent and A.M. Burnett, 'The Eriswell, Suffolk, Treasure Trove', CHRB 4 (BM Occasional Paper 58, 1984), pp. 6-13. 6 A.M. Burnett, 'Chatteris, Cambs., Treasure

7

Allen, loc. cit. in n. 3. C. Roach Smith, 'British silver coins recently found at Weston in Norfolk', NC 15 (1853), pp. 98-102. 9 G. Briscoe, 'Icenian coin finds in Lakenheath, Suffolk', PCAS 56-57 (1963), p. 123; Allen , loc. cit. in n. 3. Trove' , and 'Scole , Norfolk, Tr easure Trove ' , CHRB 6 (BM Occasional Paper 58, 1986), pp. 5-6 and 7-12 . 8

84

ICENIAN MONETARY

Sites released

where into

SYSTEM

coins are circulation

Transactions

Secondary

Transactions

* The circulation of the coins leads to uniformy within the pool

--------Circulation

FIG.

1.

eventually circulation

Area

The dispersal of coinage in circulation.

85

JOHN CREIGHTON

Hoard

Roman Coins

Latest Coin

Weston Longville

2 Denarii

'Republican '

Chatteris

c.11 Denarii

? Tiberius

Lakenheath

67 Denarii

Caligula AD 37/ 41

Santon Downham

2 Dupondii

Claudius

Eriswell

72 Denarii

N ero AD 54/55

Joist Fen

c.35 D enarii

? N ero AD 55/60

Scole

87 Denarii

N ero AD 60/61

c.AD

41

Since non e of them contains any coins later than th e revolt , and sin ce th e hoard s are all similar , th e entir e series has been ascribed to th e historical events of 60/61. 10 This is quit e possibly th e case; but it must be born e in mind that by th emselv es, and without th e historical link, the denarii at best only tell us that th e hoards date variously from the invasion of 43 to 61, a spread of 18 years. Alternativ e historical dates (were they wanted) could lie with the first revolt in 47, or indeed the Claudian invasion of 43; only Eriswell, Scole, and Joist Fen could be confidently excluded from these possibilities. So how similar are these hoards? Fig. 2 shows their composition graphically divided into Allen's classification for the series. The hoards with the good date (the six on the left marked with an asterisk) are all remarkably similar; and the lesser recorded hoards are only slightly more variable. Certainly we have a very high level of homogeneity within the group. This suggests that either lcenian coins had a very fast velocity of circulation in the S0s and very early 60s and/or that no new issues were being put into circulation at that time. In order to try and gauge what the Icenian level of similarity means, we need something else to compare it with; a parallel monetary system within which silver hoards were accumulated. Whatever the case may be in the other civitates of Britannia, amongst the Iceni betw een the conquest and the revolt of AD 60/61, Roman and lcenian coins were frequently hoarded together. Therefore denarius hoards from mid-first century East Anglia would provide our best parallel. Unfortunately there is not enough information of quality to do this ; but by casting th e net slightly wider chronologically and geographically , comparativ e material can be found. Figures 3a and 3b show the composition of a series of denarius hoards from Britain: Fig. 3a from the mid-late first century AD , and Fig. 3b from the 170s and 180s AD. Visual examination will reveal that the homogeneity of the lcenian hoard series is only matched by the circulation of denarii in Britain by the late second century, over 100 years later. If our first option were corr ect, it would . mean that th e circulation rat e and use of coin ed 10

Allen , loc. cit . in n . 3, p. 3; Kent and Burnett , loc. cit. in n. 5, p . 6.

86

ICENIAN MONETARY

Icenian

Hoards:

Divided

up into

SYSTEM

Allen's

Groupings

□

Subri-Prasto

m P-H

Allen

IV-IX

m P-H

Allen

IX

m P-H

Allen

VIII

Allen

VII

Allen

VI

m P-H m P-H II

P-H Allen

m P-H

Allen

IV

■

F-H Allen

III

■

B-H Allen

II

0 El

"'

..c: t,, i:: -.-I

..c:

i::

"' ..c:

µ

+J

QJ

i::

i::

0

::x: ...

QJ .>(

"' ... ..:I

FIG .

2.

0

i::

"' ... II)

r-1 r-1 QJ

3

Ill -.-I

1-1

~

Ill -.-I

1-1

QJ µ +J

"'

..c:

QJ r-1

i::

0

i::

II)

+J Ill

u

...

QJ

ta.

0

+J Ill

QJ

-.-I

3:

0

~

;'

..c: u 1-1

~

i::

0

t

El

..c: "'

r-1

i:: QJ +J µ

i

1-1 rtl

i::

-.-I

-.-I

QJ

3:

The composition of the Icenian hoards after Allen's classification .

87

V

Denarius

Coin

Hoards

of

the

First

Century

100

Ill

"d

~

80

0

~

~

1

Jl •-e

60

II '~::~~: 11n •= :::: ::I ;

!..

-~>-'~: •

'':{~:'.:{ '\,

\:::l~/> ;\ JM

:v>?I~·;.)'. FIG. r.

Distribution oflron Ag e coins in Yorkshire (1992 ). ♦ hoards; + non-Corieltauvian coins.

@ many finds;

More important than numbers, however, is the fact that the Redcliff-North Ferriby coins conform to a s quential pattern commonly found on the Iron Age settlements south of the Humber (Fig. 2). Following Derek Allen's 1963 chronology, which seems still fundamentally correct, a small percentage of early prototypes of Gallo-Belgic C d rivation is followed by a large percentage of uninscribed coins of types known from the South Ferriby hoard. This in turn is followed by a smaller percentage of inscribed coins which, being absent from the South Ferriby hoard, should be later in date. On the face of it, such a percentage imbalance would be surprising on a sit founded only after AD 45. Furthermore, the uninscribed coins show no greater degree of wear than the inscribed ones, and there seems little scope for arguing that the earlier issues were longer in circulation. In contrast, Roman republican and arly imperial silver coins from sites in Lincolnshire are normally very worn, suggesting many years of circulation before loss, which in most cases could well have be n after AD 45. The typological sequence of Corieltauvian coins, together with the coin weights, suggests firm control and stability over a period of more than a century from the earliest derivatives of Gallo-Belgic C to the latest inscribed isues ofVOLISIOS. While it is not possible to dat each issue with anything approaching the accuracy of Roman coins, it is fairly certain that the inscribed coins of AVN COST,ESVPASV, VEP CORF (with three large and distinct coinages), VEP , and DVMNO TIGIR SENOwere mint ed in the Corieltauvian area during the last decades of independence before the invasion of c.Ao 45. The very large uninscribed issues of the South Ferriby hoard types should therefore belong to the beginning of the first century AD and the last

98

IRON AGE COINS IN YORKSHIRE

ANCASTER

DRACONBY

HORNCASTLE

1:1.... 1------------

KIRMINCTON

LUDFORD

REDCLIFF

OLD WINT.

OWMBY

SOUTH

FERRIBY

THISTLETON

'SPILSBY" JM

FIG. 2 .

0

50

Relationship between Corieltauvian prototypes, later uninscribed and inscribed coins from the principal sites in the East Midlands and Yorkshire .

decades of the first century BC, leaving the prototype gold and silver coins to be placed in an early period, around the middle of the first century BC. The percentages of uninscribed and inscribed Corieltauvian coins from the most productive settlements are shown in Fig. 3, and those sites where there is sufficient other evidence to indicate substantial pre-conquest occupation are circled . The key site is Dragonby, where thirteen ceramic stages of La Tene pottery, together with other artefacts, from an extremely well stratified series of deposits, shows continuous occupation stretching back to at least the second century BC and probably earlier. 25 Seventy-three per cent of the Corieltauvian coins from Dragon by are uninscribed, and it is perhaps reasonable to take this as some sort of a standard for losses on a pre-

25 S. Elsdon and]. May , The Iron Ag e Pottery from Dragonby (Nottingham , 1987).

99

JEFFREY MAY

%

100 90 80

70

Lud 101

SF 37

s 63

~·,.

Ki 83

'--•~0

Anc 16

Dr 37

'0-0

Th 24

0

73

Red 54

OW 42

Ho 11

·--."""' ·~

:::::::-

60

•

~•

50 40 30 20

10

FIG. 3.

Percentages of uninscribed Corieltauvian coins from the principal sites in the East Midlands and Yorkshire.

conquest settlement. Useful, too, is the site at Kirmington, on the Lincolnshire Wolds 15 km south east of South Ferriby, where surface collection of pottery and other artefacts over an area of some 20 ha suggests a material culture and chronology matching that at Dragon by. The percentage of uninscribed coins here, at 79 per cent, is comparable with that at Dragon by. Also interesting is the case of Ancaster, where pre-conquest La Tene occupation is again shown by excavation. At this site, there is a much smaller number of coins, totalling no more than sixteen. Yet the proportion of uninscribed is still 75 per cent, close to and indeed between the p rcentages for Kirmington and Dragon by. One would scarcely have thought that sixteen coins were sufficient for this kind of analysis, but the correspondence of the percentages seems to make even such low numbers worth including in the comparisons. If we can take these three sites as demonstrating the pattern oflosses on Iron Age settlements occupied during the first centuries BC and AD, it is possible then to suggest that Ludford (with 92 per cent uninscribed), South Ferriby (with 84 per cent uninscribed) and 'Spilsby' (with 81 per cent uninscribed) were also Iron Age settlements. Not much different from Dragon by are Thistleton in LeicestershireRutland (71 per cent) and Owmby in Lincolnshire (69 per cent). The next site on the curve is Redcliff-North Ferriby, and it can be left to the reader's judgment whether that site's 66 per cent of uninscribed coins is sufficiently close to Dragonby and the others to suggest pre-conquest settlement. Only at the 100

IRON AGE COINS IN YORKSHIRE

end of the curve, at Old Winteringham and Horncastle, do the percentages of uninscribed coins fall more sharply. Neither site should be ignored as a possible Iron Age settlement, particularly as in some cases, no doubt, more intensive occupation could have occurred at the end of the Iron Age or in the early Roman period to bring greater losses of the later coins, but the detailed arguments about these sites fall outside the requirements of this paper. In sum, the coin evidence at present for Redcliff-North Ferriby could support the view that there was a late Iron Age settlement on the north bank of the Humber comparable with those south of the river, and we now await the outcome of more extensive excavation and fieldwork there to see whether they throw further light on the matter. It is clear that the focus of coin loss in this area was not Brough-on-Humber, from which site only one Iron Age coin is known. John Wacher's excavations there suggested some early native occupation, 26 but by the time that the Roman army crossed the river and established a base there, the use oflron Age coins in this area had all but ended. Other coins cluster in the adjoining parishes of Welton, Elloughton, Ellerker and South Cave, giving the impression of more intensive circulation around a major settlement, while the coins from Market W eighton, Goodmanham, and Shiptonthorpe just hint at the possibility that this whole district of the southern Wolds constituted a circulation area. The other part of the territory of the Parisi to see a considerable number of Iron Age coins is Holderness. The coins here are mainly, although not entirely, beach finds, which were presumably derived from settlements being eroded by the sea. The coins, 15 in number, are spread all along the coast from Bridlington to Easington, and since only one coin seems substantially water-worn, it may be that most have not travelled far from their original point of deposition. At first sight, the distribution suggests something like trading activity along the coast from the Corieltauvian lands to the south. It is worth remembering, however, that the shore in this part of Yorkshire lay some way farther east in the Iron Age, and any settlements now being eroded by the sea may originally have been some distance inland. The distribution could, also, be affected by a concentration of collecting activity on the beaches. So far as I know, rather less collecting has been done inland in Holderness, and we might reserve judgment about the true extent of the original Iron Age distribution in this area. It is notable, however, that so far there has been no sign of any larger accumulation of coins from a possible major settlement. Elsewhere among the Parisi, Iron Age coins were apparently scarce. A few have been found in the Hull valley. And, with the exception of the single coin from Elmswell and three from Cottam, few have been found on the higher ground of the northern Wolds north of the Market Weighton - Goodmanham gap, despite very considerable archaeological fieldwork and excavation in this area. The growing number and the differential distribution of coins in the territory of the Parisi suggests a number of possible inferences, although at this stage we are concerned not so much with positive deductions and firm conclusions as with freeing our minds from the constraints of previously accepted dicta. The occurrence of a considerable number oflron Age coins in those districts of the Parisi which may have seen less wealth in the early and middle phases of the Iron Age could hold a clue

26

Wach er, op. cit. in n. 5.

101

JEFFREY MAY

to the problem of the decline of the Arras culture. If the Humber were less of a barrier than we have hitherto assumed, it might transpire that the North Humber and possibly the Holderness districts of the Parisi were, by the late La Tene period, developing along similar social and economic lines to the region south of the river. What we might be seeing is evidence for some shift in wealth and power from the districts farther inland and on the higher ground, to the districts closer to the river and to the sea. Trading relationships with the Corieltauvi and beyond may have been the catalyst for such a development, although even this explanation follows conventional assumptions about who minted coins and who did not. If the numbers of coins north of the Humber continue to grow, and they already seems scarcely less dense than in some parts of the Corieltauvian territory, a more adventurous thought might be that some 'Corieltauvian' coins circulated normally in the region and were even minted there. The discovery of mould trays suitable for casting coin pellets from increasing numb rs of settlements, particularly in eastern Britain, suggests that Iron Age minting was decentralized, as in Anglo-Saxon England - that is to say, coin production, as distinct from the authority to mint. In the east Midlands, in addition to pellet moulds from Leicester, there is the major deposit of moulds from Old Sleaford, a site not identified historically as a major tribal centre. We also have a record, albeit a poor one, of a mould fragment from South Ferriby, and a somewhat similar fragment of pottery from Scotton. Possible mint debris is so far lacking north of the Humber, although from Redcliff-N orth Ferri by are two gold disks or blanks of exactly the right shape, weight and fineness for gold staters. That, of course, is not saying much, since several other settlements in the east Midlands have produced a variety of ingots, pellets and disks, both in gold and silver, 2 7 and the occurrence of gold disks among the coins at Sutton Hoo shows that in some periods such objects can have a life of their own. 28 The point for the moment is that there is no reason to close one's mind to the possibility of coin production, as well as circulation, in some districts of the Parisi. As to the Humber barrier, we might acknowledge that in other contexts water is often thought of more as a linking factor than a dividing one. In the Humber region, moreover, we have good evidence for an advanced level of boat building from as early as the second millennium BC, 29 while even today, at certain times of the tide in the vicinity of North Ferri by, it is possible actually to walk across the river with water no higher than one's waist. 30 Finally, we may turn to the other more westerly distribution oflron Age coins in Yorkshire, where, despite a much smaller number of finds, some matters of interest arise. Eleven coins, nine of them Corieltauvian, come from the region lying between the River Don and the River Wharfe (Fig. 1). Less fieldwork or collecting has been done in this area over the years, and the distribution does little more than alert us to the possibilities of discovering more late Iron Age settlement here. For what it is

29

27

May (forthcoming). R.L.S . Bruce-Mitford, The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial. Vol. 1: Excavations, Background, the Ship, Dating and Inventory (1975), nos. 3840.

E.V . Wright, The Ferriby Boats: Seacraftof the Bronz e Age (1990). 30 Hull Daily Mail, 27 and 28 August 1953; Lincolnshire and South Humberside Times, 21 September 1984.

28

102

IRON AGE COINS IN YORKSHIRE

worth, however, six of the nine Corieltauvian coins are of the earlier uninscribed series, while another early coin is a Gallo-Belgic C stater. Some sort of interaction with Lincolnshire seems to be implied along the rivers or across the Humberhead marshes, perhaps .as early as the first century BC. But maybe a little more can be made of the Lightcliffe and Hanley hoards. Both were evidently late deposits, Lightcliffe no earlier than the reign of Caligula, and Hanley no earlier than AD 72. Both hoards contain a considerable percentage of Roman coins by comparison with Iron Age ones: at Lightcliffe 68 per cent (if the surviving examples from the hoard are any guide), and at Hanley 75 per cent. These proportions are not comparable at all with the proportion of early Roman silver to Iron Age coins circulating in the East Midlands before or during the conquest period, judging by individual losses on the settlement sites. It is notable, also, that the hoards have neither Corieltauvian prototypes nor South Ferriby uninscribed types. If they were at all representative of the coins current at the time of their deposition, it could be argued that the uninscribed coins by then had ceased to be commonly in circulation. In the Lightcliffe hoard, the sequence begins with coins ofESVPASV, and numbers rise with VEPCORF and VOLISIOSDVMNOCOVEROS.In the Hanley hoard, the Iron Age coins are entirely of VOLISIOS types, evidently the latest in the entire Corieltauvian series (Fig. 4). There is a most interesting discrepancy here with the site finds in the East Midlands, for in all the years of coin discovery, it is remarkable

EARLIERPROTOTYPES LATER PROTOTYPES SOUTH

FERRIBY TYPES

AYN COST

D r=::=J

ESVP ASV YEP CORF/YEP

DVMNO VOLISIOS

4

□

TIGIR SENO

r::::::I 3

DVMNOCOVEROS

VOLISIOS DVMNOYELLAYNOS

□

VOLi SIOS CARTIVEL

□ LIGHTCLIFFE

FIG. 4.

HONLEY

Analysis of the Corieltauvian coins in the Lightcliffe and Honley hoards.

that coins of the three VOLISIOStypes are exceedingly rare. Of the 24 (or possibly 25) provenanced examples, only 7 (or 8) have been recorded from East Midland sites, by comparison with 5 from possible Yorkshire settlements and 12 from the hoards

103

JEFFREY MAY

(Fig.5). In the East Midlands, the latest Corieltauvian coins found commonly are those ofVEPCORF,whose fairly large number and three distinct series of issues imply some length of time, together with VEPalone or variants ofVEPOC. The homeland of

◊

VOLISIOS:

Q

DVMNOCOVEROS

◊

OVMNOVELLAVNOS

Q

CARTIVEL.

♦

hoard

FIG. 5.

Distribution of Corieltauvian coins of the VOLISIOStypes (1992).

the DVMNOTIGIR SENOseries is less clear. Although only about 8 have been recorded from East Midland sites, the absence of these coins beyond Redcliff-N orth Ferri by would still argue for an origin in the Corieltauvian area. The dating evidence for the

104

IRON AGE COINS IN YORK

HIRE

Yorkshire hoards, however, allows the possibility that the VOLISIOS coins were minted after the Roman conquest of the Corieltauvian homeland. Their rarity in the East Midlands implies that these coins did not normally circulate ther , for even if Roman taxation or confiscation contributed towards a reduction in gold at the end of the sequence, we might expect still to see more substantial losses of plated staters or silver coins. The site distribution of the VOLISIOS coins, small as it is, draws attention to the Redcliff-North Ferriby area, while it is interesting to see that the only known silver coins of VOLISIOSCARTIVEL other than the example from the Honley hoard, comes apparently from a settlement near Collingham on the river Wharfe. Volisios and his colleagues may well have been Corieltauvian refugees, but they or their followers, rather than fleeing directly from the East Midlands to mislay their wherewithal in the recesses of the Pennines, are just as likely to have been settled among the Parisi or the Brigantes during the quarter century between the two phases of the Roman advance. If this were indeed so, ironically, the most forceful argument dissociating the CARTIVELinscription from Cartimandua would be somewhat diminished. But while it is probably an illusion to suppose that we shall ever find satisfactory archaeological evidence for Cartimandua, there is at least better prospect of giving further archaeological substance to an Iron Age entity in the region of the later kingdom of Elmet.

LIST OF IRON

AGE COINS FROM YORKSHIRE

Most of our knowledge of recent Iron Age coin discoveries in the midlands and the north comes from the meticulous records kept by the late Henry Mossop, DFC. The East Midlands coins will form the subject of a monograph prepared in collaboration with Henry Mossop. The Yorkshire list is augmented by several coins from lists compiled by Mr Steven Willis, Mr Peter Didsbury for Hull City Museums, Mr Bryan Sitch and Mr David Haldenby. Since, however, some coins were not photographed, it is difficult to be sure in some cases that coins have not already been recorded by Mossop; record of ownership or finder sometimes provides the answer. The Hull list includes three Corieltauvian and one southern British coins from North Ferriby with insufficient detail to allow classification; these have been omitted from the present list. The numbers of the coins are those given by Allen 31 up to no. 430. Subsequent discoveries have been numbered from 431 onwards by the present author. Numbers in brackets are of coins not recorded photographically. It cannot be emphasized too strongly that photographs, however poor, are preferable to no photographs at all, and even a sketch showing the position of the design on the flan or irregularity of shape or damage to the edge, can be enough to ensure that a coin is not recorded twice. 'Private colln.' indicates that a coin is in a private collection known to the author-or was when it was recorded; in other cases, the present whereabouts of the coins are unknown. A dozen or more coins have been reported in addition, but the records are too incomplete to include here.

31

Allen, op. cit. in n. 19.

105

JEFFREY MAY

A. COINS FROM OR NEAR REDCLIFF CORIELTAUVI PROTOTYPE

447

55.5gr./3.59g, SG 8.53. Badly corroded core of stater, identified by H.R. Mossop. Found in 1981; private colln.

WHORL

TYPE GOLD STATERS

L

TYPE

78gr./5.05g, SG 10.3. Found in Oct . 1979; private colln. 45gr./2.92g, SG 7.5, base gold core. Found in 1982; private colln. 85gr./5.51g. Found in May 1987; private colln. Record by Hull City Museum: 'base stater, Whorl type, Allen 242. 14.04.1980'; private colln .

490 497 1275 1477 TYPE

GOLD STATER

B

TYPE

M 83.5gr ./5.41g, SG 10.6. Found in March 1981; private colln. 78gr./5.04g, SG 11.1. Found on 13.12.1979; private colln. 67gr./4.34g, base gold. Found in 1979; private colln . 42gr./2.72g, bronze core. Found in 1979; private colln.

500 502 504 505

SOUTH FERRIBY TYPE GOLD STATERS TYPES

O -

531 577 581 582 583 586 1069 (1483)

P

75gr./4.86g, SG 9.3. Found in 1979; Lanz (Munich), Auktion 34, 25 Nov. 1985; present whereabouts unknown. 55.3gr./3.58g, SG 8.78, base gold. Found in 1979; S. Gibbons, March 1980; present whereabouts unknown. 24gr./1.56g, fragment of bronze core. Found in 1980; private colln. 55gr./3.56g, badly corroded and broken core. Found in 1980; private colln. 42gr./2.72g, badly corroded core, not certainly of this type. Found in 1980; private colln. 78.1gr./5.06g, SG 11.0. Casual find; present whereabouts unknown. 84gr./5.44g. Found on 'lower foreshore 4 km west of Humber Bridge' [=North Ferriby], 1983; private colln. Base stater of Allen Type P recorded by Hull City Museum, 19.09.1979. No details; private colln.

PROTOTYPE SILVER- LARGE DENOMINATION TYPE F

666

21gr./1.36g. Found in 1982; private colln.

SOUTH FERRIBY TYPE SILVER- LARGE DENOMINATION

U - V - W 21.0gr./1.36g. Found in 1982; private colln. 16.1gr. /1.04g. Found in 1983; private colln. 21.0gr./1.36g. Found in Jan. 1983; private colln. 'A Full denom.? Fragment. Horse to rt. cf. Allen 79-87' (=Type V); private colln. Recorded by the Humberside Archaeological Unit in 1981. (1482) Type V coin recorded by the Humberside Archaeological Unit, 02.12.1980. Found c.SE 971247; private colln . (1485) Recorded by A .K . Gregory from a Lancashire collector.

TYPES

700 705 752 (1476)

SOUTH FERRIBY TYPE SILVER- SMALL DENOMINATION TYPE ZA

853 856 863 870

3.5gr./0.23g, S.5gr./0.36g, 6.0gr./0.39g. 7.4gr./0.48g.

fragment. fragment. Found in Found in

Found in 1979; private colln. Found in the spring of 1980; private colln. 1979; private colln. 1981; private colln.

106

IRON AGE COINS IN YORKSHIRE

1268 (1479)

.

1515 1516 1565 1566 (1572) 1596 TYPE ZB 819 820 824 833 1567 1597 1603

5.5gr./0.36g. Found in 1986; private colln. Fragment of a coin recorded by Hull City Museum, 30.05.1980. No details; private colln. 7.3 gr./0.47g. From excavations at Redcliff by S. Willis. 5.22gr./0.388g . From excavations at Redcliff by S. Willis. D. Halden by notes; private colln. D. Haldenby notes; private colln. D. Halden by notes; identified by E.Pirie; private colln. 3.84gr./0.249g. From excavations at Redcliff by S. Willis. 6.0gr./0.39g. Found in the spring of 1980; private colln. 5.2gr./0.34g. Found in 1981; private colln. 2.9gr./0.19g, fragment. Found in 1982; private colln. 3.1gr./0.20g, fragment. Reverse has a single pellet in a diamond shaped box over the horse, cf. Type M staters. Found in 1981; private colln. D. Haldenby notes; private colln. 7.45gr./0.483g. after cleaning. From excavations at Redcliff by S. Willis. D. Halden by notes; private colln.

AVN COST SILVER - LARGE DENOMINATION

(1474)

12gr./0 .78g. Recorded 08.07.1980 by Hull City Museum. Private colln.

SILVER-SMALL

903

DENOMINATION

7.2gr./0.47g. Found in 1983; private colln .

ESVPASV GOLD STATER CORE

(1475)

Recorded by Humberside Archaeological Unit,Jan.-Mar. forgery. Fragment . ESVPASV Type'. Private colln.

SILVER-LARGE

919 (1481)

1981: 'AE Core of plated

DENOMINATION

12gr./0.78g. Found in June 1980; private colln. Recorded by the Humberside Archaeological Unit, 02.12.1980. Found on 'North Ferriby beach' at c.SE 971247; private colln.

VEPCORF GOLD STATER

941

76.7gr./4.97g. Found in two separate parts. The first appeared at Glendining's auction on 12.03.1980, lot 3, said to be from 'Lincolnshire/Humberside'; it was bought by Lincoln City and County Museum. The second part, a small fragment, was recorded by Henry Mossop as having been found on the beach near North Ferriby. Henry Mossop recognized that the small fragment was the missing part of the Glendining coin, thus securing its provenance; he acquired it, and gave it to Lincoln Museum, where the two parts are now joined. The Glendining piece may be the same as the large fragment recorded by Hull City Museum on 22.10.1979, said to have been 'dredged from the Humber' at c.TA 0025, and at that time in a private colln.

SILVER - LARGE DENOMINATION

923 934

952

19gr./1.23g. Star below horse's tail. Recorded 03.08.1982; private colln. 17gr./1.10g. Annulet and pellet below horse's tail. Found in the spring of 1980; private colln.; D. N. Haldenby, TreasureHunting, April 1986, pp. 42-3; illus. p. 42 at an angle; private colln . 18gr./1.17g . Three pellets below horse's tail. Found in 1983; private colln.

VEP SILVER - LARG E DENOMINATION

(1484)

15.5gr./1.00g. Recorded by Hull City Museum. Found on the North Ferriby foreshore at SE 981250; private colln.

107

JEFFREY MAY

SILVER - SMALL DENOMINATION

994 995 999 1517 1518 1598

5.3gr./0.34g. Found in March 1981; private colln. 6.0gr./0.39g. Found in June or July 1981; private colln. 7.1gr./0.46g. Found on the foreshore in March 1982. Seaby's, Jan. 1983; present whereabouts unknown. 7.15gr./0.463g. From excavations at Redcliff by S. Willis. 6.31gr./0.409g. From excavations at Redcliff by S. Willis. 7.47gr./0.484g. after cleaning. From excavations at Redcliff by S. Willis.

VEPOC SILVER - LARGE DENOMINATION 1519 19.54gr./1.266g. From excavations at Redcliffby

S. Willis, 1986.

DVMNO TIGIR SENO GOLD STATERS

Two gold staters, said to have been found in about 1960 at North Ferriby, were sold by a dealer in June 1981. Both appear to be modern forgeries. SILVER - LARGE DENOMINATION

1016 (1480)

2.5gr./1.62g, small fragment. Found c. 1981; private colln. A damaged coin was recorded by Hull City Museum, 30.05.1980; private colln.

VOLISIOS DVMNOVELLA VNOS SILVER - LARGE DENOMINATION

(1478)

12.8gr./0.83g. Recorded by Hull City Museum, 30.04.1980. Found in 1980; private colln.

VOLISIOSCARTIVEL GOLD STATERS

1046 1047

65.5gr./4.24g, SG 7.2, base, perhaps once plated. Found in 1980; private colln. 40gr./2.59g, SG 6.66. Badly corroded base core; private colln.

OTHER TRIBES ATREBATES EPPILLUS

Silver, Mack 108a. obv. EPPover eagle. Rev. REXCALLEwith crescent. Found in 1979; recorded by Hull City Museum 04.02.1980; D. N . Haldenby, Treasure Hunting, April 1986, 42-3. TRINOV ANTES CVNOBELIN

Bronze Mack 251(?). Obv. Head of 'Jupiter Ammon', CVNOBELIN; Rev. CAM, horse galloping. Recorded by Hull City M useums, 28.09.1979. Bonze Mack 221, worn. Private colln. ICENI Fragment of bronze core of stater, Mack 398. 27gr./1.75g, SG 6.7. Found in 1980; private colln.

B. COINS FROM ELSEWHERE IN SOUTH EASTERN YORK SH IR E CORIELTAUVI PROTOTYPE

B 10

GOLD STA TERS

TYPE

85.6gr./5.55g. British Museum 1949.4-6-1, Beaumont Morfitt bequest. Mr Bryan Sitch of Hull City Museums has most ably shown that this coin, hitherto unprovenanced, is from Atwick (Sitch forthcoming). Allen 1963 mistakenly confused references to this coin, and referred to a Type D stater from Atwick, no. 223. The latter should be removed from the record. Hull Mus. Pub[. 24 (1905) 11-12,

108

IRON AGE COINS IN YORKSHIRE

Sheppard's other coin. TYPED

91gr./5.89g. Found at Hornsea in 1904; British Museum electrotype 1458A. 93.6gr./6.07g. Found at Princess Street, Bridlington, in 1940. Hull City Museums. 70.2gr./4.57g, SG 11.5. Gold with silver-coloured surface. Found on Barmston beach, Sept. 1973; private colln.

218 220 482 WHORL

TYPE GOLD STATERS

L 1470

TYPE

1603

M (511) 1276 1286

77.16gr./5.0g, broken. Found at Atwick; recorded by Scunthorpe Museum, May 1989; private colln. 82.09gr./5.32g. Found at Cottingham; recorded by B. Sitch, Hull City Museums 1991.

TYPE

65.43gr./4.24g. Found at Brough on Humber. East Riding Arch. Soc. 25 Sept. 1978. 81gr./5.25g. Found at Market Weighton, 1987; private colln. 81gr./5.25g. Found on Atwick beach, 1987; private colln.

SOUTH FERRIBY TYPE GOLD STATERS

N 512 82gr./5.31g, SG 11.6. Found on the beach at Cowden Bay, 1965; private colln. TYPE O - P 543 61.5gr./3.98g, SG 8.7. Found c.1890 'with' a silver coin of the Iceni (Mack 413) at Goodmanham; brought to notice by the late Mr F. Banks of Beverley; private colln. 1287 86gr./5.57g. Found on the beach at Atwick, 1986; private colln. 1577 48.6gr./3.149g. Found in 1991 at South Cave; private colln. TYPE

PROTOTYPE

SILVER- LARGE DENOMINATION

TYPE F

640

18.25gr./1.19g. Found on the beach at Easington 'with Iceni coin'; private colln.

SOUTH FERRIBY TYPE SILVER- LARGE DENOMINATION

(314)

10.5gr./0.68g. Found in excavations at Elmswell, 1937. Hull Mus. Puhl. 198 (1938) 40; Trans. E. Riding A.S. 28.3.

SOUTH FERRIBY TYPES SILVER- SMALL DENOMINATION

ZB (1568)

TYPE

Recorded by D. Haldenby, 1990. Found at Cottam, near Sledmere; private colln.

AVN COST GOLD STATERS

1077 1078 1509

77.2gr./5.0g , SG 8.2, base. Blundered spelling of AVN. Found on 25.12.1983 at W etwang; private colln. 82gr./5.32g. SG 10.25. Found at Welton; private colln. 61.68gr./3.99g, corroded core. Found at South Cave; Hull City Museums.

SILVER - LARGE DENOMINATION

(1602)

10.74gr./0.696g. Low weight but large flan. Recorded by P. Didsbury, identified by C. Haselgrove. Found at W oodmansey; private colln.

ESVPASV GOLD STATERS

904 915

(1574) (1600) (1601)

82gr./5.31g. Found on the beach at Cowden Bay, 1963; private colln. 78.4gr./5.08g. Spink's Sale 22, 1982 no. 983. Catalogue notes 'found in a cliff fall in Bridlington Bay, East Yorkshire, 1980. Plated (but almost all of the plating worn away), otherwise very fine .. .' Present whereabouts unknown. Stater reported by A. K. Gregory to have been found at Boynton, 1990; private colln. 75.16gr./4.87g. Recorded by P. Didsbury. Found at Woodmansey; private colln. 62.58gr./4.055g. Plated. Recorded by P. Didsbury. Found at Woodmansey; private

109

JEFFREY MAY

colln. Stater reported found at Bempton, Feb. 1991; private colln.

(1604)

SILVER-LARGE

1569

DENOMINATION

Recorded by D. Haldenby, 1990. Found at Cottam, near Sledmere; private colln.

VEPCORF GOLD STATERS

930 1473 (1570)

82.2gr./5.33g, SG 11.4. Annulet and pellet below horse's tail; small thick flan. Found 'near Hull'; private colln. Recorded by Hull City Museums, 28.07.1983. Found at Cowden Sands, TA 241422; private colln. Recorded by D. Haldenby, 1990. From Cottam, near Sledmere; private colln.

VEP GOLD STATERS

1285 1382

83gr./5.38g. Recorded by Henry Mossop as from 'Skipton Thrope', but perhaps from Shiptonthorpe. 82gr./5.31g. Found at Welton in 1988; private colln.

SILVER-S MALL DENOMINATION

1002

7gr./0.45g. Found at Welton in 1983 or 1984; private colln. (probably the same coin as that recorded by Hull City Museum, 04.02.1984, 'Welton, SE 954273' = Elloughton parish).

VOLISIOSDVMNOCOVEROS GOLD STATER

1034

83.5gr./5.41g. Found at Elloughton; private colln.

COINS OF OTHER TRIBES ICENI Mack 425. Found on the beach at Easington 'with' a Corieltauvian Type F silver coin, no. 640 above. Mack 413. Found at Goodmanham 'with' a Corieltauvian Type O stater, no. 543 above. CUNOBELIN Bronze coin of Cunobelin found on Holmpton beach, Hollym, TA 364253, in 1968. Hull Museum Site Index; N. Loughlin and K. Miller, A Survey of ArchaeologicalSites in Humberside (1979) 54. Bronze coin of Cunobelin, Mack 243. Found by D. Haldenby at Brantingham Roman villa; currently with Humberside Arch. Unit, Beverley .

C. COINS

FROM THE WHARFE-DON REGION OF YORKSHIRE (excluding those from the Hanley and Lightcliffe hoards)

CORIELTAUVI SOUTH FERRIBY TYPE GOLD STATERS TYPE

N

519 TYPE

525 580 598 600

87.2gr./5.65g, SG 15.36 (but seems too high). Found at Bamburgh, SE 4902, 14 Oct. 1979; present location unknown. 0

80.5gr ./5.22g. Found at Hemsworth, SE 4213; present location unknown . Base core. Found at Little Smeaton, SE 5316, in April 1979; private colln. 85.8gr./5.56g. Found at Sheffield, SK 3484, c.1937; Sheffield City Museum, 1981.221. 75.62gr./4.90g. Found 'near Doncaster'; shown at British Museum, 1982; present location unknown.

110

IRON AGE COINS IN YORKSHIRE

SOUTH FERRIBYTYPESILVER - LARGEDENOMINATION TYPE U 1510 12.04gr./0.78g. Found at Saxton; private colln. Recorded by Dr M. Mays, Feb. 1990. VEPCORF GOLD STATER 940 79gr./5.12g. Three pellets below horse's tail. Found at Hemingborough, c.SE 6730. Christie's, 1977 (Treasure Hunting, Dec. 1977, 29); present location unknown. VEP SILVER - SMALL DENOMINATION

998

4gr./0.26g. Found at Collingham, c.SE 3946, in 1981; private colln.

VOLISIOSCARTIVEL SILVER - SMALL DENOMINATION

1048

7gr./0.45g. Broken when sent through the post. Found at Collingham, c.SE 3946; private colln.

OTHER TRIBES GALLOBELGICGOLDSTATER TYPE C Found at Acworth, c.SE 4417 (Evans 1864, 434). Present whereabouts unknown. ATREBATES VERICA Gold stater, Mack 121. Found near Keighley(?), SE 0641, c.1889 (Evans 1860, 511). Present whereabouts unknown (not shown on map Fig. 1).

D. COINS FROM ELSEWHERE IN YORKSHIRE CORIELTAUVI . SOUTH FERRIBYTYPEGOLDSTATERS TYPE O - P - Q 66 82.9gr./5.37g, SG 8.6, base core. Found at Pickering, c.SE 7984, in 1853; British Museum 1705. 552 80.5gr./5.22g, SG 8.0, base core. Found at Pickering, c.SE 7984, in 1854; present whereabouts unknown. (283) Sotheby's H.W. Thorburn sale, no. 22, 27.11.1918. Found at Whitby. Present whereabouts unknown . 1497 81.5gr./5.51g., base gold core. Found near Colton in 1989; private colln . Recorded by Dr M. Mays. Note that this is the first Corieltauvian coin recorded from the Vale of York. OTHER TRIBES DOBUNNI Mack 386, core of stater of ANTEDRIG. Found at Aldborough, c.SE 4066 (NC 1953, 134); private colln.

111

The earliest gold coinages of the Corieltauvi? JEFFREY MAY [PLATE

IO]

IN 1981 A SMALL cup-shaped coin-like object of gold (no. 1179 in the catalogue below) 1 was brought to Nottingham University Museum for identification by a local collector, and subsequent enquiries showed plausibly that it had been found on the major Iron Age and Romano-British settlement site at Ludford in Lincolnshire. In the following year, two similar objects which had been found by two different collectors near Kettlethorpe (1142) and near Sleaford (1148), both again in Lincolnshire, were recorded by the late Henry Mossop. The latter were also recorded by Dr Andrew White at Lincoln Museum, and sent to Dr John Kent at the British Museum, where they were analysed. Dr Kent recently noted them, together with three others shown to him later (1289, 1454, 1576), in the British Numismatic Journal's 'Coin Register', 1988, 147 and pl. 37.97, a-f. At first, these unusual objects aroused suspicion of modern origin. Their thinness and extreme scyphate form were quite unlike any known British or continental European coins, and their very function as coins seemed questionable. The objects were evidently struck between dies, but their designs, while in a general way La Tene, could not be related to the typological progression of any known coin series. Further, since coins of the normal Corieltauvian types have been coming to notice since the time of William Stukeley, it seemed particularly odd that three examples of a totally new style should appear within the space of two years. Further discoveries of similar objects now, however, bring the number recorded at Nottingham to twenty. Of these, I have seen eighteen, and know of the other two from photographs. The finds have been made by at least fourteen different collectors, some unknown to each other, on thirteen different sites over a wide area of the East Midlands (Fig. 1). Another was recently found on the surface at Ken Hill, Snettisham, Norfolk, near other early coins of the Iceni, shortly before the discovery of further hoards of Iron Age gold tores. The circumstances of distribution and discovery alone leave little doubt now that they Acknowledgements I am most grateful to the following for their help in recording these coins: Bob Alvey, Andrew Burnett, Grenville Chamberlain, John Cummings, John Derry, Andrew Gillis, the late Tony Gregory, Paul Groves, John Hockl ey, Kevin Leahy (Scunthorpe Museum) , Alfio Martinelli (who made the enquiries in Bern), th e late Henry Mossop (who taught m e much about Iron Age

coins), Tony Page (Lincoln Museum), E.L. Richardson, Jim Ridge, Chris Rudd, Andrew White (then at Lincoln Museum) and Mark Wray. 1 See list of coins at the end of this article for further details of individual coins; see also the explanatory note with the coin list in the preceding article by the writer.

113

JEFFREY MAY

are genuine finds and that the objects are ancient. I know of only one example which is not certainly from the Lincolnshire region: 1274 appeared in an auction in April 1988 in Bern, Switzerland, but enquiries there established that at least it came from England. It can now be shown, I think, that these objects are indeed Iron Age coins. For want of a better term, we may call them 'scyphate gold', emphasizing their form, which contrasts markedly with the shallower dished shape of the rest of the Corieltauvian series. All of the coins are of very thin metal, little more than 0.3 mm thick. This no doubt accounts for the damaged state of all but four of them, since they come from the ploughsoil of arable fields and have been subjected to the devastating effects of tillage, like the equally thin but smaller silver coins of the East Midlands Iron Age which are often similarly broken. Their scyphate form is very marked. The depth of the concavity of normal Iron Age coins in the region is rarely more than about 1 mm. The scyphate gold are generally about 3 mm in depth, making them rather difficult to photograph and posing problems in drawing them to scale. Three more of the coins were analysed by Dr Peter Northover at the Department of Metallurgy and Science of Materials at the University of Oxford, using an electron microprobe. The results, together with the British Museum's (Table 1), reveal ternary alloys varying from 43% - 47% gold, 41 % - 46% silver, and 8% - 15% copper, and suggest a high degree of control in the alloying of metal. There are roughly equal measures of gold and silver, although in each case there is a slightly higher percentage of the former. The greatest variation is in the copper content. The gold standard is markedly lower than that of the imported Gallo-Belgic coins in Britain, but compares with that of the earliest Gallo-Belgic C-derived Corieltauvian staters of Allen 2 Types A and C (Table 1). More metallurgical analyses are needed before we can take matters much further, but it could be supposed that the introduction of silver coins among the Corieltauvi some time after the middle of the first c ntury BC might explain the severe reduction in the silver content of the later uninscribed gold and its replacement with copper (Table 1, Allen Type 0). If so, the high silver content of the scyphate gold could argue in favour of their date of issue being earlier than the appearance of the Corieltauvian silver. Only four of the coins are unbroken. Nos. 1288 and 1545 were accurately weighed with electronic balances at 1.4040 g and 1.49 g respectively. The late Henry Mossop weighed nos. 1142 and 1595 on scales to the nearest half grain, the results converting to 1.36 g and 1.49 g respectively. Two other coins with slight edge damage weigh 1.34 g (1290, electronic balance) and 1.43 g (1148, scales). These weights are roughly between one quarter and one fifth of the normal weights of the earliest Gallo-Belgic C derived Corieltauvian staters, although they are comparable with some types of Gallo-Belgic quarter stater . Until more weights are obtained from undamaged coins, however, it is probably not sensible to attach significance to these comparisons. The designs are not easily understood, and more examples are needed before D. F. Allen, The Coins of the Coritani (SCBI 3, 1963).

2

114

GOLD COINAGES OF THE CORIELTAUVI

TABLE 1. Metallurgical analyses of three scyphategold coins, togetherwith Gallo-Belgic C and E, and Corieltauvian Types A, C and O for comparison(the latterfrom R.D. Van Arsdell, Celtic Coinage of Britain (1989), p. 510). Type G-B C G-B C G-B E Scyphate Scyphate Scyphate Scyphate Scyphate Allen A Allen C Allen 0

No.

Au

Ag

Cu

Fe

24.98 21.65 27.99 45.00 46.00 40.53 41.88 43.76 30.02 40.71 19.68

7.99 4.76 9.36 8.00 8.00 12.90 15.10 9.63 19.60 11.76 47.36

0.03 0.05 0.07

1142 1148 1290 1291 1454

66.99 73.46 62.50 47.00 47.00 46.47 42.72 45.55 41.22 46.89 32.53

Co

Ni

tr tr

tr 0.01 0.01 0.06 0.04 0.01 0.01 tr 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.01

Zn

Bi

Sb

0.01 0.07 0.03 0.02

0.01 0.01

0.10 0.22 0.63 0.09 0.23 0.07

tr

tr 0.01

0.02

tr

Pb

0.01 0.02

tr tr

Sn

0.03

As

some can be. properly reconstructed. Several are stylized to a degree that makes them virtually incomprehensible; others are broken or worn. Drawings probably illustrate them better than photographs (Fig. 2 and Pl. 10). In general, the same basic design is kept for the convex and concave sides, to form consistently recognisable obverses and reverses, in the normal manner of Iron Age coins. The main obverse design seems to be a boar, although execution varies considerably among the sixteen or more dies so far recorded. Most easily identified are rightfacing 'ladder-back' boars, nos. (1181), 3 1521 and 1545, together with left-facing counterparts, 1179 and 1290. A single right-facing boar, no. 1595, has a knobbed crest, while 1169 has a coiled form more like a snake. With these in mind, other dies can perhaps be seen as more abstract versions of the boar: (1558) faces right, 1148, (1180), 1182, 1288, (1289) and (1454) face left. Symbols are prominent below the boars, and include pellet - 1148, 'branch' - 1290, a crossed box (1521), 1545, and a 'gate' - 1291. The commonest designs for the reverses seem composed purely of symbols, with a large S forming the dominant element. Other symbols are illustrated in Fig. 3. A large S motif and pellets appear on an unprovenanced potin coin in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 4 apparently of Gaulish origin, and illustrated by Allen sideways as a stylized butting bull. No. 1291 (Fig. 2 and Pl. 10), however, could provide a better clue to the relatives of the reverse design, and indeed to the whole series. A large curving feature encloses ring-and-pellet symbols, and on this example a double arc appears just to the right. The design clearly resembles the right-facing heads on some of the earlier British potin coins. 5 It could be countered that the missing portion of this piece contained the lower •

3 Coins numbered in brackets are not illustratedin Figs.2 or 3. 4 id., 'British potin coins : a review', in M.

Jessonand D. Hill (eds.),The Iron Age and its Hill-Forts (Southampton,1971),no.18. 5 Allen, loc. cit. in n. 4, no. 59.

115

JEFFREY MAY

FIG.

1

Distribution of scyphate gold coins, 1992.

part of a normal S motif, but it should be noted that there is a distinct angle in the curve which echoes the angle of the head and neck on the potin coin. As with the obverses, the die cutting is usually well done, although in 1575, 1182 and 1288, the designs are crude or even ragged, and tool marks are clearly visible. It cannot be said, however, that a relationship between the scyphate gold and the potin coins is easily understood, since the former have not yet been found outside Lincolnshire and the latter are mainly from south-eastern Britain. A few potin coins are known from the East Midlands, however, including an early Thurrock type recently found in Nottinghamshire. It might be noted that Roman bronze coins from some sites in the region are often appallingly badly corroded, as well as broken, and it is just possibl e that chemicals used in fertilizers have taken their toll on local potin coins to the extent that many may not have been recognized or kept by the collectors, or may have been destroyed altogether. But if a relationship with the potin coins can be upheld, then perhaps we have another pointer to a date for the scyphate gold in the earlier half of the first century BC, if not before. 116

GOLD COINAGES OF THE CORIELTAUVI

Obverses

1521

1169

1290

1545

1288

1148

1595

1291

Reverses

1290

1545

1589

1575

1291

1182

Allen 1971. 59

1288

JM FIG. 2 Scyphate gold coins comparison. Scale 2: 1.

drawings of selected obverse and reverse types, with potin coin for

117

JEFFREY MAY

The late Henry Mossop was the first to look for die links among these coins, although among the seven known to him, he could only suggest that (1142) and 1179 were from the same pair of dies. Unfortunately no. 1142 was sold and is believed to be now in an American private collection. The existing photographs are very poor, and although the reverses may well be from the same die, the obverses are much less certainly linked. Even with good photographs, however, die linkage is made difficult by the scyphate form, and the variability in the position of the dies on the flans. Among the obverses, nos. 1148-1182 are probably linked, as are (1181)-1521, and (1274)-1291. In addition to the probable reverse die link noted above, nos. (1181)-(1521) and (1180)-(1289)-(1454) are also probably linked. Die links seem few among the twenty coins so far recorded, and there may have been at least seventeen obverse and sixteen reverse dies. As to the question of function, the extreme cup-like form and thinness would have made the scyphate gold difficult to use regularly as a medium of exchange, and some special purpose such as temple offerings might be thought more likely. It is noticeable, however, that nearly all of the convex obverses show wear which is consistent with circulation, and which resembles the degree of wear on other Corieltauvian coins. It may be significant that fourteen of the eighteen provenanced coins were found in the region of Lincolnshire which comprised the former Parts of Lindsey. A further example form Dunham on Trent came from the river bank opposite. Two coins, from Newark, 17 km farther up the Trent valley, and from Sleaford in Kesteven, are still both very close to Lindsey. Only the coin from Snettisham in Norfolk is a substantial distance from Lindsey. Modern recovery rates of Iron Age coins have generally been higher in Lindsey than in the central and south-western districts of the Corieltauvian territory in Kesteven and Leicestershire; but while this may have been determined to some extent by varying intensities in local collecting, metal detecting is widespread in the East Midlands. With collectors travelling considerable distances to sites, it may well be that the smaller numbers of Corieltauvian coins in the south-western districts reflect a disparity in their circulation in the Iron Age. Allen thought he could see an early division in coin types within the region, with some Gallo-Belgic C derived gold prototype staters in Lincolnshire (right-facing horse, British H or Allen 1963 Types A and B), and others farther inland and north (left-facing horse, British I or 1963 Types C and D). 6 Recent discoveries show that the matter is more complex, and it cannot be discussed here. For the present, it can be said that Allen's Types C and D are now known in some number from Lincolnshire, and that Lindsey was probably the early focal area for the entire series. An early date for the scyphate gold would be consistent with the concept of an Iron Age entity of some wealth and importance in Lindsey in the early first century BC. Two further points concerning the distribution are worth noting. The concentration of scyphate gold at the southern end of the Lincolnshire Wolds, in view of the Norfolk coast, may help to explain the appearance of the example from Snettisham, and there is other archaeological and numismatic evidence to D. F. Allen, 'The origins of coinage in Britain: a reappraisal', in S. S. Frere (ed.), Problems of the Iron Age in Southern Britain (1961), p. 108; id., loc. cit. in n. 2, pp. 9-10. 6

118

GOLD COINAGES OF THE CORIELTAUVI

C J

2 C

0

+

0

CM F1G. 3

Scyphate gold coins -

symbols on reverses. Scale 2: 1

strengthen the idea of an Iron Age crossing of the Wash. The other concentration of scyphate gold along the river Trent between Gainsborough and Newark is also interesting, since other types of Iron Age coins are distinctly uncommon in the valley. There are slight hints of at least one stather or small river port on the Trent in the Iron Age, 7 and the development of early Corieltauvian coinage might in some way have been stimulated by overseas contacts in the form of trade or political dealings. The origin of the scyphate coinage is yet to be determined. Although form might direct enquiry towards the more easterly continental Celtic regions, where the markedly scyphate 'rainbow cup' coinages were emerging during the second century BC, another characteristic of the Lincolnshire coins suggests perhaps a different direction. The scyphate gold reverses show seven types of symbol (Fig. 3) in addition to the large S form: the double arc or face form and the annuletand-pellet already mentioned, together with disjointed double arcs, single arcs, annulets, groups of three pellets, and cross symbols. Many of these minor elements of design occur elsewhere on Iron Age coins, both in Britain and on the Continent, although they have never been studied systematically. An admittedly cursory look at the continental coinages reveals regions where none, or some, or

J. May, 'The major settlements of the later Iron Age in Lincolnshire', in N. Field and A. White (eds.), A Prospect of Lincolnshire (Lincoln, 1984), pp. 18-22. 7

119

JEFFREY MAY

many of these symbols were used. It would appear that one limited area of northern Gaul (the tribal territories of the Ambiani, the V eliocasses, and the Senones) has at least six of the minor symbols, and only one area, that of the Meldi, has all seven. One should hesitate to imply specific connexions between Lincolnshire and particular areas of the Continent. But supposing that these symbols meant something to the moneyers or die cutters who chose to use them, and were not random decoration, we might see here a hint at least of traditions that these regions held in common. Finally, it remains to note that the boar motif on the scyphate gold obverses, if correctly identified, could have been the forerunner of the boars commonly found ·on the mass of Corieltauvian uninscribed silver coins minted in the second half of the first century BC, and it may be no coincidence that the weights of the gold coins are similar to those of the silver ones. In sum, these objects may have been a precocious issue of gold coins in the East Midlands of Britain, perhaps earlier than the main Gallo-Belgic C derived Corieltauvian series. The scyphate gold may have been abandoned when the need arose for a coinage which conformed more closely to the styles being adopted across a wider area of southern Britain during the middle of the first century BC.

LIST OF COINS The numbers are from the author's index of Corieltauvian coins. Five of the coins, illustrated on Pl. 10 at a scale of 2: 1, are starred. It is unfortunately necessary to withhold details of provenance of some of the coins in order to protect the sites. 1142

21 gr./1.36 g, complete. Same dies as 1179. Surface find from Kettlethorpe, Lincolnshire, c. 1982; shown at Lincoln Museum; analysed at the British Museum; sold to a London dealer and now in an American collection. Kent 1988, 147 and pl. 37.97b. 1148 22 gr./1.43 g, edge chipped; SG 17.6. Surface find from near Sleaford, Lines.; shown at Lincoln Museum, 1982; analysed at the British Museum; private colln. Kent 1988, 147 and pl. 37.97a. 1169 19.5 gr./1.26 g, badly broken; SG 19.5. Surface find, Sept. 1985 from near Spilsby, Lines.; private colln. 1179* 18.06gr./1.17g, badly broken. Same dies as 1142. Surface find 1981 from Ludford, Lines.; sold by dealer, present whereabouts unknown. Kent 1988, 147 and pl. 37.97d. 1180 19gr./1.23g, broken; SG 12.6. Probably from the same dies as 1289 and 1454. Surface find from Barton-upon-Humber, S. Humberside. c. 1986; private colln. 1181 14gr./0.91g, badly broken. Surface find from near Spilsby, Lines.; private colln. 1182* 19.99gr./1.30 g, broken. Surface find from near Gainsborough, Lines.; private colln.

120

GOLD COINAGES

OF THE CORIELTAUVI

No details; sale in Bern, Switzerland, 27 April 1987, said to have been found in England. Photographs in auction catalogue; present whereabouts unknown. 1288* 21.68gr./1.40g; slight crack in side but apparently complete. Surface find from a site in the Witham valley, Lines.; private colln. 1289 Fragment. Same dies as 1454, and probably also 1180. Surface find from Barton-upon-Humber, South Humberside; Scunthorpe Museum. Kent 1988, 147 and pl. 37.97£. 1290* 20.64gr./1.34g, nearly complete. Surface find from near Partney, Lines.; private colln. 1291* 17.94gr./1.16g, broken. Surface find from near Partney, Lines.; private colln. 1454 15.92gr./1.03g, broken. Same dies as 1289, and probably also 1180. J. Cummings, Coin and Antiquities Catalogue January 1989, H14 and illus., said to have come from near Gainsborough, Lines.; University Museum, Nottingham. Kent 1988, 147 and pl. 37.97e. 1521 19.85gr./1.286g, broken. Surface find from near Spilsby, Lines.; private colln. 1545 22.99gr./1.49g, complete. Surface find from Ken Hill, Snettisham, Norfolk, 'found prior to the (1990) hoard'; British Museum Inventory No. 521. 1558 13.84gr./0.897g, broken. Surface find from Owmby, Lines.; private colln. 1575 20.26gr./1.313g, a small piece missing. Surface find from near Newark, Notts.; private colln. 1576 21.30gr./1.38g. Recorded at the British Museum as having come from 'between Doncaster and Scunthorpe'. Kent 1988, 147 and pl. 37.97c. Present whereabouts unknown . 1589 18.0gr./1.666g, broken. Surface find near Dunham on Trent, Notts., 1991; private colln. 1595 21gr./1.36g, complete; small flan. Surface find from the Caistor area, Lines.; private colln. 1274

121

Iron Age coinage and archaeology COLIN HASELGROVE

INTRODUCTION

These symposium proceedings offer a useful opportunity for looking afresh at what we want to learn about Iron Age societies through the study of their coinages, both in their own right, and in conjunction with other categories of artefact and site evidence. My particular theme is threefold: what kind of questions do we need to ask about Iron Age coinage? How can the rest of the archaeological evidence assist us in answering those questions? And finally, how might one put some of these research aims into practice? By way of illustrating some possible approaches, I shall draw on recent work on Iron Age coinage in south-east England, 1 without, however, claiming at this stage to offer definitive answers. On their own, a collection of Iron Age coins from a particular site can only tell us so much. It is a commonplace among numismatists that to interpret particular features of a given collection, we need a knowledge of the normal pattern of coin losses found on sites in the region. Many questions will be better phrased in relative terms, specifically, what kind of similarities and differences do we find in the coin lists from different types of sites in a given circulation area or with sites occupied at different times? When we find a case of marked departure from the normal pattern, this gives us something on which to base our interpretation of the material, 2 rather like a modern fake might stand out by virtue of its metallic composition falling outside the normal range for the series. If any further justification of this 'relativist' approach is needed, it is the very high degree of physical inter-dependence of coinage within and between Mediterranean and Temperate Europe during the first millennium Be. 3 The strategy of working from the known - those areas where we have some understanding of why coinage was produced and how it was used - to the unknown - those where we do not, is one obvious approach to Iron Age coinage. This said and done, it is difficult to understand why many Iron Age numismatists - and not a few archaeologists - still see little need to question what Iron Age coinages were produced and used for, as if we already knew.

1

C. C. Haselgrove, Iron Age Coinage in South-East England: the Archaeological Context (BAR 174, Oxford, 1987). Cf ...R. Reece, 'How to study the millenium', in R.F.J. Jones et al. (eds.), First 2

123

Papers (BAR LS. 410, Oxford , 1988), pp. 3-9. 3 E.g. D. F. Allen (ed. D . Nash), The Coins of the Ancient Celts (Edinburgh, 1980). Millenium

COLIN HASELGROVE

Significantly, the late Derek Allen did not share this view. 4 In neither the Greek world 5 nor under the Roman republic 6 was the primary purpose of striking coinage to provide a medium of exchange. Why coinage developed among Mediterranean soci ties, and what its uses were, are widely accepted as complex questions in need of more investigation. 7 It seems highly unlikely that the coinages of Temperate Europe will have been more sophisticated than those which they imitate, at least initially. This too, then, is a matter for further investigation. Various authors have already set out the most basic questions which we need to ask about Iron Age coinage: 8 who produced coins and why; who used then and what for? To tackle them we need first to put archaeology back into coinage studies, rather than maintaining the present, unhealthy separation. Archaeology provides evidence for where coinage may have been produced and on what kind of sites. 9 Similarly, we can extract much additional information about coin circulation (and thus use) through systematic comparison of site finds and detailed analysis of the archaeological context of all coin finds, both single finds and hoards. Such work is in its infancy, but already various studies are demonstrating how much latent evidence there is in the basic associations and stratified contexts of Iron Age coinage, 10 as well as on what kinds of sites finds occur, and in what quantities, etc. In the end, we come up against the paradox that the archaeological and cultural context are themselves fundamental to the interpretation of individual coin finds - or as Allen put it: 'the primary function of Celtic coinage in precious metals must be sought within the communities to which they were confined'. 11 Yet Iron Age societies are far from perfectly understood and the coinage itself constitutes a not inconsiderable part of the basic material available for their study. Rather than dwelling on function, we should perhaps at present be attaching rather more priority to determining how we can use coin finds to examine Iron Age societies archa ologically, and to defining som of the general questions to which answers are needed. This, in effect, means evolving methodologies to enable us to draw some inferences from the patterning of coin finds, both in a particular cultural or regional context, and inter-regionally.

4 D. F. Allen, 'Wealth, money and coinage in a Celtic society', in J. V. S. Megaw (ed.), To Illustrate the Monuments (1976), pp. 200-8. 5 C. M. Kraay, 'Hoards, small change and the origins of money', ]HS 84 (1964), pp. 76-91. 6 M. H. Crawford, Coinage and Money under the Roman Republic (1985). 7 P. Grierson, 'The origins of money', REA 1 (1978), pp. 1-35. 8 J. R. Collis, 'Coinage, oppida and the rise of Belgic power: a reply', in B. W. Cunliffe (ed.), Coinage and Society in Britain and Gaul (CBA Research Report 38, 1981), pp. 53-5; N. Roymans and W. Van der

Sanden, 'Celtic coins from the Netherlands and their archaeological context', BROB 30 (1980), pp. 173-254. ~ E.g. J. Toumaire, 0. Buchsenschutz, J. Henderson and J. Collis, 'Iron Age coin moulds from France', PPS 48 (1982), pp. 417-35. 10 E.g. H. Polenz, 'Miinzen in Latenezeitlichen Grabern Mitteleuropas aus der Zeit zwischen 300 und 50 vor Christi Geburt' BV 47 (1982), pp. 28-222; J.-L.Brunaux and K. Gruel, Monnaies Gauloises Decouvertes en Fouilles (Dossiers de Protohistoire No. 1, 1987); Haselgrove, op. cit. in n. 1. 11 Allen, loc. cit. in n. 4, p. 200.

124

IRON AGE COINS AND ARCHAEOLOGY

QUESTIONS

OF SUBSTANCE

AND METHOD

One general question we should certainly pursue is when and why different Iron Age societies adopted coinage, and why others did not. 12 At present, the mercenary hypothesis which is currently in vogue 13 is in danger of gaining uncritical acceptance as the sole explanation proffered for the initial diffusion of coinage in middle Iron Age Europe - and at various subsequent points as well. This is not to deny the potential importance of mercenary payments and service, but given the timescale and the geographical extent of this phenomenon, other mechanisms were almost certainly involved. What we should be doing is to compare the uses to which, for example, coinages deriving from the same or different gold and silver prototypes were put to in the different areas where they occur, looking for marked similarities or divergences. There are a range of attributes we could examine, which I need not spell out here. Nothing, of course, will necessarily emerge, as the data are not large. 14 Nevertheless, this does seem an approach to try. Few deny that coinage, by its very adoption, minting and further development, played .an active role in the significant changes undergone by Iron Age societies during the last centuries BC. This, however, raises two further issues. Important factors in whether particular groups adopted coinage must have included the sophistication of currency systems that were already in use and their level of symbolic development. Yet our ignorance of such matters is almost total in Temperate Europe (though less for the Roman world). 15 Here, we perhaps need to pay rather more attention to comparative studies of money objects used over the whole spectrum of 'pre-colonial' and 'non-industrial' societies for which data exist, 16 and we certainly need to be more cautious in assuming that coined money always necessarily represents an advance over any existing Iron Age money stuffs. Similarly, we are perhaps attaching rather more importance to coinage as evidence of socio-political advances than the evidence warrants. Casey 17 has neatly shown how the introduction of fractional currency, held by Nash 18 to reflect the needs of more centralised and stable political systems, could, on later Medieval analogy, betoken increased mobility and the loosening of social units. While both processes could actually have operated together, his general point that Nash's interpretation of the coinage lacks independent confirmation - is clearly valid, whether or not his own analogy is anachronistic. I would certainly argue that - on the basis of the coin evidence at least - the case for pre-Roman statehood in central France has been significantly overstated; 19 the coinage system

17 P. J. Casey, UnderstandingAncient Coins (1986). 18 Nash, op. cit. in n. 13. 19 C. C. Haselgrove, 'Coinage and complexity: archaeological analysis of sociopolitical change in Britain and nonMediterranean Gaul during the later Iron Age', in D. Blair Gibson and M. Geselowitz (eds.), Tribe and Polity in Late Prehistoric Europe (New York, 1988), pp. 69-96.

12

Cf. A . P. Fitzpatrick, 'Why did the Celts adopt coinage?' (Paper given at the TAG conference, Sheffield, 1988). 13 E.g. D. Nash, Coinage in the Celtic World (1987). 14 E.g. All en, op. cit. in n. 3. 15 E .g . Crawford, op. cit. in n. 6. 16 E.g. Dalton, 'Aboriginal economies in stateless societie s', in T. K. Earle and J. E. Ericson (eds.), Exchange Systems in Prehistory (1977), pp . 191-212 .

125

COLIN HASELGROVE

of eastern England in the first century AD displays a markedly higher level of development. Again, inter-regional comparisons appear to offer a sensible approach to such issues. Turning briefly to methodological considerations and the need for general principles to guide the study of Iron Age coin finds, a possible way forward has two elements. The first is to evolve mechanisms whereby finds can be seen against the background formed by all similar finds, i.e. to establish trends - contextual, spatial, temporal - which seem normal to the data as a whole, e.g. for a particular type of site or a given regional coinage tradition. In this way, interpretation will be focused on these patterns and any cases of marked deviation from them , rather that trying to argue an individual case (e.g. an increase in the intensity of occupation) from patterning general to the data (e.g. an increased number of coin losses at this period). The nature of the interpretation proffered will depend on archaeological judgement and the particular context. Coupled to this , analysis should primarily address those properties of Iron Age coin finds most resistant to distortion through the process of discovery and recording. Equally, the more generalised our questions are , the better the expectations of their answers being preserved as archaeological patterning in partial samples. 20 As far as possible, this again means working with relative quantities of finds rather than absolute numbers. Roman numismatists have long been aware that the latter yield relatively little direct information and much work has therefore been directed towards ensuring uniform presentation of coin totals - generally as percentages - thus permitting valid comparisons between sites or against their mean. 21 The main difficulty in using these methods with Iron Age coins is the comparatively small samples. However, this is balanced by the more limited range of types, and in any case the problem can be partly circumvented by ignoring more detailed variations and grouping related coin issues into larger chronological and regional sets. This will often allow a general picture to be gleaned from relatively small samples, as the consistency of the frequency distributions obtained with Roman coins shows. 22 The approach has recently been applied to the circulation and depositional patterning of Iron Age coinage in south-east England and appears to work quite well, 23 although I can only give a brief resume of the r suits here. The basic chronological and regional divisions adopted in that study are set out in Table 1. This phasing encompasses most coin types found on British sites apart from those Continental imports which lie outside the mainstream developments and the British potin series which are also difficult to relate to other chronological developments. These were therefore kept separate in analysing the site finds. British potins were probably produced from the late second century BC to the late first century BC, with the early series giving way to the later varieties around the mid first century BC. 24 BRITISH IRON AGE COINAGE: CIRCULATION

AND DEPOSITION

PATTERNS

Th e classic approach to defining circulation patt erns is through analysing coin distribution maps, with all their attendant vices, although in recent years attempts 20

21 22 23

c·ollis, loc . cit. in n. 8. E.g. Casey, op . cit. in n. 17. E.g. ibid. Haselgrove, op. cit in n. 1.

24

C . C. Haselgrove, 'The archaeology of British potin coinage ', Arch.]. 145 (1988), pp . 99-122; MI/01-08.

126

IRON AGE COINS AND ARCHAEOLOGY

TABLE 1

Phase

Duration

Comment

1

Mid/later C2 BC

Earliest systematically imported gold coinages; GalloBelgic B and early A

2

Late C2 BC

Later Gallo-Belgic A gold; earliest British potins

3

Early Ct BC

Latest Gallo-Belgic A and earlier C classes; phase of uncertain duration

4

c. 80-60 BC

Later Gallo-Belgic C classes and their earliest British derivatives; Gallo-Belgic De

5

C.

60-50 BC

Gallic war coinages and their immediate derivatives

6

C.

50-20 BC

Virtually no struck bronze; silver relatively limited; later British potins; legends very rare

7

C.

20 BC - AD 10

Includes T ASCIOV ANVS, ADDEDOMAROS, DVBNOVELLA VNOS and TINCOMMIOS

8

C.

AD 10-40

Includes CVNOBELINVS, subdivided into early (E) and late (L) issues, EPPILLVS and VERICA

9

C.

AD 30-45

Includes EPA TICCVS and CARA; some overlap with later Phase 8 issues

Phasing of British Iron Age coinage used in this study; all dates approximate to nearest

British

±

10 years.

have been made to render the process more explicit and objective. 25 One area of study where this could be particularly important is comparing actual coin distributions with the theoretical patterns expected under different forms of political and social organisation. 26 Many of Nash's arguments, for example rest on the interpretation which she attaches to different kinds of coin distribution found in Gaul between the third and the first centuries BC, 2 7 with little regard being given either to the theoretical underpinnings of the procedure or to the potential biases in the actual coin data. Recent analysis of coin distributions in south-east England reinforces the idea that coins in the different metals often circulated in varying ways both within and between territories, implying differing patterns of use. 28 This is apparent in the very different densities of stray gold and bronze finds per 20 km square (Fig. 1). The xtensive, relatively uniform occurrence of gold compares to that predicted by Dalton 29 for 'primitive valuables', whereas the restricted and clustered

27

25

E.g . I. R . Hodder and C. Orton, Spatial Analysis in.Archaeology (Cambridg e, 1976) 26 E.g . J. R . Collis , 'A typology of coin distributions ' , WA 13 (1981), pp . 122-8.

28

29

127

Nash, op. cit. in n. 13. Haselgrove, op. cit. in n . 1. Dalton, loc . cit. in n. 16.

COLIN HASELGROVE

patterning of the struck bronzes is more in accord with his category of 'early cash'. Differential reporting of finds is not apparently a problem, qualitatively or quantitatively. However, excavation finds which are undoubtedly biased to certain areas have been omitted, and changes in gold circulation through time may have exaggerated the impression of its relatively uniform occurrence. Silver and potin have traits in common with both the gold and the struck bronze: a relatively uniform distribution in one zone (for silver, central southern England, for potin, Kent), but outside this a tendency to cluster at or near larger sites, although temporal factors must again be taken into account. From the dominant coin metals in settlement finds, a series of primary circulation areas can be defined for most of th regional silver, bronze and potin series (sometimes in combination). These in turn often have adjacent, more diffuse circulation areas, where the single metal found is generally gold. Still further areas have no disc rnible pattern of regular coin deposition whatsoever. All these coexisted, moreover, within the relatively confined area of south-east England, their limits fluctuating through time. Similar subtleties are evident further west. 30 This suggests that th social, political and territorial structure of late Iron Age Britain was much more complex than th accepted 'tribal map' implies. Excluding hoards, only 29% of gold find locations are demonstrably sites (and many of the coins are plated), as against nearly 80% for the other metals. Most gold was evidently deposited away from settlements, although there is a general emphasis on the major river valleys and the coastal strip which may reflect the overall population density and/or the continental origin of much of it. Many finds, however, are actually from wet places, almost certainly deliberately deposited in or beside the water, as much prestige metalwork also was. 31 The sam is probably true of many of the coins found at boundary locations generally and not just those from rivers, e.g. from hillfort defences and enclosure ditch s. A strong case can be made that many of the so-called iron 'currency bars' were similarly ritually deposited at the boundaries of sites and even sometimes on those between regions. 32 We certainly need to get away from the facile vi w that single gold coin finds were all accidental losses. Finds of two or three coins together are also much more common than is generally realised, and some of these were evidently small hoards in their own right. Since even a single gold stater was presumably of considerable value, the principle is likely to extend to some of the solitary finds too. Overall, the incidence of gold deposition per thirty year period is remarkably uniform from before 50 BC to the Roman conquest. Contrary to the impression sometimes given, 33 the events of the 50s BC, for example, do not intrude categorically into

30

L. C. Sellwood, 'Peripheral Celtic coinages in Britain: new research', in G. Grassman, W. Jannsen and M. Brandt (eds.), Keltische Numismatik und Archaologie (BAR I.S. 200, Oxford, 1984), pp. 406-19. 31 A. P. Fitzpatrick, 'The depositon of La Tene Iron Age metalwork in watery contexts in southern England', in B. W . Cunliffe and D. Miles (eds.), Aspects of the Iron Age in Central Southern Britain (Oxford, 1984), pp. 178-90.

•

128

32

R. Hingley, 'Iron Age 'currency bars': the archaeological and social context', Arch ]. 147 (1990), pp. 91-117. 33 W. J. Rodwell, 'Coinage, oppida and the rise of Belgic power in south-east Britain', in B. W. Cunliffe and R. T. Rowley (eds.), Oppida: the Beginnings of of Urbanisation (BAR I.S. 11, Oxford, 1976), pp . 181-367 .

~

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= 233

m = 2-87

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FIG. 1. Relative densities of gold (left) and struck bronze (right) find location densities in south-east England.

80

100 Km

COLIN HASELGROVE

the British record. While emergencies must have played a part in the concealment and non-recovery of some gold finds, many others surely result from deliberate ritual or social acts of deposition. Until recently, lack of suitable data meant that the emphasis of much work on Iron Age coin circulation was synchronic, focusing more on spatial patterns than on temporal changes. 34 The situation is now beginning to change, thanks to the excavation and publication boom since the 1970s, which has generated a tenfold increase in the number of settlements in south-east England with excavated coin finds. Although still a small sample, this enables us to pursue a much wider range of questions, as well as providing extensive information about the stratification and context both of individual coin types and whole series. At the major settlement complexes, for example, coin finds afford useful insights into the changing nature and status of occupation in different areas. 3 5 At Camulodunum, the pattern of coin losses suggests that the focus of activity shifted away from the northern part of the Sheepen site before the Roman conquest, and strongly impli s continued use of Iron Age coinage after AD 43. Although some see th Dressel 1B amphorae found there as indicating a major later first century BC settlement, the coins argue strongly for an earlier first century AD floruit. At Braughing, too, the coins attest several shifts in the focus of occupation, correlating well with the rest of the archaeological material. 36 The stratified coin evidence provides a variety of useful chronological pointers, relative and absolute. It confirms, for example, Allen's typological ordering of Cunobelinus' coinage into earlier and later issues, or his relatively early starting dates for potin and uninscribed struck bronzes in south-east England (Fig. 2). Many of the approaches to dating envisaged by Collis are thus becoming possible. 37 From the proportion of a coin series stratified in successive dated horizons (Fig.2, open bars), its main period of circulation can be broadly inferred and estimates placed on the probability of individual losses having occurred by a particular dat . Developed issues of Cunobelinus (later Phase 8), for instance, rarely occur in securely pre-Conquest contexts. At Harlow temple, these series account for some 60% of the finds, one of several factors which imply that the main phase of Iron Age coin deposition there occurred after the Roman conquest, although evidently offerings cannot be expected to conform to exactly the same chronological rules as casual losses. In northern Gaul too, the bulk of monetary offerings at formal temples belong to the post-Conquest era. 38 Used with caution and assuming relatively uniform post-depositional recycling, the coinage stratified in successive chronological horizons (Fig. 2, shaded bars) can provide an indication of the coinage in circulation at any one period. A study

4 ;j R. Hodges and J. F. Cherry, 'Costcontrol and coinage . An archaeological approach to economic change in Anglo-Saxon England', REA 5 (1983), 131-83. 35 Haselgrove, op. cit. in n . 1. 36 C. C. Haselgrove, 'The Iron Age coins', in T. Potter and S. Trow, PuckeridgeBraughing, Hertfordshire: the Ermine Street Excavations 1971-2 (Herts. Archaeol. 10, 1989), ~P· 21-9.

37 J. R. Collis, 'Data for dating', in P. J. Casey and R. Reece (eds.), Coins and the Archaeologist (BAR 4, Oxford, 1974), pp. 71-84. 38 K. Gruel and M . Clement, 'Les monnaies gauloises du fanum de Trogouzel : essai d'interpretation' , in C . Bemont et al. (eds.), Melanges offerts au Docteur J.-B. Colbert de Beaulieu (Paris, 1987), pp. 451-64.

130

IRON AGE COINS AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Early-mid C1st B.C. (~=5)

50-

ii Mid-late C1st B.C. (~=13) 50-

iii Early C1st A.O. (~=69)

iv Pre-Flavian (~=236) 50-

v Flavian (~=67) 50-

J7 Early

~

N

Early Potin

~=11

~=34

rJlJ7 Later Potin ~=42

ContlE Potin ~=14

ITT Phase

6 ~=12

Phase 7 ~=71

ITT ~

Phase

~=60

9 ~=5

I

Pha~ 8(early)

Phase 8(1ater) ~=141

FIG. 2. Stratification oflron Age coinage in south-east England (1) by percentage of coins of each phase found in successive dated horizons (shaded bars); and (2) by percentage of coins of different phases found in each dated horizon (open bars).

131

COLIN

HASELGROVE

along these lines for northern Gaul, for example, neatly shows Roman coinage gradually gaining ascendancy over the native issues,39 although the absolute results which are based on two sites of unlike character, 225 km apart, must be suspect. In Britain and elsewhere, a picture of the circulation pool will have to be built up gradually for each regional coinage tradition, using sites of similar depositional and post-depositional character. At present, the most promising approach to circulation patterns is through constructing a profile of the 'normal' phase by phase coin frequencies for sites where a particular coinage was in use (and, if needed, for particular categories of site), producing a regional mean against which individual groups can then be assessed for their goodness of fit. 40 Thus in central southern England, the late emphasis of the Chichester coins or the high proportion of Continental finds at Silchester stand out against the regional means (Fig. 3). At Silchester, the high later Phase 8 (mainly north of the Thames issues) and low Phase 9 percentages (mainly southern issues) reflect the site's incorporation into a different polity and circulation sphere during the earlier first century AD. On the minor sites, single finds of putatively early coins on several settlements and restriction of multiple finds to those with first century AD occupation , suggest a major restructuring of the settlement pattern at the end of the first century BC, a change noted by Bedwin and Holgate 41 on other grounds. Although mor coinage was struck during the early first century AD, its use was apparently concentrated on fewer sites, suggesting accompanying social and political changes. North of the Thames, the patterns are more complex. At least five separate circulation areas are discernible in the Home Counties alon (Fig. 4), suggesting rather different histories of coin us . Even so, they also have important features in common. First, the high turnover of struck bronze coinage in the major settlement sequences implies a high frequency of transactions generating coin losses there. Secondly, in each circulation area, the coin lists for the major sites have a later emphasis than the rural farmsteads. This suggests the new bronze coinage was mainly put into circulation and used at the major nucleations, only filtering out more gradually to the minor settlements. In some areas too, such as the Nene and Upper Thames valleys, the overall make-up of the circulation pool implies that these regions only obtained struck bronze coinage at a relatively late date, perhaps following their annexation into Cunobelinus' expansive domain. Bronze and silver-use wer also closely associated with the rapid further nucleation of settlement which took place after the Roman conquest, linked to the new communication n twork. 42 Within the individual circulation areas, coin lists from particular sites can again be compared to the regional background. In east Hertfordshire and the middle Ouse basin, for example, Baldock, Holbrooks and Sandy all have coin lists which are not significantly different from the overall mean for the major settlements in the region (Fig. 5), although Baldock is somewhat high in later issues of Cunobelinus. This is important in

39

E. Huysecom and G.-P . Woimant, 'L'apport des monnaies decouvertes a Camplieu (Oise) lors des campagnes de 1978 a 1981', in RAP Numero Special 1 (1983), pp. 232-4.

40

Haselgrove, loc. cit. in n. 36. 0. Bedwin and R. Holgate, 'Excavations at Copse Farm, Oving, West Sussex', in PPS 51 (1985), pp. 215-46. 42 Haselgrove, op. cit. in n. 1. 41

132

IRON AGE

O IN S AN D ARCH AEOLOGY

CENTRAL SOUTHERN ENGLAND SILCHESTER ~=41

CHICHESTER ~ =15

OWSLEBURY

EAST HARTING

WINCHESTER ~ =9

50

~=6

OTHER MINOR SITES ( N =12) ~ = 16

~=6

50

Cr, 0

~5 6 C P P 7 8 8 9 1•3.i.5 E L

~5 6 C P P 7 8 8 9 1·34·5 E L

~5

6 C P P 7 8 8 9 1·34-5 E L

MEAN OF % FOR MAJOR AND MINOA SITES

50

%

~5

6 C PP 7 8 8 9 1·34·5 E L

FIG. 3. Mean representation of coins on selected major and minor settlements in central southern England , by phase .

133

COLIN HASELGROVE

NORTH OF THE THAMES

(a) ESSEX-SUFFOLK COAST Major sites

~ = 226

Minor sites

~ = 66

%50

(b) EAST HEATS/MIDDLE OUSE BASIN Major sites

~ =142

Minor sites

~ = 42

(c) CAMBS/NW ESSEX ~=16

(d) CHILTERNS/UPPER THAMES VALLEY (e) NENE VALLEY Major sites

~ =43

Minor sites

~ = 46

~ = 27

%50 s 5 6 C P P 7 8E8L 1•34-5

FIG. 4.

E 5 6 C P P 7 8E8L 1•34-5

c 5 6 C P P 7 8E8L 1-34-5

Mean representation of coins in different circulation areas north of the Thames, by phase.

134

IRON AGE CO INS AND AR C HAEOLOGY

EAST HERTS/MIDDLE OUSE BASIN BALDOCK

HARLOW HOLBROOKS

~=58

SANDY BIGGLESWADE COMMON ~::47

50

c5 6 C P P 7 8 8 1-34-5

E L

BRAUGHING PUCKERIDGE

4i5 6 C PP 7 8 8 ~~

EL

GREAT CHESTERFORD

.;5 6 C PP

~~

7 8 8

EL

ODELL

~=150 50

~5 6 C PP 7 8 8 1-34-5

E L

.;5 6 C PP 7 8 8 1·34-5

E L

~5 6 C P P 7 8 8 1·34·5 E L

HARLOWTEMPLE

50

,5

6 C PP 7 8 8 1-34-5

E L

5. Mean representation of coins on selected major and minor sites in east Hertfordshire and the middle Ouse basin, by phase. FIG.

135

COLIN HASELGROVE

supporting our underlying expectation that there is such a thing as a 'normal' pattern of coin loss on sites which were occupied throughout the late Iron age. However, Braughing and Harlow temple both stand out against this pattern, and in each case, a plausible hypothesis is forthcoming. Braughing apparently had its heyday in the later first century BC and early first century AD, suffering a relative decline in status (and thus coin supply) under Cunobelinus. This explains why his later issues are significantly under-represented there compared to the region .43 Great Chesterford may have experienced a similar decline, although the sample is small and may be biased. On the other hand, as we have seen, the coin offerings at Harlow Temple probably mostly date to the Conquest period or later, accounting for the exceptional proportion of Cunobelinus' latest types present. Finally, we may note Odell, a supposedly 'minor' farmstead in B dfordshire, where - like Owslebury in Hampshire - the overall coin list is closer to the major settlement mean. Unless we have misjudged the overall extent of these sites, or there is sample bias, this suggests that even relatively small farmsteads sometimes exercised similar functions to the major nucleations, 44 resulting in an accelerated flow of coinage between them. If so, the probable explanation is that as the local centre of patronage and obligation, elite residences in areas of dispersed settlement were also the focus for transactions using coined money which in other areas took place at much larger sites. CONCLUSIONS:

IRON AGE COINAGE AND RESEARCH

DESIGN

To advance our understanding of Iron Age coinage, we need new archaeologically integrated models. 45 Much information can also be extracted from the coins themselves, especially by die studies and by metal analyses. Most of the finds databases, however, still need to be rearranged according to the reliability of the information about coin provenances and we also need to expose more of the biases which went into their compilation. In many cases, absolute answers will be impossible to give, and we n ed to work far more with relative patterning and tr nds. What similarities and dissimilarities do we see in the uses to which coinage was being put in particular contexts and through time in the different regions of Iron Age Europe where it occurs, from its origins in the Greek world to southern Britain in the first century AD?What meaning should we attach both to the more general patterns and to any cases of marked departures from the rule? My own work on Iron Age coinage in south-east England suggests much could be learnt from applying similar methods to other regions, especially quantifying site finds to establish any 'normal' trends against which individual coin groups may be assessed, and through studying the depositional patterning of coin finds, together with their archaeological context and associations. The task is obviously more difficult than for example with Roman imperial coin circulation, simply because there are so many more unknowns, but this does not absolve us from trying.

43

Id., loc. cit. in n. 36. Cf. J. R. Collis, 'Functional and theoretical interpretations of British coinage', WA 3 (1971), pp. 173-83. 45 E.g. Collis, loc. cit. in n. 26. 44

136

IR

N AGE

OINS AND ARCHAEOLOGY

A change in attitude to the data collection process is badly needed, both for coinage in particular and for artefactual evidence in general. At present, this is much too passive. The whole research process is geared to sites and settlement archaeology rath r than to the society that g nerated then, to the extent that to facilitate mor rapid publication of the basic structural evidence from excavations (itself a laudable aim), artefact studies are now almost relegated to a postpublication exercis , as if they were somehow secondary to the whole process. I cannot think that a proposal to excavate a site primarily to study the depositional patterning and associations of coinage or any other artefact category there would receive especially sympathetic consideration from funding bodi s or from other archaeologists. Yet the concept is not necessarily unsound: sites encapsulate information about all kinds of behaviour patterns. If we want to try to unravel the principles articulating and structuring past societies, as I tak it we do, then it follows that the matrix of artefactual and contextual relationships which is encapsulated in site data may offer us the best approach to som of these goals. Such research might not b considered very cost effective in the modern idiom, but then some kinds of knowledge are likely to be more expensive to acquire than others. In short, instead of waiting patiently for more coin evidence to accumulate, we should be more actively cont mplating how futur data collection, including coin data, should be structured to answer the questions we wish to pose. Coin recovery from excavations could certainly be improved by more rigorous screening procedures. If the unstratified coin collections from various sites (e.g. Braughing or Saham Toney) are any guide, systematic surface collection from the ploughsoil (so often discarded unscreened in large-scale excavations) might well allow the coin population of many individual sites to be characterised, thus providing a basis for more extensive inter-site comparisons. Sites (or parts of sites) could be excavated sp cifically with the aim of solving problems connect d with coin use (e.g. the nature or date of coin deposition in th earliest settlement levels at Braughing, or the context of the finds at a hoard site). Many new and old find locations could profitably b re-examined in the field for relevant information. Envisaging a strategy for improving regional distributional evidence is admittedly more difficult; progress her is probably mainly a matter for improved public relations and information gathering. But ultimately, evaluating coin use and its structural consequences for Iron Age societies requires still mor : implementing specific research designs cone ived at a scale commensurate with the problem, sampling the appropriate range of site types and their setting, so that the d positional patterning of coinage can be related to the other relevant aspects of cultural and regional variability - which means agreeing on the questions and working, if not together, at least along comparable lines.

137

Money supply and credit 1n Iron Age Britain ROBERT

D. VAN ARSDELL

IN MIDDLE Eastern folklore 1 there is a tale about a man, Nasrudin, who had lost a key. He was searching for it outside his house when a friend passed by and offered to help. After looking for some time, the friend asked if he was sure it had been lost outside the house. N asrudin replied, "Oh no, I lost it inside the house - but it's too dark in there to see". Ten years ago, 2 four simple questions were asked about Iron Age coins: 1) 2) 3) 4)

Who What Who What

produced the coins? were they produced for? used them? did they use them for?

At the time, quite a bit was known about the spatial distribution of the coins, so the searchers started looking there for answers. Ten years later, 3 the same questions were asked again - no answers had been offered in the intervening years. The reason for this can easily be explained - the answers simply cannot oe found by studying spatial distributions alone. They lie instead in the metallurgy and metrology of the coins, the intricacies of typology and the structure of coinseries. But like Nasrudin's key, those subjects were cloaked in darkness - not enough was known about them to answer the questions. To complicate matters, the questions were asked as if the answers would be a great revelation. Perhaps misled by the abstract images, many guessed that the coins had been used as ritual objects of some sort. The Celts could not have used these strange-looking things for money could they? Today, it appears that no great revelation is forthcoming - the answers turn out to be as simple as the questions themselves: 1)

Who produced the coins? The coins were produced under centralized control.

by specialized mints,

(CBA Research Report No. 38, 1981), pp. 53-5. 3 C. Haselgrove, 'Iron Age coins and archaeology', see the paper elsewhere in this volume.

H . Minzberg, 'Planning on the left and managing on the right', HBR Ouly-August 1976), p . 49. 2 J. Collis., 'Coinage, oppida, and the rise of Belgic power: a reply', in B. W. Cunliffe (ed.), Coinage and Society in Britain and Gaul

139

ROBERT

2)

3)

4)

D . VAN ARSDELL

What were they produced for? They were produced as a medium of exchange objects of known value which could be recognized at sight. Who used them? They were used by both the centralized authorities and the population at large. What did they use them for? They were used as money - to secure goods and services, to store and transfer wealth, and to settle accounts.

The source of these answers lies primarily in metallurgical and metrological arguments. When we correlate technological details with typological ones, we see a normal coinage. There is nothing particularly strange about these Celtic coins - there is no need to seek an unconventional use for them. We can identify the ways in which Celtic coinage conforms to our modern idea of money:

1) The coins were carefully manufactured to specific standards, and had known intrinsic values The gold and silver coins were carefully weighed, and each was manufactured to a close tolerance. Tight control over manufacturing was not a haphazard, sporadic affair - Celtic mints turned out precise coins for well over a hundred years. The reason that this has not been appreciated in the past is because of the simple methods used to study the coins. Since the inception of Celtic coin studies, the weights have always been analysed in a superficial manner. The coins looked crude - so why bother to analyse them carefully? In the past, whenever weights were evaluated, they w re expressed either as a range or an average. Because worn, damaged and chemically-altered pieces were included, the results were unreliable (indeed, the vast majority of surviving coins give poor insight into the original weight for a type). The r sulting analyses showed little pattern in the weights of the different types - confirming the prejudice that the coinages were 'barbaric' and 'primitive'. But the coins are not primitive - we find that the weights do follow a pattern. Unfortunately, it is one that lies hidden and must be decoded. The trick is to determine the weight the coins were supposed to have when they were made. I call this intended weight the 'standard weight' for the type. At first, this appears to be beyond analysis, but actually the standard weight is easy to find. Better yet, the analysis technique proves to be a resilient one the 'bad data' are automatically eliminated. To understand why we can determine the standard weight, we have to appreciate the Celtic moneyer's expertise. Three hoards are a key to this understanding: Farnborough, Honingham, and Lakenheath. These hoards yielded large numbers of recently-struck and deposited coins - ones which escaped the ravages of circulation.

140

MONEY SUPPLY AND CREDIT

Frequency

25 .-----------------------------------.

20

15

10

5

o .___,,___....____.. _ __.___,__........L..._ 6.2 6.15 6.16.056.0

_._____._ _

__.__--4,c:.___.__.....__._L

___

__.__--'--_.___---'-

_

_._______,

5 .95 5 .9 5 .85 5.8 5 .75 5.7 5.65 5.6 5.55 5.5 5.45 5.4 5.35 5 .3 5.25 5.2 Wt . In gramme•

FIG.

CORIO

I.

staters from the Farm borou gh hoard.

Frequency

100 ,-------------------------~

80

60

40

20

0

L...-........J..._..1,..___.,c:._...J__J._...J.___J~-=

-..___...,_....,_......,_...,£:

--1.____::

1.5 1.45 1.4 1.35 1.3 1.25 1.2 1.15 1.1 1.05 1.0 0.95 0.9 0.850.8

----1

.,__--1-_L...------1....____J

0.75 0.7 0.65 0.60.55

Wt . In gramme•

FIG.

2.

Icenian O coins , Honingham

141

and Lakenheath hoards.

0.5

ROBERT D. VAN ARSDELL

To appreciate the precision, we must plot frequency histograms for the Dobunnic 13staters in the Farnborough hoard (Fig. 1) and for the lcenian O silver units in the Lakenheath and Honingham hoards (Fig. 2). These histograms are revealing. They show that the mints produced coins within 0.08 grammes of the average more than 90 per cent of the time. Ninety-eight per cent of the staters in the Farnborough hoard are within 0.08 of the 5.52 g average. Of the lcenian 0 silver units in the Lakenheath and Honingham hoards, 91 per cent are within 0.08 g of the 1.27 mean. A total of 229 coins are represented in these analyses, so we are dealing with a respectable sample size. The three hoards give considerable insight into the workings of a Celtic mint. To achieve such consistent weight control, the moneyers had to weigh each piece with a precision of better than 0.05 g (it is likely that they obtained a measurement precision of ± 0.01 g). The Celts must have organized their manufacturing operation in a most remarkable way to attain this precision - one must bear in mind that the mints turned out tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of these coins. Recent finds of first century BC coin-scales in France and Germany 4 show us that the measuring apparatus was widely available to do this - some scales have even been found in Celtic warrior graves. Now we may expand our analysis beyond the three hoards and apply it to the coinage in general. First, however, we must understand what happens to the frequency histograms when the coins are placed in circulation. Figure 3 shows what happens as the coins become worn. Curve A shows the typical distribution for staters as they left the mint - the width of the curve gives the original manufacturing tolerance. Curves B and C how the same coins after they have been in circulation for increasing amounts ohime. In curve B, the coins have become worn to varying degrees. The weight distribution is now skewed, and the coins are lighter on average. In curve C, with even more circulationwear, the distribution is skewed still further. Note that for curves B and C there are some coins which have escaped the wear process - they still exhibit their full, original weight. In practice (especially for C ltic staters), a few coins always survive with their original weight intact. If we can identify them, we can easily determine the standard weight for the type to within 0.10 g. If the coin-total is large enough, for example fifty or a hundred pieces, we can determine th standard weight to within 0.05 g. Thus, the goal is to identify those few coins which are the heaviest for the type, but still lie within the main distribution. Heavier coins lying beyond the distribution cannot be trusted to exhibit the standard weight; they could be minting mistakes or forgeries. Before we can go further, it is necessary to discuss the level of precision we need for the analysis. The methods of plotting frequency histograms are discussed by Orton, 5 but there are some caveats when working with Celtic coins.

4

Coin-scale on display in the Museum fiir V or- und Friihgeschichte, Frankfurt am Main; A. Haffner, Graber- Spiegel des Lebens (Mainz, 1989), pp. 175, 183; J. Debord, 'L'atelier monetaire gaulois de Villeneuve-

Saint-Germain

(Aisne) et sa production',

RN6 31 (1989), pp. 7-24. 5

C. Orton, Mathematics in Archaeology (Cambridge, 1980), pp . 76-7, 196-7.

142

MO N EY SU PPLY AND CREDIT

EFFECT

OF

CIRCULATION

ON

FREQUENCY

HISTOGRAM

S- STANDARD WEIGHT A- FRESHLY MINTED COINS 8 - SOME CIRCULATION

>(..)

z

LLJ

:::, 0

C-

CONSIDERABLE CIRCULATION

LLJ 0:: . LL

DECREASING

WEIGHT

Effect of circul ation on w ear.

FIG. 3.

Frequency

s ~----------------------------, 4

3

2

,, I

\

\

'

\ I

1

/

·.,

' '

o.___.__

___.__

_.____.__..__-&.-__._

'''',, ____.___.,___.___.__...____.___.

___

6 .6 6.55 6 .5 6 .45 6.4 6 .35 6 .3 6 .25 6.2 6 .15 6.106.05

_

_._____.__

Wt . in gramme,

-

- Corieltauvian

FIG. 4.

A

-- · -- Corieltauvian

Corieltauvian

A an d B staters.

143

___

_...

6.0 5.95 5 .9 5.85 5.8 5.75 5 .7 5 .65 5.6

8

ROBER T D . VAN ARSDELL

The tnost important is the choice of the size of the 'cells'. Histograms are constructed by counting the number of coins that fall into successive weightranges. For example, the cells could be set at 0.10 g increments. In this case, the number of coins is tallied for weights between 5.00 and 5.09, then 5.10 and 5.19, then 5.20 and 5.29, and so on. Selecting 0.10 g cells assures that we will miss all of the details at the 0.05 g level. The 0.10 g cells are too wide (they confound any effects at the 0.05 level) - and the differences in the resulting histograms are important. It is fashionable today to use 0.10 cells because they simplify the data-reduction. But the analysis at that level is too crude - the more precise 0.05 g cells should be used instead. The Celts could distinguish weight-differences as small as 0.05 g, so we have to strive for a similar precision. If we do not, the original moneyers will have known things that we can never hope to discover! Once the histogram is plotted, the object is to identify the highest 'sensible' weight - this is usually represented by a couple of full-weight coins, just inside the main distribution. There may be one or two 'flyers', coins which are overweight and fall outside the main distribution. These should be ignored they are usually modern forgeries (for example, the Haslemer e forger often got his weights wrong). The standard weight technique proves to be very resilient. The reason is the bulk of the coins (including all the worn, damaged or chemically-altered ones) are eliminated from the analysis in the final stage. The bulk of the coins are used to identify the limits of the frequency histogram, and are then ignored. Once the curve has been drawn, it is only necessary to look for the heaviest coins within the distribution - these give the standard weight. Statistically speaking, the standard weight falls at a confidence limit somewhere in the range of 1 to 5 per cent on the high-weight tail of the frequency histogram curve. Alternatively, for a cumulative frequency histogram, it falls at a point where the curve first becomes greater than zero (has a value, let us say, in the range of 1 to 5 per cent). Fortunately, full-weight coins exist for nearly every type, and surprisingly few coins-weights are ne ded to capture a couple of them. You can determine the standard weight, in practice, from as few as fifteen coins - and determine it within 0.10 g. If you add another hundred coins to the analysis, the standard weight will generally be, at the most, 0.05 g higher than that determined from the first fifteen. It is important to not that the standard weight technique can only err in one direction, towards too low a weight. When new coins are added to the analysis, they can only increase the calculated standard weight, they cannot decrease it. The standard weights for most types of Gallo-Belgic and British staters have been determined using this technique. These are reported in the metallurgical metrological tables in Celtic Coinage of Britain.6 The metallurgy of the staters shows a similar attention to manufacturing control on the part of the C eltic mints. Generally, the moneyers controlled the gold percentage of th e stater alloys to within two per cent of the intended value. 6

R. D . Van Arsdell, Celtic Coinage of Britain (1989) , pp . 508ff.

144

MONEY SUPPLY AND CREDIT

If the standard gold content was 35 per cent, for example, the mint would normally produce staters in the range of 33-37 per cent. The progr ession of types shows a drastic reduction in gold content over a period of about eighty years. The silver/copper ratio was adjusted as the gold content was reduced. The resulting alloys have been plotted on the gold/silv er /copper ternary diagram; the trend line shows that the moneyers were trying to minimize the colour change as the staters became debased. The data and analysis to support this conclusion have already been published. 7 The agreement in weight and metal content amongst the different tribes' staters is remarkable. After the Gallic War, the Atrebates, Trinovantes, and Dobunni struck stat rs of the same intrinsic value. They continued to do this for the next ninety years. The Trinovantian and Dobunnic staters generally had slightly lower gold perc entages than the Atrebatic. 8 The Atrebatic staters, however, were struck slightly lighter, so the gold contents are the same for all three tribes. It would hav e been possible to use Trinovantian, Atrebatic or Dobunnic staters interchangeably throughout the south of Britain at any time from 50 BC to the Claudian invasion. Whether or not the stat rs were actually used interchangeably is not so important; the key point is that the tribes coordinated their monetary policies. There clearly was a pr ecise and widely-used monetary standard for staters in IronAge Britain.

2) The coins were marked so that the intrinsic value could be judged by sight From time to time, the moneyers added privy marks to the staters or changed the design altog ther. Som etimes these changes merely denoted the succession of rulers. Often, however, they signalled changes in the standard weight or gold content . Thus, the details of the design can be a pointer to the intrinsic value of the coins. The reason for the privy-marking is clear: the authorities were preparing to debase the coins. They not only anticipated debasement, they formulated a programme to cope with it. When 'good' staters were replaced by 'bad' ones, the good pieces were systematically withdrawn from circulation. They were melted down and the metal was used for the r coinage. The Dobunnic staters inscribed CORIO, for example, would be extremely rare had it not been for the Farnborough hoard. These staters were struck from a large number of dies and the coins are extensively die-linked. The way they were linked suggests that many dies were in use at the same time. These linked dies sustained quite a bit of damag e. Evidently, a tremendous number of staters were struck within a short span of time. These have not survived (outside the hoard) in relation to the commonness of the coins in antiquity. CORIO's staters must have been withdrawn and melted down to produce the coinage of BODVOC. BODVOC's staters, with a reduced gold percentage, were also struck from a large number of dies. Th se coins are also rare, again suggesting systematic withdrawal. As it turns 7

id., 'Take out the gold, but keep the colour ' , NCirc. (April 1989), p. 82. 8 id ., op . cit. inn. 6, pp. 502, 505, 509, 510, 512

145

ROBERT

D . VAN AR DELL

out, BODVOC's staters were in turn replaced by 'bad' coins - the staters of example suggests, correlating standard weights and gold percentages to typological details can be a key to our understan ding of the use of money in Iron Age Britain. Two further examples demonstrat the relationship between typology and intrinsic value. The first example shows how the typology is related to the standard weight. Corieltauvian A and B staters are distinguished by the direction of the horse on the reverse. The earliest type has the horse facing right, the subsequent one has the horse facing left. The change denotes a five per cent reduction in the standard weight. Fig. 4 gives the frequency histograms for the two types. Table 1 shows us that Corieltauvian A and B have the same average w ight (the staters are just more worn, on av rage). However, they have quite different standard weights. The A staters were 0.3 g heavier when they left the mint. In fact, more than a third of the Corieltauvian A staters in existence today are heavier than the heaviest B staters. These coins provide a good example of the dangers of using the average weight for analyzing Celtic staters. ANTEDRIG. As this Dobunnic

Table 1.

Type

Avg. Wt.

Std. Wt.

Horse

Corieltauvian

A

6.0

6.4

Right

Corieltauvian

B

6.0

6.1

Left

The second example comes from the Durotrigan series. Here, the privy marks denote a change in metallurgy. Durotrigan A, C and D staters were all struck within a few years of one another, and all were obsolete by the end of the Gallic War. As the War wore on, the Durotriges began to run out of gold bullion. They attempted to reduce the gold cont nt of their staters to compensate, and privymark d the coins so that th y could id ntify the intrinsic value by sight. The privy mark is on th obverse of these coins; the direction in which the laurel leaves point gives the metal content of the piece. The first type, Durotrigan A, has the leaves pointing downwards (taking pairs of leav s to be pointing-arrows). Durotrigan C, a transitional type, has them pointing upwards, and the last type, D u rotrigan D, has them pointing from the centre outwards. The three types nearly traverse the t rnary diagram from left to right as the alloy is adjus ted over time. The analyses and ternary diagram have already been published. 9 There are additional differences in the details within the various types. For example, Durotrigan A is known in two major varieti s and several sub-types. Th major varieties involve the 'crab' under the horse. In one variety, V1205-1,

9

ibid., pp. 502, 506, 511

146

MONEY SUPPLY AND CREDIT

th arms of the crab are point d. Th second variety, V1205-5, has pellets on the ends of the arms. The addition of the pellets s ms to signal a reduction in the gold content of the coins, but this has not been proved yet; more analyses are needed. The standard weights of th varieti s and sub-types are all the same, so the privy marks were not intended to reveal th weight .

3) The coins were widely counterfeitedfor fraudulent use Anci nt forgeries of Celtic staters and silver units are relatively common. Forgeries of many types of stat rs are known - the problem of counterfeiting must have been widespread in Britain. Examples of these coins have already been published. 10 Th forgeries were normally made with a bronz core, covered with gold foil. They were struck with forged dies. These are no the products of the central mints; th ey are generally cruder than the official issues. Most of the existing pieces have test cuts at the edge, where the forg ry has be en detected. People were accustomed to the problem, and took measures to prot ect themselves. Once detected, the forgeries were thrown away. Counterfeiting and counterfeit-cl tection sch mes are typical of commercial transactions in money economies - the existence of these false pieces strengthens the argument that Celtic coins functioned as money.

4) The coins show a normal response to inflationary pressures The gold staters were syst matically debased in response to inflationary pressures. During times when inflation would be expected to increase, such as the Gallic War period, the staters wer debased more quickly and more drastically. A discussion of the debasement, and the corresponding metrological and metallurgical analyses, have already be en published. 11 A possible attempt at coinage reform during the early part of Cunobeline's reign also has been suggested. 12

GROWTH OF THE MONEY SUPPLY INTRODUCTION OF SMALL CHANGE

AND

CREDIT

IN

BRITAIN

-

THE

Several different types of evidence have been given to show that Celtic coins function d as money in Iron Age Britain. An objection remains, however staters were of too high a value to have be n us d in everyday transactions. The arguments against this objection have already been publish ed. 13 Basically, enormous quantities of staters were struck, so they probably did not have such a high value. Furth ermor , just after the Gallic War, small-change currency became widely used throughout south rn Britain. At this later time, a money economy surely existed.

10

11

id., 'Ancient forgeries demonstrate Celts used coins as money', NCir c. (May 1986) , p. 111.

12 13

147

id ., loc. cit. in n . 7. id., op . cit. in n. 6, p. 393. ibid ., pp . 31-2.

ROBERT D. VAN ARSDELL

But the argument that the staters were of too high a value need not preclude the existence of a money economy in the earlier period. There is a way in which high-value coins could have been used to settle everyday transactions. John Casey 14 has suggested an ingenious method of settling account using high-value coins, and although we have no proof that it was actually used in Celtic Britain, it is worth considering. He suggested that a 'slate-board' credit system may have been used, such as the one which existed in medieval Britain. In a slate-board system, travelling peddlers provided merchandise to farmers on a credit basis. They maintained a running record of the credit extended throughout the year (using slate-boards) until the farmers brought in the harvest. At harvest time, th farmers sold their crops and received high-value coins in exchange - silver pennies during the medieval period. The farmers then settled their accounts by paying the peddlers with the coins. Although a silver penny was of too high a value to be used in everyday transactions, the slate-board system provided th mechanism by which a money economy could exist. If we accept for the moment, that a slate-board system did exist in Celtic Britain, several new directions for inquiry open up to us. For example, new explanations can be offered for the growth of the money supply in Britain and the introduction of small change. We can also ask new questions: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

When did a money-economy in Britain begin? How much economic activity existed at different times in Iron Age Britain? What were the economic effects of a credit system? When was small change introduced ... and why? What were the effects of the Gallic War on the British economy? How much money did each tribe have and how did this affect its relative standing in the economic and political spheres?

I believe it is time to investigate these questions. Temporarily accepting the slate-board credit system, we can construct a model for the growth of the money supply in Britain from 125 BC to AD 43. The money supply is made up of two components: coins and credit. We can also estimate the relative inflation the tribes experienced during the period, largely fuelled by forces external to Britain. One scenario is presented in Fig. 5. It can be interpreted as follows. At some time before 100 BC, gold staters began to flow to Britain, as one component of the trade with the Continent. At first, these coins had little economic impact. There is little reason to believe that a money economy existed in this early period. However, at point A, a slate-board credit system was introduced. The use of high-value coins was now facilitated and the use of money began to be an important component of the economy. At point B, during the early years of the Gallic War, Britain becomes a source of war materiel for the fight on the Continent. Credit expands in anticipation of ever greater imports of gold ;taters. At point C, at the end of the Gallic War, the flow of staters suddenly stops and P. J. Casey, private Oanuary 1988). 14

148

communication

MO N EY SU PPLY AN D CRE DIT

MONETARY MODEL FOR CELTIC BRITAIN Quantity

of Money

120 ~---------------------------.

100

80 60

40 20 0 .___ _ __._ _ _ .........._ _ _ ..___ _ __._ __ 120

100

80

60

40

.........._ _ _ ..___ _ __._ _ _ __.__ _ _ ...__ ~ 20

1

20

40

60

Date (B .C. - A.O.)

-

A. Money + Credit

FIG. 5.

-- · -- B. Money

-

M on etary mode l for Celtic Britain.

149

C. Inflation

80

ROBERT D . VAN ARSDELL

credits cannot be settled. Credit collapses and there is a crisis in the economy of southern Britain. At this point, the leaders of the Atrebates and Trinovantes, the most economically-advanced tribes, are forced to take action. They borrow an idea from the Gallic tribes to alleviate the crisis. They introduce a small-change currency so that transactions can be settled immediately, without credit. At this point, the slate-board credit system becomes less important. A 'normal' mon y economy emerges - one with instantaneous settling of accounts. Up to the turn of the millennium, the money supply grows at a lower rate than during the Gallic War - less money is imported, and inflation is correspondingly lower. Upon the accession of Cunobeline, there is an attempt to increase the intrinsic value of the Trinovantian stater. Disinflation occurs momentarily, and the ensuing disruptions make Cunobeline reverse his decision. For the balance of Cunobeline's reign, the economy and the money supply grow at a faster rate, as trade with the Continent heats up. By the time of the Claudian invasion, Britain has a well-developed and thriving money economy - one of the developments that would make Britain a tak -over candidate for the Roman Empire. Although the preceding scenario is merely one of hypothetical growth in money supply, it shows the kind of analysis which is possible. It also suggests the kind of information we can extract from the coins, if we begin to look beyond their use and start asking quantitative questions. I maintain it is possible for us to quantify the money supply in Iron Age Britain. We can do this for each tribe during each economic phase from 150 BC to AD 43. We can also estimate the resulting level of economic activity. We may be able to measure the amount of inter-tribal exchange, and perhaps answer questions about the relative influence the tribes had on one another. The database for this study already exists at the Institute of Archaeology in Oxford. The Celtic Coin Index, which contains a record of the dies for each cointype, provides the raw data from which we can estimate the amount of money coined in each period . It is time to embark on the next phase in the study of the Celtic Coinage of Britain.

150

The iconography

of Celtic coins

MIRANDA GREEN [PLATE 11] INTRODUCTION

The iconography of Celtic coins is a vast subject: the number and range of themes and topics is considerable, and it is therefore necessary for me to be somewhat selective in the present paper. What I wish to do is to argue that certain symbols and images on the coinage do link very specifically with symbolic themes which occur, to some extent, in Iron Age Celtic art but, more especially, in Romano-C eltic sculptural iconography. We are constantly warned against reading too much symbolism into coin-motifs, and this reticence is right and proper: John Casey, for instance, 1 has commented on the 'uncontrolled speculation which the interpretation of coin-types allows'. Indeed, a fundamental issue concerns the nature of coins as vehicles for symbolism. There is no doubt, as we shall see, that certain motifs are symbolic in terms of theme, but that is not to say that their presence assumes a religious function for the coins themselves or even for the motifs in a coin-context. We need to look at the reasons why certain so-called 'religious' motifs are present on coins. It is possible that, given that the original purpose of placing a design on a coin was to validate it by somehow conveying the importance, power, charisma and integrity of the ruler under whom the coin was produced, 2 the use of religious motifs on Celtic, as on other coins, may reflect social stability and continuity, and thus serve to reassure the people who handled the coins. But we should remember, too, that pre-Roman coins did possess a religious function, forming votive deposits in shrines, and Bradley 3 has recently suggested that these may have sometimes been substitutes for weapon-offerings found in other Iron Age sanctuaries. If one is trying to link the iconography of coins with that of, say, Romano-Celtic carvings, certain distinctions have to be borne in mind. One is that the small size of coins restricts and governs the way their imagery is presented: thus conventions are established and the parspro toto principle is invoked. In other words, the essence of an object rather than its totality is presented: a prime example of this is the chariot-

Acknowledgements I should like to express my gratitude to Dr Cathy King of the Heberd en Coin Room , Ashmol ean Museum , O xford and to Edward Besley ofth e Departm ent of Ar chaeology and Numi smati cs at th e National Mu seum of Wal es, Cardiff , for their help and for providing me with th e illustration s for thi s paper.

P . J. Casey, UnderstandingAncient Coins (1986), pp . 23-35. 2 Ibid. 3 R . Bradl ey, 'Stag es in the chronological development of hoards and votiv e deposits ', PPS 53 (1987), pp. 351-62 . 1

151

MIRANDA

GREEN

wheel beneath the horse. Another point is that coins were not unique nor were they static, for they were multiply-produced, they were more or less widely circulated, and so could be seen by a number of people. Furthermore, coins, unlike monumental religious imagery, have and had a primary function as an economic unit. Sometimes the imagery on Celtic coins seems monotonous: horses are ubiquitous, as are wheels, suns, boars and human heads. However, some iconography is complex and the juxtaposition of motifs on one and the same coin may suggest that there was a religious or mythological meaning which was perhaps comprehensible and meaningful to certain individuals. Some emblems could perhaps have had a magical or fear-element included by the die-engravers to scare off forgers and thieves. But equally possible is that some motifs owed their presence to a more prosaic function - pure decoration, to fill spaces, or as privy-marks. The themes both on the obverse and reverse of some Celtic coins owe a substantial amount of their imagery to classical tradition, both Greek and Roman .4 Some of this Mediterranean imagery does not come simply from coin-prototypes but, as Henig has pointed out, 5 from gemstones as well. He argues that these 'missing prototypes', where classical themes on Celtic coins cannot be traced to inspiration from a Greek or Roman coin-source, were employed especially in Britain for the Catuvellaunian royal house, first appearing on coins of Tasciovanus but occurring mostly on coins struck by Cunobelin. But as well as deriving from the Mediterranean world, images may be purely Celtic in subject-matter. It can even be argued that the persistence of a basically classical theme - the horse of Apollo's chariot, for instance - could possibly owe something to the Celtic reverence for horses as divine, and specifically celestial, images. 6 Two points concern the religious interpretation of some Celtic coin-themes, one of which is secular function. If we look at precious metal coinage, Nash has observed that this was a means by which the aristocracy could pay the army, without which their power and status as nobility would crumble. 7 We have to remember that religion, too, was in the hands of a learned class very close to the top of the Celtic social hierarchy. 8 This accords well with major themes on Celtic coins, some of which are demonstrably religious and some very definitely martial in terms of their imagery. The two are not necessarily incompatible. Indeed, this brings us to a problem which is endemic to the study of iconography on an essentially functional object like a coin. Where a figure on a coin is apparently representative of a human being, how is it possible to judge whether we are looking at a god, a demi-god hero or a human? This is especially problematical in the case of warriors, either as charioteers, horsemen or footsoldiers. Even where they carry severed heads, we know that this was a common method of dealing with enemies in Gaul. 9 It is impossible to be certain, but it is quite likely that many themes may incorporate

1978), pp. 8-10; id., 'Coinage and state development in central Gaul', in B. W . Cunliffe (ed.), Coinage and Society in Britain and Gaul: some current problems (CBA Research Report 38, 1981), pp. 10-18. 8 A. and P. Wiseman, The Battle for Gaul (1980), p. 120. 9 Strabo IV.4.5; Diodorus Siculus V.29.4.

S. Scheers, q.v. M. Henig, 'The origin of some ancient British coin types ', Britannia 3 (1972), pp. 209-23. 6 D. F. Allen (ed. D. Nash), The Coins of the Ancient Celts (Edinburgh, 1980), p. 14. 7 D. Nash, Settlement and Coinage in Central Gaul, c. 200-50 BC (BAR S.39, Oxford, 4

5

152

THE ICONOGRAPHY

OF CELTIC COINS

elements of myth, religion or at any rate be representative oflarger-than-life beings or heroes. I wish now to examine some specific themes on coins, dwelling particularly on distinctive images which recur on other, more purely religious forms of iconography. Most of the coin-types I shall discuss are not from Britain, but come from northern Gaul, especially Armorica. I intend to divide my discussion broadly into the consideration of anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and inanimate images; I will look first at depictions of what may be divine entities represented in human or quasi-human form.

ANTHROPOMORPHIC

IMAGES

Warrior-types (Pl. 11, 1) Warriors of one kind or another - charioteers, horsemen or infantrymen - are ubiquitous on the coinage, and as I have said earlier, it is extremely difficult to assess the status of these images in terms of the divine. There are some which are of note because of particular attributes, taking them out of the normal run of military depictions, and giving them an intrinsic interest which may be secular or religious ( if indeed it is valid to separate the two concepts). Many coins, including some struck by the Namnetes, Andecavi and Aulerci Cenomani, show a disintegrated chariot with a human-headed horse and a fallen enemy: the human-headed horse is itself proof of the Celtic love of monsters; more of that when we come to look at horses. The vanquished victim, too, may be interesting: on a coin of the Namnetes (Pl. 11, 2b), the victim has spiky hair similar to that described by classical writers as being due to the lime with which the Gauls treated their hair to make it stand up in a threatening manner. A coin issued by the Aulerci Cenomani (Ashmolean Museum) presents the victim as a winged individual, a curious instance of Victory in reverse! Or perhaps it is a symbol of the victory over death, similar in theme to the cauldron one sometimes sees associated with horses or warriors on coins. In an issue of the Osismii of Armorica, we have the human-headed horse and victim, but the chariotdriver is represented only by a large head (parspro toto), and a wheel may represent either a chariot-wheel or the sun or both. This coin is an interesting example of 'shorthand' representation. One of the most interesting rider-types among the Redones and Turones depicts a naked female either astride a horse (often human-headed) or as a charioteer, brandishing a weapon, the branch of a tree, a tore or shield, in a gesture of furious excitement. 10 We know that the Celts went in for formidable females: Mediterranean commentators on the Celts inform us that Gaulish women were nearly as large and strong as their menfolk and often stood beside them on the battlefield. We know, too, of Celtic warrior-queens such as Boudicca, who went personally to war, and the Irish queens, like Medb of Connaught, who did the same. 11 But the appearance of a naked female rider on a coin may take us into the 10 P.-M. Duval, Monnaies Gauloises (1987), pp . 44-50, nos . SA, SB, 6B. 11 M . J. Gr een, The Gods of the Celts (Glou cester, 1986), pp . 73, 101.

153

MIRANDA

GREEN

realms of the supernatural. If she is a goddess, then she cannot be identified with the only Romano-Celtic horse-goddess we know, Epona. Epona is invariably presented as a peaceful image, a goddess of wellbeing and prosperity; her mare suckles a foal and she carries baskets of fruit and bread . 12 The war-goddess of the coinage could perhaps be linked with the Irish female warrior-deities, like the Machas or the Morrigna, whom we know from the early post-Roman vernacular literature. 13 Other warriors appearing on coins may be of interest because they sometimes carry severed heads, which once again recall the somewhat horrified comments of classical observers on Celtic battle-customs, which included head-collection as a semi-ritual act (above).

Heads Human heads are extremely common on the obverse of Celtic coins, but are generally considered not to be portraits, unlike the heads on, for instance, Roman imperial coinage. Frequently, the head is a copy of Apollo's head on the Macedonian prototypes. Sometimes, though, symbols may accompany the head, perhaps to endow it with an identity as a Celtic divinity. 14 On a stater of the Andecavi is a head decorated with a star (Ashmolean Museum), 15 which is appropriate for Apollo but is not found on the prototypes; and on a gold coin probably issued by the Osismii (Ashmolean Museum), the obverse shows a head with a boar in its hair, almost like the animal helmet-crests of the military images on the Gundestrup Cauldron. 16 Another type is especially noteworthy: occurring among the Aulerci Eburovices is a depiction of a human head with a boar-figure upside-down on its neck (Ashmolean Museum) (Pl. 11, 3) . 1 7 It is tempting to see a link between this theme and a later Iron Age sculpture of a block-shaped male image wearing a tore and with a boar, bristles erect, striding along his torso. 18 A distinctive Armorican coin-type occurring especially among the Namnetes and Osismii depicts a head surrounded by four smaller heads to which it is attached by means of cords or strings issuing from the mouth (Pl. 11, 2a and 4). 19 The interpretation of this iconography is puzzling and is made more so by the presence of a variant where a boar-image is also present on top of the main head. This may have iconographic links with another coin-type where a warrior holds a severed head in one hand and a boar in the other. 20 It may be that both images - the head and the boar - are symbolic of war and victory. It has been suggested that the head-joinedto-heads type is a power-image 21 and that the linking cords indicate subjugation of the smaller to the larger, main head. But it is not an isolated image-type: the classical writer Lucian tells how in Gaul he saw an image of a Hercules-like figure trailing behind him several heads of people attached to him by their ears. This god was called 'Ogmios', and seems to have been depicted as a leader of souls. 22 Could we have 12 Green, op. cit. in n. 11, pp. 91-4; M. J. Green, Symbol and Image in Celtic Religious Art (1989), pp. 16-24. 13 P. MacCana, Celtic Mythology (1983), pp. 86-9. 14 Allen , op . cit. in n . 6, pp. 38 ff. 15 Ibid., p. 134. 16 Ibid., p. 135, fig. 23; G. Olmsted, The Gundestrup Cauldron (Brussels, 1979), pl. 3E.

17 18

19

20

Allen, op. cit. in n. 6, p. 138, fig. 25. Green, op . cit. in n. 12, fig. 46 . Allen, op. cit. in n . 6, fig. 23. A. Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain (1967), p.

309. 21

Allen, op. cit. in n. 6, pp. 38 ff. P.-M. Duval, Les Dieux de la Gaule (1976), pp. 79-82; Lucian, Propos: Herakles.

22

154

THE ICONOGRAPHY

OF CELTIC COINS

similar imagery on these Celtic coins? But another image also comes to mind, that of a slave-gang chain; the coins could perhaps represent enslavement of the smaller heads to the main one, and thus the supremacy of the coin-issuing tribe over lesser groups. Severed heads are very common themes on Celtic coins. We have seen that warriors may brandish heads, sometimes with the same spiky hair alluded to earlier (Pl. 11, 2b). A coin of the Osismii displays the ubiquitous human-headed horse with a severed head beneath; 23 or the image of a head may be carried as a standard. The reverence for the human head as the seat of power and understanding is welldocumented in Celtic tradition. 24 As we have seen, Graeco-Roman writers allude to head-hunting and the offering of severed heads in temples, and even their use as drinking-cups. Vernacular Irish literature mentions the collection of brainballs by warriors, who mixed the brains of the decapitated victims with lime and allowed them to set into hard cement-like spheres which were then displayed as trophies in houses for dinner-guests to admire. 25 There is abundant archaeological evidence for head-collection in shrines: Roquepertuse and Entremont, pre-Roman temples in southern Gaul, are excellent examples, where real skulls are nailed into niches in the structure of the sanctuary and carved heads decorate the stonework. 26 A good instance of a close association between coin and stone iconography occurs among the tribe of the Remi. Here, there is a distinctive coin-type of three faces or heads in profile (Pl. 11, 5). A curious and discrete type of stone monument occurring almost exclusively among the Remi (there is an outlier at Soissons) in the Roman period consists of a small block depicting a three-faced head with shared facial features. 27 At least eight of these are known from Reims itself. In Roman times this image had associations with Mercury - his attributions of cockerel and ram are sometimes depicted at the top of the block. But it is a distinctive Remic form and the presence of Iron Age coins bearing the same triple image lends credence to the indigenous and early nature of this motif. Double heads are also displayed on coins, either janiform or opposed (for example a coin from the Isle ofThanet; National Museum ofWales, no. C566). Multiplicity, especially triplism, which is very common in Romano-Celtic iconography, 28 manifests itself on Celtic coinage on images other than the head. The British tripletailed horse is an example (Pl. 11, 6); another is exemplified by a silver coin from Bratislava which depicts a horse with either a triple phallus or triple teat. 29 But if there is any significance in this kind of plurality on coins, it may be nothing more than artistic aesthetics or at least a kind of magic. But it is interesting to note that triadism did later play a very important part in cult-imagery. Before we leave purely anthropomorphic images, I should like to note two further specific themes whose interpretation is somewhat enigmatic. Some of the late potin coins from the tribe of the Remi include images of large-headed, crosslegged figures, their hands holding plaits (Pl. 11, 7), resembling very closely some of Green, op. cit. in n. 12, pp. 171-8. Green, op. cit. in n. 11, pp. 208-11; id., op. cit. in n. 12, pp. 169-205. 29 Duval, op. cit. in n. 10, no. 4C; L. Zachar, Keltische Kunst in der Slowakei (Bratislava, 1987), pl. 201.

23

27

24

2s

Allen, op. cit. in n . 6, p. 39. Ross, op. cit. in n. 20, pp. 61-126. 25 K . H. Jackson, The Oldest Irish Tradition: A Window on the Iron Age (Cambridge, 1964). 26 F. Benoit, L' Art Primitif de la Vallee du Rhone (Aix-en-Provence, 1969), pis. xxv1, xxvu.

155

MIRANDA

GREEN

the female figures decorating the outer plates of the Gundestrup Cauldron. The second theme concerns an eastern Gaulish stater which possesses curious iconography in the form of a Hercules-like figure wielding a club, holding an effigy of a hooded and cloaked figure, 30 precisely similar to some of the late pre-Roman wooden images of hooded pilgrims at Gaulish healing spring-sanctuaries like Fontes Sequanae, the source of the Seine site north of Dijon, and Chamalieres in southcentral Gaul. 31 We know that Hercules did acquire a Gaulish healing function at such shrines in Romano-Celtic times 32 and it may be that we have here the anticipation of such conflation on the coins.

ANTHROPOMORPHIC

MONSTERS

On some coins, the Celtic cult-iconography ofhorned and antlered beings is present, reminding us of their pre-Roman origins. Many British Celtic coins have horned heads, but these are of lesser significance than they might appear since they are deriv ed very directly from coins bearing the image of the Hellenized Egyptian Zeus Ammon, himself a conflation of the Egyptian sky-sun god and the local Theban ram-headed deity. But perhaps this head was selected as a Celtic image-type because it was appropriate in a milieu where horned beings were endemic. Coins of Cunobelin, for instance, possess this imagery. Horned heads occur on coins also in the Danube area and in south-west Gaul, and a Hungarian type bears a horned horseman. 33 Even horses may grow horns, and we have a parallel in a fourth-third century Be incised carving at an oppidum at Mouries in Southern Gaul, where a triple-homed horse is depicted. 34 Of very special interest is the silver coin provenanced to Petersfield in Hampshire and in the National Museum ofW ales (Pl. 11, 8), whose obverse has a depiction of an antlered head with a wheel-symbol between the antlers. 3 5 This is noteworthy on two counts: first, we appear to have Cernunnos, the horned god, uniquely represented on a Celtic coin. He may appear elsewhere in a pre-Roman context at Val Camonica in North Italy, 36 but more obviously on the Gundestrup Cauldron, 37 where he is Lord of Animals, accompanied by his stag and his ramhorned serpent (these monsters themselves not unknown on the coinage). 38 He is well-known in North-East Gaul during the Roman period; and he is actually named on a stone ofTiberian date in Paris. 39 Cernunnos' only definite British appearance is at Cirencester. 40 The second point about this coin concerns the presence of the wheel between his antlers. The wheel, we know, was a solar symbol for the Celts: 41

37

Olmsted, op. cit. in n. 16, pl. 2A. Green, op., cit. inn. 11, pp. 195-6; id., op. cit. in n. 12, pp. 86-96. 39 E. Esperandieu, Recueil General des BasReliefs de la Gaule Romaine (1907-1966), no. 3132. 40 Green, op. cit. in n. 11, fig. 86. 41 M.J. Green, The Wheel as a Cult Symbol in the Romano-Celtic World (Brussels, 1984).

30

Allen, op. cit. in n. 6, nos. 335-6. S. Deyts, Les Bois Sculptes des Sources de la Seine (Gallia, Supp. 42, 1983), pl. 1. 32 Green, op . cit. in n. 12, p. 84. 33 Allen, op . cit. in n. 6, pp. 133-4. 34 Benoit, op. cit. in n. 26, pl. 8.3. 35 G. C. Boon, 'A coin with the head of the Cernunnos', SCMB 769 (1982), pp. 27682. 36 E. Anati, Camonica Valley (1965), p. 172.

38

31

156

THE ICONOGRAPHY

OF CELTIC COINS

a fairly recent piece of evidence may throw light on its presence on this British coin. From an Iron Age and Roman sacred site at Wanborough in Surrey, 42 which incidentally produced a large number of Celtic coins, has come the unique find of three bronze chain headdresses surmounted by wheels. It is possible that Cemunnos on the coin is wearing a similar headdress. The sun-cult was closely linked with fertility, and Cemunnos was first and foremost a nature god. It is even possible that this whole representation shows not a god but a priest or shaman wearing the antlers of a stag and the insignia of a priest of the sun-cult. If he is Cemunnos, then he is an example of the transmogrification so dear to the Celtic heart, by which gods could change at a whim from human to animal form and vice versa. We will see other instances of this when we examine the animals on the coins.

ZOOMORPHIC

IMAGES

It is interesting that many of the most common images on Celtic coins are just those which form the bulk of Romano-Celtic zoomorphic cult-iconography: the horse, boar and different species of birds - particularly ravens and marsh-birds, may be cited. I will look first at the beasts of the wild.

Animals of the Woodland and the Hunt Of the traditionally hunted beasts, the boar is by far the most common on the coinage (Pl. 11, 9-11) . He is represented as a ferocious animal, with dorsal crest threateningly raised. This is how he very frequently appears on Gaulish and British cult-images, whether depicted in stone or bronze. 43 As a Celtic symbol, the boar had a dual but related significance as an indomitable warrior and as a symbol of Celtic hospitality: the classical and vernacular Irish tales of pork in feasting and the archaeological evidence for the otherworld banquet all attest this beneficent role. The combination of the war and feasting symbolism for this creature may be because the Celtic heroes who indulged in such feasting were warriors first and foremost. 44 On the coins, boars may appear in company with a number of other motifs: we have seen that on coins of the Aulerci Eburovices, it appears on the neck of a man (Pl. 11, 3); and it may equally occur perching on the top of a human head, recalling the boar-head crests on helmets worn by Celtic warriors. We have seen also how on occasions the boar may accompany the severed heads surrounding a larger head. This combination of boar and head is repeated in Armorica where a warrior may carry a head and a boar. 45 Often the boar appears in company with a horse, either realistic or human-headed, and another type, occurring among the Osismii and the Aulerci Eburovices, shows a horse with a bird of prey on its back (a theme to which we will return) accompanied by a running boar which frequently displays the same openwork crest seen on many early bronze boar-figurines in Europe (Pl. 11, 10). The association of the horse and the boar is interesting in that the boar is sometimes treated as though it is a substitute for the horse: thus, coins of the Veliocasses and

42

44

Surrey Ar chaeologi cal Society , Roman Templ e, Wanboroug h (Guildford , 1988).

43

45

For exampl e Gr een, op. cit . inn. 12, fig.

59.

157

Green, op . cit. in n. 11, pp. 178-81 . Ross, op. cit. in n . 20, p. 309.

MIRANDA

GREEN

Aulerci Eburovices show boars associated with chariot-wheels (Pl. 11, 9) or the solar signs so often associated with the horse on Celtic coins. Whilst it has been suggested to me 46 that this motif is part of a boar-standard, in some cases at least the symbol beneath the boar is apparently a true, spoked wheel. Ellis Davidson suggests indeed that the raised dorsal bristles on the boar's back may represent the sun's rays, and cites vernacular written evidence for an association between the boar and the sun. 47 It may be that in some instances, the boar is present as a battle-sign: sometimes, indeed, boars are unequivocally depicted as images or standards rather than as genuine animals. This links with some British Iron Age boar-figurines studied by Jennifer Foster, 48 who maintains that these are often parts of standards or helmets rather than freestanding figurines. It also connects with some of the curious images shown on the Gundestrup Cauldron 49 and at the Iron Age ritual shaft-site of Fellbach Schmiden in Baden-Wiirttemberg (late second century Be) where wooden images of animals are grasped in the hand. 5 Coins of the Bellovaci display animals, including boars, positioned in just this manner. But the British coin of Epaticcus shows a boar and tree, as if here the beast is real, depicted beneath its favourite oak (Polybius tells us that pigs loved acorns) 51 and a true denizen of the forest, 52 a type of image seen in Romano-Celtic stone iconography in Britain, where boars and trees appear in sculpture in the frontier areas of Cumbria and Northumberland. The other main forest-dwelling animal, the stag, is curiously infrequently featured on the coinage, though we may recall the antlered image on the Petersfield coin. In assuming that the deer, like the boar, was commonly hunted, it is of interest that evidence for deer-hunting during the Iron Age is surprisingly scarce. 53 But on a coin provenanced to Maidstone, Kent (Pl. 11, 11b), a stag with exaggerated antlers is associated with a boar with an equally over-emphasised dorsal crest (National Museum of Wales, no. C553). A curious type on some Armorican coins depicts the wolf: on gold coins of, for example, the Unelli, we see the figure of a wolf apparently devouring a cosmic symbol of a sun or star and a moon; beneath its paws are an eagle and a snake. The type derives from a Greek coin depicting a lion turning its head back towards a starlike sun. On the Armorican coins, the wolf is represented huge in relation to the celestial symbols; this is considered by Duval 54 to be significant, but unless the wolf is actually supposed to be devouring the sun, then the relative sizes could simply be due to normal perspective. If there is an interpretable symbolism here, then it could refer to a conflict between light and dark, death and life, the eagle and snake reflecting the same dualistic balance as the sun/star and wolf motifs. Duval would take this further and link the images with a Teutonic legend where the death and resurrection of the world are symbolised by a ravening wolf devouring the heavens

°

49

K. Gruel, personal communication, 1989. 47 H. Ellis Davidson, Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe (Manchester, 1988), p . 50. 48 J. Foster, Bronze Boar Figurines in Iron Age and Roman Britain (BAR 39, Oxford, 1977). 46

Olmsted, op. cit. in n . 16, pis. 4 and 5. G . Webster, The British Celts and their Gods under Rome (1986), p. 95. 51 Polybius II, 15. 52 Ross, op. cit. in n. 20, p. 309 . 53 John Collis, pers . comm ., 1989. 54 Duval, op . cit. in n. 10, p. 23. 50

158

THE ICONOGRAPHY

OF CELTIC COINS

and all life on earth, and then the earth being renewed or replenished: 'Then shall happen what seems great tidings: the Wolf shall swallow the sun; and this shall seem to men a great harm. Then the other wolf shall seize the moon, and he shall also work great ruin; the stars shall vanish from the heavens ... and all the earth will tremble .. .' 55

In any event, whether or not one accepts this as a possible link, the wolf is probably present as a formidable forest adversary of man, worthy of respect and awe. On one coin-type, 56 the wolf is present perching on top of a horse, itself generally considered as a solar symbol in later prehistoric Europe. The horse is here associated not with the traditional sun-type but with a triskele or whirligig, perhaps a swastikalike good-luck or apotropaic sign protecting the horse.

Birds Like the birds on Romano-Celtic iconography, birds on coins fall into two main categories: water or wading birds such as cranes, and birds of prey, in particular crows and ravens. Cranes appear with a number of associations. On the obverse of the Maidstone coin with its stag and boar on the reverse are two facing cranes with a ?boar and rosette (Pl. 11, 11a). It would be interesting to speculate on the link, if any, between motifs on the obverse and reverse of the same coin, a question which Allen has pondered and where he has cited some possible and one conclusive instance. 5 7 Certainly the Maidstone die-engraver seems to have been preoccupied with zoomorphic imagery. Several coins associate horses and wading-birds: a coin of the Lemovices depicts a large crane on the back of a horse, 5 8 and one is reminded of 'Tarvostrigaranus', the Bull with Three Cranes on the stone at Paris, 59 with three egrets perched on his head and back in typical bird/cattle symbiotic relationship. On an Arvemian stater, a horse is associated with a crane-like bird which apparently attacks a ram-homed snake which turns upwards towards the underbelly or perhaps the genitals of the horse. 60 The symbolism of the crane is obscure: sometimes there seems to be a link with warfare, in that cranes appear on Roman military iconography, and Celtic shields on the Arch at Orange are decorated with cranes. Ross 61 points to the military associations of the birds in vernacular Celtic tales of post-Roman Wales and Ireland, where they are frequently linked with unpleasant women. But the eighth century BC Greek farmer Hesiod has an interesting allusion to cranes as weather-forecasters: 'Take heed what time thou hearest the voice of the crane, who year by year, from out the clouds on high clangs shrilly. For her voice bringeth the sign for ploughing and the time of Winter 's rain, and bites the heart of him that hath no Ox' 62

A constantly recurring image on coins is that of a large crow or raven perched on the back of a horse (Pl. 11, 10), which may itself be human-headed. This is a widespread image, appearing within western Gaul and in Britain. In the Lower Loire, there is sometimes a hanging cauldron beneath the horse. On gold staters of

55

J. Campbell ,

59

Green, op. cit. in n. 12, p. 183 and frontispiece. 60 Allen , op. cit. in n. 6, fig. 28. 61 Ross, op. cit. in n . 20, pp . 279-292. 62 Hesiod, Works and Days, op. 450.

Th e Masks of God: Primitive Mythology (Harmondsworth, 1976), p. 281. 56 Duval; op. cit. in n . 10, p. 29, no. 2C. 57 Allen, op. cit. in n. 6, p. 137. 58 Ross, op . cit. in n . 20, p. 281.

159

MIRANDA GREEN

the Unelli, the horse and raven are joined by a large crustacean-like creature which attacks the horse's breast from beneath. 63 A small cake or pellet may fall from the bird's beak, recalling similar objects in the beaks of bird-figurines in Britain during the Roman period, as at Felmingham Hall, Norfolk and Milber Down, Devon. 64 On a coin of the Coriosolites, a human-headed horse with a raven on its back has a small bull beneath it (Ashmolean Museum). Is this a substitute for the crustacean or is it in similar position to the boar beneath the horse, as seen earlier? The bull is generally considered to be a celestial creature, certainly in Mediterranean symbolism, 65 and it could here be present in that capacity, a similar image to the persistent sun-symbols which habitually accompany horses on Celtic coins. Several points of interest emerge from the horse-and-bird motif, some of which are intrinsic to the coins themselves. First, the bird is often large in comparison with the horse, perhaps suggestive ofits dominance or even ofits divinity. The bird's beak is often large too. The horse itself is peculiar in that the reins are held by nothing except, by implication, the bird itself. Though this should not be taken too far, the bird and horse would seem to possess some mythological symbolism: indeed it is too idiosyncratic for it not to do so. One possible explanation which is sometimes put forward is that we have here the same entity as the Irish war-goddess Badb Catha, the raven-deity who appeared in battle in bird-form and caused havoc among armies. 66 Finally, we should recall the fearsome Iron Age helmet from Romania, whose raven crest with its huge predatory beak was fitted with articulating wings which flapped up and down in horrifyingly realistic manner when its wearer ran towards the battle. 67

Snakes Before we leave creatures of the wild, we should look briefly at snakes. These are quite common on coins, but more interesting here are the ram-headed ones, familiar in the iconography of the Celts of the Roman period in Gaul and present on more than one plate of the Gundestrup Cauldron. Where these reptiles occur on coins, they often lurk beneath horses, like that associated with the crane on the Arvernian coin alluded to earlier. 6 8 The ram-horned snake possesses elements of both fertility and chthonicism: the ram was a fertility-emblem, the snake generally beneficent in classical thought, symbolising the earth or underworld, being bound bodily to the ground, and renewal or rebirth, from its action of shedding its skin. It may be that the cauldron beneath the horse noted earlier is also present as a symbol of renewal.

Horses The horse is the Celtic coin-animal par excellence(Pl. 11, 6 and 12). There are many explanations for this, the obvious one being the fact of its being copied from the

63

Duval , op . cit. in n. 10, p. 19, no. 1A. M.J . Green, A Corpus of Religious Material from the Civilian Areas of Roman Britain (BAR 24, Oxford, 1976), pp. 198-99, 205. 65 J.E . Harrison, Themis: A Study of the Social Origins of Greek Religion (Cambridge, 1912), p. 149.

66

MacCana, op. cit. in n. 13, p. 86. B.W. Cunliffe, The Celtic World (New York, 1979), p. 59; S. James, "The Celts are war-mad': warriors and warfare in Iron Age western Europe', in War and Prehistory (Prehistoric Society Spring Conference, Oxford, 1989). 68 Allen, op. cit. in n . 6, fig . 28.

64

67

160

THE ICONOGRAPHY

OF CELTIC COINS

Macedonian image of the chariot of the god Helios or Apollo, which may degenerate in a Celtic milieu to become a more or less realistic or disintegrated animal and a chariot-wheel. But other factors may be relevant: one is that in a Celtic context, horses stood for prestige and war, both in terms of chariots (still in use in Britain at the time of the Roman Conquest, though obsolete in Gaul), and in terms of cavalry. Another related factor is that in later prehistoric and Romano-Celtic Europe, the horse could be a celestial animal, quite apart from its association with the classical sun-gods. 69 Certainly, in a Romano-Celtic context, sky and warsymbolism come together in the cult of a sky-horseman, who brandishes a thunderbolt and a solar wheel as a shield. 70 We can even see similar shield-wheels carried by some of the riders on the Celtic coins; and sometimes the horse is itself decorated with concentric circles as if to deepen the sun-imagery (for example on an early British uninscribed gold coin in the Ashmolean Museum). What is of great interest on the coins is the treatment of the wheel-motifs. Often there is a large, naturalistic chariot-wheel beneath the horse and one or more sun-circles above the animal. But frequently the sun is as much a true wheel as that beneath the horse, and on occasions the chariot-wheel becomes a sun and the sun a wheel (Pl. 11, 12). In my opinion, the symbols of wheel and sun are very close. This may certainly be attested in Romano-Celtic iconography where solar wheels are realistic, with faithfully executed nave, spokes and felloe - even down to the shrunk-on iron rim, hallmark of the Celtic wheelwright's expertise. 71 Several other points may be made concerning the horse on coins. We have already seen how on many occasions the animal has a human, sometimes helmeted head (Pl. 11, 2b). This example of a typical Celtic love of transmogrification and monsters may suggest that horse and warrior have here become fully integrated and the beast is at one with its rider. This type of horse is widely distributed . The animal may undergo further monstrous changes: it may be horned, like the horned horse on the stone carving at Mouries which dates to the pre-Roman free Celtic phase in southern Gaul. We have to be careful with horned horses: I have seen coins which purport to carry this image, whilst in reality what we are seeing are merely pricked and perhaps overlong ears. The triple-tailed horse of Britain, with its prototypes in Belgic Gaul, also shows an element of non-realism, though whether one can assume significant triplism here is open to doubt (Pl. 11, 6). The triple penis or teat on the Bratislava coin appears to combine the magic of triplication with extreme potency and fertility symbolism. One feature about horse-imagery on coins is that though stallions are portrayed, the animal does very frequently appear to be a mare and in central Gaul she may be accompanied by a foal; this is repeated among the Aulerci Cenomani of western Gaul, where a gold stater depicts a mare suckling a foal. 72 This is interesting because it may just have a bearing on the later Romano-Celtic imagery of the Celtic horsegoddess Epona, who sits side-saddle on a mare and in Burgundy, among the Aedui and Lingones, is often accompanied by a suckling or sleeping foal. 73 As we have observed, the frenzied female rider of some coins cannot be the prototype ofEpona,

69 E. Th evenot, 'Le cheval sacre clans la Gaul de l'es't ', RAECE 2 (1951), pp. 129-41. 70 Gr een , op . cit. in n . 41, pp. 173-179 . 71 Ibid. , pp . 265-94.

72

Allen, op. cit. in n . 6, p. 142. G reen, op . cit. · m . n . 11, p. 92; op . cit. in n. 12, pp . 20-22. 13

161

MIRANDA

GREEN

a peaceful goddess of plenty, but there is no reason why some cross-fertilisation of imagery cannot have occurred and the peaceful milieu of post-conquest Gaul and Britain may have calmed down the war-goddess and transformed her into a benign deity of prosperity. We should remember that the early Irish war-goddesses combined the functions of war and fertility; and Epona herself had many military followers along the Rhine and Danube. 74

CONCLUSION

Of the enormous variety of images and motifs on the Celtic coins, I have chosen only a few which seem to me to have particular significance in iconographic terms, especially when viewed within the context of the later iconography of the RomanoCeltic world. The need for caution against over-interpretation is very strong but, having admitted this, it appears equally false totally to divorce the imagery of the coins from other and from later material if there seems to be a genuine link. There is room for a great deal of study in this area, not least in the field of the relationship between motifs on the coins and those on early Iron Age metalwork. But speaking from the viewpoint of someone whose primary interest lies in Romano-Celtic culticonography, this cannot but be enriched by a study of the coins. Whilst it is sometimes tempting to see the indulgence of pure fantasy on the part of some of the Celtic die-engravers (some of the fabulous monsters are the stuff of which nightmares are made!), there may well be organisation within this apparent madness. Motifs and symbols must have meant something to those who used the coins. It may not always be valid to argue backwards from the wealth ofRomanoCeltic stone imagery to explain that of the coins; what may, however, be worth consideration is how far the coin-types may have influenced the later imagery of the Celtic divine world during the Roman era.

74

K. Linduff, 'Epona: a Celt among the Romans', Collections Latomus 38, fasc. 4 (Brussels, 1979), pp. 817-37.

162

THE ICONOGRAPHY

OF CELTIC COINS

KEY TO PLATE 11 (scale 2:1)

1.

Reverse of Remic coin with charioteer . National Museum of Wales, no. C742.

2. Coin of the Namnetes: a) obverse with severed head attached by cords to smaller heads; b) reverse with human-headed horse, trace of charioteer, human figure with spiky hair beneath horse. National Museum of Wales, no. C718. 3. Gold coin of Aulerci Eburovices; obverse with boar on neck of human head . Ashmolean Museum. 4. Gold coin of Osismii; obverse with main head and four smaller heads attached by cords. Ashmolean Museum. 5. Coin of Remi with triple heads in profile (obverse of no. 1). National Museum of Wales, no. C742. 6. Quarter stater with triple -tailed horse; southern England. National Museum of Wales, no. C070. 7. Potin coin of Remi with squatting human figure with plaits and tore. Ashmolean Museum. 8. Silver coin; antlered head and wheel on obverse; Petersfield, Hampshire. National Museum of Wales, no. C543. 9. Bronze coin of Veliocasses; reverse with crested boar and wheel beneath. National Museum of Wales , no. C733. 10. Armorican coin; reverse with boar and horse with bird on its back. National Museum of Wales, no. C723 . 11. Silver coin: a) obverse with two cranes; b) reverse with deer and boar; Maidstone. National Museum of Wales, no. C553 . 12. Early British inscribed coin; reverse with horse, wheel-sun above and sun below. National Museum of Wales, no. C083.

163

Petit numeraire de billon emis durant et apres la conquete romaine clans l'Ouest de la Gaule. KATHERINE

[PLANCHE

GRUEL ET ALAIN TACCOEN

I2]

LA DECOUVERTE en contexte archeologique de petits billons armoricains apporte de nouvelles precisions quant i leur typologie, leur metrologie, leur composition metallique, leur repartition geographique et leur datation. Ce sont de menues monnaies, d'un module inferieur a 12-13 mm pesant un demi ou trois quarts de gramme. Negligees clans les principaux ouvrages de reference, leur interet pour la numismatique celtique n'avait pourtant echappe ni i D. Allen 1 ni aJ. B. Colbert de Beaulieu. 2 En effet, ils presentent une parente evidente avec certaines series monetaires de Gaule Belgique et du sud du Hampshire. Leur presence clans les tresors de Jersey revet une grande importance pour la definition d'une chronologie relative entre ces emissions armoricaines, beiges et bretonnes.

I. LA TYPOLOGIE Chaque nouvelle trouvaille ou presque apporte des types nouveaux, souvent difficiles a decrire du fait de leur mauvais etat de conservation. C' est le cas par exemple de celui de Mordelles (35) ou l'on distingue vaguement une tete tournee a droite au droit et un cheval, libre, non androcephale, tourne i gauche, au revers ... Cependant, un certain nombre de types ont pu etre definis:

Nous tenons a remercier d'une part les archeologues qui nous ont confies leurs monnaies de fouilles: M. Clement pour Trogouzel, J. Hyvert pour Les Goulvars et Cl. Lambert pour Oisseau-Le-Petit, d'autre part, les physiciens qui nous ont accuelli clans leur laboratoire, ont mis leurs installations notre disposition et surtout nous ont assistes et conseilles pour ces analyses: G. Revel, directeur du Laboratoire Pierre Siie de Saclay (L.P.S.), N. Deschamps et Ch. Dardenne, du Groupe CNRS de Chimie du

L.P .S., M. Fedorov et Ch . Neskovic du groupe CNRS de metallurgie du L.P.S. et A. Tarrats, responsable du projet, Laboratoire de physique general de l'Ecole Centrale de Paris. 1 D. F. Allen, 'Les pieces d'argent minces du comte de Hampshire : nouveau lien entre la Gaule celtique et la Grande-Bretagne', RN t. 7 (1965), pp. 80-93, pl. 5. 2 J.-B . Colbert de Beauli eu, 'Les petit es pieces d'argent du nord-ouest de la Gaule', Ogam 6, fasc. 3 (1954), pp . 119- 26, pl. 5.

165

KATHERINE GRUEL ET ALAIN TACCOEN

A. Le type de Brech a la tete casquee: C' est le type le plus frequent et le plus connu. Derive de la monnaie a la tete de Pallas Athene, adoptee par Emporion, il trouve son prototype direct clans les petites pieces d'argent trouvees en Normandie et clans le Maine. Ces quarts de drachmes et leur division ont en effet ete copiees en Gaule Belgique avec le type de la rue St Pierre 3 et en Armorique avec le type de Brech. 4 C'est sans doute le type beige qui est lui-meme a l'origine des pieces d'argent minces du comte du Hampshire. 1. D: Tete a gauche, casquee, avec visiere, cimier et garde-nuque, grenetis au pourtour. R: Cheval androcephale, a gauche, motif dit a la barriere d'hippodrome audessous. 2. D: Tete casquee a droite, tres stylisee, Grenetis. En arriere de la tete motif en S. R: Cheval non androcephale agauche, ala queu e faite de trois lignes courbes . En-dessous, fleuron trifolie inscrit clans un demi-cercle perle. 3. D: Tete casquee a droite, tres stylisee, une S au niveau de I' Oreille. Grenetis. R: Cheval non androcephale a gauche, conduit par un aurige, au-dessus un sanglier a droite (Pl. 12). 4. D: idem R: Cheval non androcephale, au-dessus une roue

a quatre

raies.

5. D: idem R: Cheval non androcephale, au-dessous une route a huit raies (Pl. 12). 6. D: idem R: Cheval non androcephale, accolees.

au-dessous un motif fait de deux ellipses

B. Type a la tete a la chevelure en deux bandeaux et a la main ouverte devant le visage, pouce recourbevers la bouche. La aussi, plusieurs classes: 1. D: Tete a droite, chevelure schematique disposee en deux bandeaux, l'un superieur et sensiblement horizontal, a stries verticales, l'autre perpendiculaire et en arriere, a stries a peu pres horizontales. Le nez est en forme de crosse tourne vers !'avant.

3 L.-P. Delestree, Les Monnaies Gauloises de Bois l'Abbe (Eu, Seine-Maritime, 1984). 4 J.-B . Colbert de Beaulieu, 'Un enigme de la numismatique armoricaine : les mon-

naies celtiques des venetes, la trouvaille de Brech' , MSHAB 33 (1953), pp.1 0- 14f, 47- 51, pl. 2.

166

PETIT NUMERAIRE

DE BILLON

R: Cheval androcephale i droite, au-dessous, un fleuron trifolie clans un demi-cercle perle; au-dessus, trois lignes concentriques i concavites vers le haut (Pl. 12). 2. D: idem mais avec un nez en forme de museau ecrase. R: idem au precedent (Pl. 12). 3. D: idem mais le nez est pointu en V. R: idem C. Type tres ornemente. Petite tete de pro.filavec deux S affrontesen cimier, oeil deface, rinceaux au pourtour

1. D: Tete i droite. R: Cheval i droite, surmonte d'une longue volute qui double la criniere, audessous, un motif curviligne. 2. D: idem mais tournee i gauche. R: idem mais tourne a gauche. 3. D: idem R: idem mais branchage sous le cheval.

D. Type

a la chevelure en deux bandeaux superposes, details du visage tres marques

D: Tete i gauche. R: Cheval i droite, au-dessous, un foudre semble-t-il. E. Tete

a droite J

entouree de VO lutes oeil de face. J

D: Tete i droite. R: Cheval i droite a tete d'oiseau, au-dessous sorte de candelabre i cmq branches. Ce type presente plusieurs variantes clans I' organisation des volutes du droit. F. Types de Trogouzel5 D: Chevelure en trois rouleaux ou en trois meches, oeil globulaire, grenetis au pourtour. R: Cheval i gauche, non androcephale, au-dessus une tete humaine i gauche, au-dessous une roue i quatre raies. 1. D: Tete

a gauche,

chevelure en trois rouleaux (Pl. 12).

2. D: Tete i droite, chevelure en trois meches 6 (Pl. 12).

5 K . Gruel et M. Clement, 'Les monnaies gauloises du fanum de Trogouzel, essai d'interpretation' , clans C. Bemont et al.

(eds), Melanqes Offerts au Docteur Colbert de Beaulieu (1988), pp.451-64. 6 Ibid.

167

KA THERINE GRUEL ET ALAIN T ACCO EN

G. Type

a l'X

devant la tete humaine. D: Tete a droite, grande meche vers l'avant, oeil globulaire, devant la face un X, grenetis au pourtour. R: Cheval non androcephale a droite, au-dessous, une roue.

H. Type a l' oiseau conduisant le cheval D: Tete tres geometrisee, probablement casquee avec un panache en queue de cheval, grenetis au pourtour. R: Cheval non androcephale, bride et conduit par un oiseau aux ailes eployes (Pl. 12). I. Type au cavalier D: Tete a droite, nez et levres pointes. Chevelure en une grosse volute, grenetis au pourtour. R: Cheval non androcephale, a gauche, monte par un cavalier, criniere et queue perlees. ]. Type a la tempe marquee d'un globule D: Tete a droite; profil marque par une ligne continue plus epaisse a hauteur de la bouche et se transformant a partir du front une epaisse volute faite de stries verticales, oeil pointe, tempe marquee d'un globule prolonge d'une barre verticale, croix au niveau de l' oreille. R: Cheval androcephale a droite, rou perlee a quatre raies au-dessous. K. Types de la Chaloire a la tete humaine vue deface7 1. D: Tete humaine vue de face, nez lineaire divisant la face en deux, sourcils

marques par un grenetis courbe a la base du nez, bouche en arc de cercle. Grenetis au pourtour. R: Sanglier-enseigne a droite, une ou deux defenses visibles. Poils du dos longs, herisses et termines par un point. Grenetis au pourtour. 2. D: idem, mais la ligne nasale perlee divise le type de part en part, les pommettes s' estompent, la chevelure, a raie centrale, encadre la face de deux volutes. Grenetis au pourtour. R: Sanglier-enseigne, les poils du dos sont reunis par une ligne. Le sommet de la hampe est visible et le cercle de fixation est perle. Une croix a droite, devant le poitrail. Grenetis au pourtour (Pl. 12).

7 A. Jeuffrain, Essai d'Interpretation des types de quelques Medailles Muettes emises par les Celtes-Gaulois (Tours, 1846), pp. 1--67, pl. 1- 3.

168

PET IT NUM ERAIR E DE BI LL ON

+

Clo.

Rozel

Le

Les Goulvars:

Type~ monetaire3 des petits bi 11on3 ~

Ca'rtc,,d 'in·•1e-ntaire

~ ~

•

Tr:J pe t(•te de Pall~s

I

T•JpeHamps hire

0

Type Brech, casque

FIG . 1.

Autres types

ind,HermiOQS

Carte de repartition typologique .

169

KATHERINE

GRUEL ET ALAIN TACCOEN

3. D: Stylisation du type, les yeux, la bouche disparaissent, la ligne mediane perlee divise le type en deux parties symetriques composees chacune d'une touffe, d'une esse affrontee et de deux points. Grenetis au pourtour. R: Sanglier-enseigne a droite. Son corps est constitue de deux gros points lies ensemble, les articulations sont pointees, les poils sont figures par des triangles centres d'un point, l'oreille, la defense et la croix en avant du poitrail restent visibles. Grenetis au pourtour (Pl. 12). 4. D: Tres proche du precedent mais la ligne mediane a disparu. R: Sanglier-enseigne non boulete, pails du dos stylises par des triangles pointes, longue queue en volute. Grenetis au pourtour. 5.

Tete humaine, vue de profil, a droite, profil marque par une double ligne, nez pointe, oeil dessine, limite superieure du visage marquee par une ligne perlee du front a la nuque, chevelure en une meche parfois striee une esse pend devant le visage, a son origine une ligne verticale perlee rappelant la ligne mediane du type vu de face. Grenetis au pourtour. R: Sanglier-enseigne a droite, Oreille et defense tres developpees, sommet des poils du dos reunis par une ligne qui s'arrondit en queue. Grenetis au pourtour.

6. D: Tete humaine a droite, chevelure en trois rouleaux, nez pointe, bouche indiquee par trois points disposes en triangle. Grenetis au pourtour. R: Cheval a droite, criniere perlee, queue nouee a l' origine et ramenee n panache vers la tet . Sous le cheval, demi-arc de c rcle perle, parfois double d'une ligne pleine. Grenetis au pourtour (Pl. 12). 7. D: Tete a droite, nez droit, narine marquee, chevelure composee d'entr lacs, pieu perle en cimier. Grenetis au pourtour. R: Cheval androcephale a droite, queue repliee sur le dos: derriere, une roue, au-dessous une plante.

L. Types de Oisseau-le-Petit (Sarthe)

a droite, nez droit, narine dessinee, quatre lignes perlees figurent les cheveux, grenetis au pourtour (BN5982). R: Chev al a gauche a tete triangulaire, annelet point' au-dessus; au-dessous, motif pyramidal constitue de deux demi-cercles accoles surmontes d'un troisieme (0 IS8) (Pl. 12).

1. D: Tete casquee

2. D: Proche du precedent. R: Cheval a droite, au-dessus motif en forme de boucle, au-dessous, meme motif que le precedent (OIS75) (Pl. 12). 3. D: Tete a gauche, oeil de face pointe, nez droit, levres pointe s, chevelure rythmee de quatre lignes de trois points perpendiculaires au visage sectionnant deux lignes de traits paralleles, nuque marquee d'un grenetis. R: Cheval bride a droite avec de grandes oreilles, de l'une d'elles part une ligne perlee, echassier pose sur la croupe, sous le cheval, lyr a trois cordes tournee vers le bas (OIS60) (Pl. 12).

170

PETIT NUMERAIR E DE BILLON

• • • • • • • At • • • t ' •inaie& .aran.• • • Monnaies de Brech:

.

1D

4D

8D

10D

7R

5D

SR

19-0

19R

7D

14D

14R

21R

11 R

32R

13R

15D

12D

O 1cm L...-...J

i 13R •• 26D

•• 27D

26R

".R

24D

24R

25D

27R

Monnaies de La Chaloire:

2D

31D

31R

43D

43R

45D

49D

49R

68D

68R

67D

Monnaies de St Jean Trolimon:

@ ~ ~ 2D

25R

2R

FIG.

58R

1D

ct ..

3R

3D

2.

4R

4D

Trouvailles anciennes de petits billon s (Echelle : 1/1) .

171

4R

KATHER INE GRUEL ET ALAIN T ACCOE N

Fr~t

PDScorrig .

10

li i'

8

Ii

Ii

6 4

2

m

+1.SE

Potds en grommes·des pettts btllons ,010s

PIIIS

Polda dta blllons di carenttc

Poldl des blllonl dt Trogouzel POIDS

rDIDS

- C) tTl

417 418 423 421 422 433 434 424 435 436 437 425 428 429 430 427 431 432 416

tv ~ tv

409

407 405 406 911 408 410 411 412 413 414 415 622 473 474 478 475 476 912 477 499

1919,2-13,92 1919,2-13,91 1919,2-13,97 1919,2-13,96 E.H. p41 n35 1919,2-13,90 1919,2-13,541 1919,2-13,331 E.H. p41 n42 1919,2-13,69 1919,2-13,104 1919,2-13 ,99 54 6-21 5 50 3-6 2 1935,11-17,55 1935,11-17,54 1919,2-13,238 1919,2-13,239 1935,11-17,56 E.H. p37 n2 01 ~3 418 54 10-12 1 30 9-4 1 53,~29,5 1986,4-13,3 54 10-12 2 49 6-25 2 78 ~5 69 1935,11-17,36 1935,11- 17,37 1935,11- 17,909 1935,11-17 ,108 60 ~27 16 1919,2-13, 138 1919,2-13 ,142 1919,2-13, 140 30 80-8 2 55,5-12,4 1935,11- 17,109 1919,2-13,184

ATREBATES ATREBATES ATREBATES ATREBATES ATREBATES ATREBATES ATREBATES ATREBATES ATREBATES

British Lb British Lb British Lb British Lb British Lb British Lb (late) British Lb (late) British Le British Lz3 British Lz3 British Lz5 British Ma British Ma British Ma British Ma British Ma British Mb British Mb British Mb British Qa British Qa British Qa British Qa British Qa (late) British Qa (late) British Qb British Qb British Qb British Qb British Qb British Qb Comrnius Commius Commius Tincommius Tincommius Tincommius Tincommius Tinrnmrnius Verica

M137 M137 M138 M138 M138 M142 M143 M139a M144 M145 M146 M148 M148 M148 M148 M148 M62 M62 M62 M58 M58 M58 M58 M60? M60? M59 M59 M59 M59 M59 M59 M92 M92 M92 MlOO M94 M94 M96 M96 M109

Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater

Stater Stater Stater

Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater Stater

47.0 47.0 41.1 40.4 40.6 42.2 40.1 34.8 40.9 41.9 40.5 39.4 38.7 36.2 36.4 44.2 28.0 27.7 23.1 51.0 49.2 52.1 50.9 44.1 31.7 51.2 66.5 53.2 50.6 46.2 44.9 48.6 46.8 46.9 46.0 47.8 45.8 44.9 47.3 45.4

30.4 29.6 32.6 25.7 20.7 22.4 31.3 19.8 9.7 7.3 26.4 19.5 16.3 37.3 31.8 20.8 15.8 16.8 19.6 36.0 35.4 34.8 36.1 21.2 28.1 34.1 22.9 30.1 34.3 29.7 19.0 20.0 22.3 17.5 18.3 16.9 21.2 18.6 20.9 12.1

22.6 23.3 25.9 33.5 38.6 31.8 26.8 43.5 48.1 50.6 32.5 39.3 42.5 25.2 30.5 34.5 54.1 50.5 53.1 13.0 15.4 13.1 13.0 34.3 38.0 14.7 10.6 16.6 14.8 23.8 35.8 30.2 29.9 32.6 35.5 34.6 32.6 36.4 31.9 42.5