| Dr Peter Guest |
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Iron Age
and Roman Coins from Wales: a case study Introduction IARCW is a research project whose purpose is the study of the supply, circulation and use of ancient coins within modern Wales. The intention is to better understand the production of coins (particularly by Rome) and the impact of coinage (especially Roman) on the diverse population of this part of western Britain from the first century BC to the fifth century AD. The original objectives of the project were as follows:
IARCW is intended to be comprehensive and the design of the database means that a vast body of data can be easily searched in a variety of ways. For example, it is possible to study ancient coins from Wales by region, locality, ancient settlement or archaeological excavation. The detailed recording of over 50,000 coins allows the analysis of these objects by metal, denomination, emperor or ruler, mint, date of production, or a number of other numismatic criteria. The data and a detailed analysis of late Iron Age and Roman coinage in Wales are currently being prepared for publication. The data will be available shortly in downloadable form from AHDS Archaeology, while the National Museum Wales is planning to host an Ancient Coins from Wales website with a searchable GIS-linked database to coincide with its centenary celebrations in 2007. Preliminary results of IARCW have been presented at the Coin Finds, Databases and the Internet symposium at Frankfurt-am-Main (October 2004), the Roman Archaeology Conference at Birmingham (April 2005) and at the European Science Foundation's (Standing Committee for the Humanities) Exploratory Workshop Roman Coins outside the Empire held at Nieborów in Poland (September 2005, organised by Warsaw University). These papers focused on the early history of coinage in Wales, particularly the transition from the later Iron Age to the Roman period. A summary of this case study is presented here to illustrate the broader research questions that coin finds can contribute towards, and also to highlight the potential of databases and GIS in finds research. The supply and use of coins in later prehistoric and early Roman Wales The original IARCW aims and objectives are being continually refined in order to ensure that the data is fully exploited when considering specific research themes and questions. For the early history of coinage in Wales, the following research questions might be asked of the IARCW data:
It is important to consider the general background of coin finds in Wales before the patterns of Iron Age and early Roman coin finds are examined in detail. This is because we must be aware of and appreciate the overall picture in order to assess the significance of distribution patterns observed for particular coins or coinages. For example, if Pembrokeshire produces a concentration of coin finds of a particular period, is that because south-western Wales always produces more coins than other areas or is the concentration limited to coins of that period alone? Therefore, taking account of the numismatic background will result in interpretations of more localised patterns that are more reliable and consequently more meaningful. |
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The first map shows
the distribution of all find spots of Iron Age and Roman coins in
Wales. This records only where coins have been recovered and does
not, at this stage, take into account the number of coins found
in individual locations. However, it is immediately apparent that
the distribution of coin finds in Wales shows concentrations on
the coastal areas, particularly in the southeast and north, as well
as along the river valleys that dissect the Welsh uplands (the two
finds in the Bristol Channel are groups of coins whose provenances
are only recorded as 'Glamorgan' and 'Wales', not shipwrecks). It
is also important to draw attention to areas where coins have not
been recorded as the absence of material culture can be as significant
as its presence. In Wales very few coins have been recovered from
the highlands (above 240m) as well as some coastal regions, for
example the Lleyn Peninsula on the north-western tip of mainland
Wales. |
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Iron Age
coins in Wales None of the tribes that inhabited the area of modern Wales produced their own coins and coinage, therefore, was not part of the indigenous culture before the Roman conquest. Consequently, all Iron Age coins that are found in Wales were imported from other, coin-producing, parts of Britain and the continent. Only 35 Iron Age coins have been recovered from Wales. This is a surprisingly small number, particularly when compared to the quantities found beyond the River Severn in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and northern Somerset (the settlement at Weston-under-Penyard, Ariconium, has produced more Iron Age coins than the whole of Wales). The distribution shows a strong concentration in south Wales, principally in the south-eastern part of the country. The majority of Welsh Iron Age finds are of gold coins, all of which were found as single finds (with the possible exception of the three gold coins from Glamorgan that could be a hoard, see the table below). |
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Almost half of
the Iron Age coins from Wales were struck by the Dobunni ('Western'
issues), a tribe whose territory stretched eastwards from the River
Severn from Gloucestershire. On the other hand, coins of the tribes
of southern and eastern England are relatively rare from Wales,
as are continental issues (Welsh finds include single coins of the
Turones, Carnutes and Aedui). The absence of coins from the Hertfordshire
/ Essex area is puzzling given how Roman authors describe events
in the years after the invasion of Britain in AD 43. Tacitus describes
how Caratacus, king of the Catuvellauni, fled to Wales where he
continued to lead the resistance against Roman attempts to subdue
the local tribes until his final defeat and capture in 51. However,
the presence of Caratacus and his followers, who came from a coin-producing
tribe, has left no discernible trace in the archaeological record
of Wales and it remains an open question whether or not Caratacus
brought any coins at all with him during his flight to the Welsh
tribes (or indeed whether the Welsh tribes would have known what
to do with coins if he had). |
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A noticeable feature
of the distribution of Iron Age coins in southeast Wales is the
concentration between the rivers Usk and Wye. The native tribe in
this area was known to the Romans as the Silures and there has been
some debate about where the boundary between the Silures and the
Dobunni to the east actually lay. While the pattern of Iron Age
coin finds in this area is certainly more similar to the situation
in Gloucestershire, this should not be taken as evidence that Dobunnic
influence extended beyond the Wye (or even that a boundary in the
modern sense of the word existed between these tribes in the later
Iron Age). In any event, the Wye, or the hills above the west bank
of the river, apparently acted as an effective barrier to the spread
of Iron Age coins, except in small numbers, into Wales. The impermeability
of the Wye and the Welsh highlands suggests a political or cultural
rejection of coinage that perhaps indicates different exchange systems
on either side of the coin using / non-coin using border. |
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Claudian
coins The distribution of Roman coins struck in the name of Claudius (41-54) reveals how quickly coinage penetrated Wales after the conquest. It is most likely that these coins were brought by the army as it expanded Roman control westwards during the campaigns of the Flavian period (69-96). The Welsh tribes were conquered between 74 and 78, after which a network of auxiliary forts was established across Wales; a system of suppression and domination that spread out from the two legionary fortresses at Caerleon and Chester. Claudian coins are frequently found on military sites in south Wales first occupied in the later Flavian period, which shows that they remained in circulation for at least fifteen years and possibly much longer (though Claudian coins become increasingly scarce in second century hoards). Claudian copies, local imitations of official bronze coins, are closely associated with the archaeology of the Roman army in Wales. It is thought that these copies were semi-official coins, authorised and issued by the military during the years up to 64 when the Roman mints once again began satisfying provincial demand for low value bronze denominations. The difference between the supply and demand for bronze coins was such that 183 of the 218 Claudian bronze coins from Wales (84%) are copies. Claudian coins occur more often in south Wales, particularly along the Usk valley from Usk / Caerleon to the fort at Brecon. Other finds along the south coast and the Towy valley show the influence of the Roman army as it spread westwards from Caerleon after 75. The absence of any Claudian coins from central and north Wales, however, suggests a different numismatic history of the conquest in these regions brought under Roman control from Chester. |
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Flavian
coins Coins of the Flavian emperors (Vespasian, Titus and Domitian) are found more widely across Wales and their distributions reflect the militarization of the physical landscape after 77. Coins of all metals - especially silver and bronze - are recovered from most parts of Wales and there is no difference in the spatial distributions of high and low value coinage of this period. |
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On the other hand, Roman coins of the occupation years at the end of the first century did not penetrate the highest parts of central Wales other than along river valleys. In these areas Roman coins apparently were not used beyond the limits of the forts and their vici. Nonetheless, it is clear that Roman coinage was brought to Wales by the army and that this westernmost part of Britain was effectively monetized in only one or two decades after the conquest, although some areas took to using coins more readily than others. | |
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Nerva to
Commodus The distribution of second century coins (96-192) shows a very similar pattern to Flavian coinage. During these years the military forces in Wales were steadily reduced, the towns at Caerwent and Carmarthen were established and developed, while a number of Romanized rural farmsteads (villas) appeared in the south of the country. The monetization of Wales, however, survived the departure of the army, even in areas where other forms of Roman culture are otherwise lacking, and coins were to remain a characteristic feature of Roman Wales. Many rural sites on the north and south coasts produce coins of the first and second centuries, often in large quantities, and many hoards are known from these areas too. It is also the case, however, that hardly any coins have been recovered from large parts of Wales. The absence of early Roman coins from the highlands may be related to the nature of the economy and the local populations, which either did not require coins, or only saw their use in specific locations (for example, seasonal markets). Alternatively, this pattern might also occur if the ability to use coins was deliberately withheld from these regions, or if coins were actively resisted by their populations. The lack of any finds of early Roman coins from coastal areas such as Ceredigion or the Lleyn Peninsula cannot be explained as modern phenomena, but is likely to be a reflection of the ancient pattern of coin supply and use. There is no indication that these areas were unoccupied and here it is possible that the nature of the local economy meant that coins were not needed in any quantities, or that the local populations was able somehow to reject their use (though coins would have had to have been used here, as elsewhere, to pay taxes). |
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Coin supply
and use The military's role in the early monetary history of Roman Wales can be seen in the quantities of coins from sites and settlements recovered by excavation and surface surveys. The legionary fortress at Caerleon and the many auxiliary forts have collectively produced almost 60% of all Roman coins of the first and second centuries. When the civilian settlements outside the gates of these installations are added, the military sites and their dependent suburbs account for 79% of these coins from Wales. |
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To some extent
this reflects the fact that archaeologists have spent a disproportionate
amount of time excavating fortresses and forts (as well as their
civilian settlements). Yet, when these early Roman coins are examined
in detail it is clear that the situation is far more complex than
this explanation suggests. Specifically military sites account for
94% of all Claudian coins from Wales, but this proportion falls
steadily during the first and second centuries until the army produces
only 40% of Commodan coins (180-92). Over the same period, the quantities
of coins from canabae and vici outside military sites increase from
less than 5% to 30-35% (though this growth takes place more slowly
than the decline in military coins). This is because towns and,
to some extent, rural settlements experienced an in crease in coin
use at the same time as the army withdrew from Wales. Nevertheless,
by the end of the second century as many coins have been recovered
from settlements outside forts as within. |
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Despite the different
numismatic histories of various categories of settlement, all sites
in Wales generally produce similar proportions of silver and bronze
coins. In the period up to 68 slightly more bronze coins are recovered
from military and urban sites than civilian and rural settlements,
though the difference between the two metals is less than 10%. After
68 the proportion of silver coins from Welsh sites falls to 14%-18%,
while copper alloy coins become slightly more common. To an extent
this is a consequence of patterns of coin production and supply
to Wales, though it is interesting that non-military sites produce
relatively more silver coins (particularly pre-68 issues) than forts
and towns. It is noticeable that the categories of sites become
very similar when coins after the conquest of Wales are considered.
Presumably this indicates a Welsh regional circulation pool of Roman
coins, at least in terms of ratios between high and low value coins,
within which there was a similar homogeneity of coin use. Even during
the military withdrawal and the period of development of towns and
villas, the urban and rural settlements did not acquire their own
distinctively non-military pattern of coin use. |
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A coin
economy The impression of a uniform regional pool of circulating coins in Roman Wales fails to take into account the differences that existed at the local level. For example, south-west Wales produces a distinctive pattern of early Roman coin loss that appears to reflect a localised tradition of coin use. Here, silver denarii and bronze coins of first and second centuries are found on the coast and along rivers valleys such as the Towy, while only silver coins have been recovered from within the hilly interior of the Pembrokeshire peninsula. These discrete distributions of silver and bronze coins suggest that high and low value coinage may have served different functions in southwest Wales during the first century of Roman occupation. |
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When the circumstances of these coins' recovery is explored in more detail, it is apparent that silver coins from the interior tend to be found in hoards (or 'groups' that could have been hoards), while bronze coins are much more likely to originate as single finds and from 'groups' along the coast. This highly suggestive pattern of coin loss could be explained if bronze coins were seen and used as a means of exchange, while silver coins were considered to be more useful as a store of wealth and, therefore, more likely to be hoarded away from the areas where non-local exchanges took place (i.e. inland away from the coast and rivers). | |
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Copyright The background maps used to illustrate this webpage were derived from information compiled by RCAHMW (© Crown copyright: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales) and from Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of her Majesty's Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings (National Museums and Galleries of Wales Contractor Licence 100017916). The numismatic data was compiled by the Iron Age & Roman Coins from Wales project, © Cardiff University. |
