COLCHESTER ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORT 4: The coins from excavations in Colchester 1971-9 Colchester Archaeological Reports General Editor: Philip Crummy Published by the Colchester Archaeological Trust Ltd Report 1: Aspects of Anglo-Saxon and Norman Colchester by Philip Crummy (CBA Research Report 39), 1981 ISBN 0-906780-06-3 Published jointly by the Colchester Archaeological Trust and the Council for British Archaeology, 112 Kennington Road, London SE11 6RE Report 2: The Roman small finds from excavations in Colchester 1971-9 by Nina Crummy, 1983 ISBN 0-9503727-3-0 Report 3: Excavations at Lion Walk, Balkerne Lane, and Middleborough, Colchester, Essex by Philip Crummy, 1984 ISBN 0-9503727-4-9 COLCHESTER ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORT 4: The coins from excavations in Colchester 1971-9 Edited by NINA CRUMMY contributions from Marion Archibald, Justine Bayley, Nina Crummy, Philip Crummy, John A Davies, Roger Goodburn, Michael Hammerson, Robert Kenyon, Richard Reece, and Martin Winter COLCHESTER ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST LTD © 1987 Colchester Archaeological Trust Ltd and List of contributors English Heritage1 Published 1987 by Marion Archibald, Colchester Archaeological Trust Ltd, Department of Coins and Medals, 12 Lexden Road, The British Museum, Colchester, London WC1B3DG Essex C03 3NF. Justine Bayley, Ancient Monuments Laboratory, British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, The Coins from Excavations in Colchester 1971-9. Fortress House, (Colchester archaeological reports, ISSN 23 Savile Row, 0264-6013; 4) London W1X2HE 1. Coins England Colchester (Essex) History 2. Colchester (Essex) Antiquities Nina and Philip Crummy, I. Crummy, Nina II. Archibald, M.M. Colchester Archaeological Trust, III. Colchester Archaeological Trust 12 Lexden Road, IV. Series Colchester C03 3NF 737.49426723 CJ277.C/ John A Davies, ISBN 0-9503727-6-5 34 All Saints Walk, Mattishall, Artwork and camera-ready copy prepared by Dereham, Colchester Archaeological Trust Ltd. Norfolk NR20 4PS Printed by Alderman Printing & Bookbinding Co Ltd, Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk. Roger Goodburn, 132-B Oxford Road, Littlemore, Oxford 0X4 4QP The Colchester Archaeological Trust Ltd acknowledges with gratitude the grant towards the publication of this volume from English Michael Hammerson, Heritage. 4 Bramalea Close, Highgate, London N6 The principal officers of the Colchester Archaeological Trust (formerly the Colchester Robert Kenyon, Excavation Committee) since 1971 73 Stubbington Avenue, Presidents: Lord Alport (1965-72) North End, Sir Mortimer Wheeler (1972-6) Portsmouth, Professor S S Frere (1976-) Hampshire P02 0HZ Chairmen: M R Hull (1971) Major J G S Brinson (1971-4) DrMSTite (1974-9) Dr R Reece, F H Thompson (1979-82) Institute of Archaeology, Professor J J Wilkes (1982-7) 31-4 Gordon Square, Mark Hassall (1987-) London WC1H0PY Honorary Secretaries: Major J G S Brinson (1964-72) D T-D Clarke (1972-) Honorary Treasurers: C S Buck (1969-75) Martin Winter, I McMaster (1975-80) Colchester and Essex Museum, S G Maddison (1980-) Ryegate Road, Director and General Editor: Philip Crummy (1971 -) Colchester C01 1YG CONTENTS Acknowledgments vi Lists of illustrations vii Introduction by Nina Crummy 1 The coins as dating evidence by Philip Crummy 5 The Celtic coins by Roger Goodburn 15 The Roman coins by Richard Reece 17 The Claudian coinage by Robert Kenyon 24 The analysis of some Claudian coins from Colchester by Justine Bayley 42 The barbarous radiates by John A Davies 44 The coins of Carausius and Allectus by John A Davies and Nina Crummy 50 The Constantinian copies, AD 330-48 by Michael Hammerson 51 The medieval and some early post-medieval coins and tokens by Marion Archibald 65 Summary of all the post-Roman coins and tokens by Nina Crummy 68 Coin hoards from Colchester by Nina Crummy and Martin Winter 69 Catalogue 1: The most stratigraphically significant coins from excavations in Colchester 1971-9: listed by context 77 Catalogue 2: Coins from excavations in Colchester 1971-9: listed by site and numismatic identification 84 Bibliography 93 Key to Plates 97 Plates * 100 MICROFICHE SUPPLEMENT Catalogue 3: Coins in the Colchester and Essex Museum: listed by numismatic identification 113 Catalogue 4: All the coins from excavations in Colchester 1971-9: listed by site and then by date of context 128 v Acknowledgments I am grateful to the coin specialists who have Edwards Museum, Newham. I am grateful to both contributed to this volume: Marion Archibald, John Kirsten and Anne-Maria Bojko, the present Davies, Roger Goodburn, Michael Hammerson, conservator at the Colchester and Essex Museum, Robert Kenyon, and Richard Reece. Without their for their comments on coin conservation in general work the report on the excavated coins from and their advice on storage. Colchester could not have been other than lists of coin types and contexts. I am also indebted to the Thanks are due to many members, past and present, other contributors, Justine Bayley and Martin of the staff of the Colchester Archaeological Trust for Winter, for all their help. their contributions towards this report. The diggers in particular deserve mention for their skill and keen I would like to thank David T-D Clarke of the eyesight in finding so many small irregular coins. Colchester and Essex Museum for allowing Details of contexts, site phasing, and building contributors access to, and permission to publish, numbers were compiled by Philip Crummy assisted comparable material from his collection, and for where appropriate by Carl Crossan, Nicholas Smith, providing conservation and storage facilities for the Howard Brooks, and Donald Shimmin. Philip Crummy Trust's coins. Martin Winter, Assistant Keeper of and Alison Colchester undertook the photographic Archaeology at the Museum, has contributed the work on the Trust's coins. Photographs of list of the Museum's coin collection and a section comparative material were provided by the relevant on recently-acquired coin hoards, and provided specialists. The figures and plates were drawn and constant encouragement during the production of this prepared for publication by R H Moyes and T Cook. volume. The following members of the Museum's Lastly, I would like to thank Philip Crummy, the staff have also provided help or advice, G M R director of the Colchester Archaeological Trust and Davies, Paul Sealey, and Anne-Maria Bojko. the principal site director for the excavations included in this report, fdr all his contributions, both visible and The coins excavated between 1971 and early 1981 invisible, towards the completion of this volume. were cleaned by Peter Sweeny and Jean Whiffing, who both formerly held the post of conservator at the The whole or parts of the text have been read by M Colchester and Essex Museum. Conservation of Archibald, G Boon, D T-D Clarke, Professor H the majority of the coins from the Culver Street Phase Mattingly, Dr R Reece, Professor J J Wilkes, and 1 excavation was carried out by Kirsten Walker, John Davies, to whom I am particularly grateful for his HBMC conservator based at the Passmore perceptive comments and advice. vi LISTS OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURES Relief Road sites 14 7 Roman coins from Colchester grouped by 1 Sites excavated in Colchester 1971-82 3 period according to site and date of 2 Histograms of coins from the Lion Walk, coin 18 Balkerne Lane, and Middleborough 8 Roman coins struck before 260 from' sites 8 Colchester and elsewhere in the 3 Histograms of coins from the Balkerne empire, grouped according to site Lane site 8 and date of coin 18 4 Histograms of coins from the Butt Road 9 Claudian copies Group 1 27 site 9 10 Claudian copies Group 2 28 5 Histograms of coins from the Culver Street 11 Claudian copies Group 3 29 Phase 1 and Cups Hotel sites 9 12 Claudian copies Group 4 30 6 Relationships between the radiate coins 13 Claudian copies Group 5 31 (Phase B: 259-94) and the later 14 Claudian copies Group 6 31 Roman coins (Phase D: 330-402) 15 Claudian copies Group 7 32 from Colchester, Gloucester, Lincoln, 16 Diameters and weights of contemporary and Verulamium 19 imitations of Claudian asses from 7 Relationships between the Roman coins Groups 1-4 32 of Phases A (to 259), B (259-94), 17 Comparison of the grades of imitative skill andC+D (294-402) from for Claudian copies 36 Colchester, Gloucester, Lincoln, 18 Comparison of the grades of imitative skill Verulamium, and some towns on the for Claudian asses and dupondii continent 20 from three groups of coins from 8 The frequency of Roman coins struck Colchester 35 before 260 from Colchester and 19 Die axes of the Claudian asses and elsewhere expressed in terms of dupondii arranged by grade of period 21 imitative skill 35 9 The frequency of Roman coins struck 20 Die-sizes of Claudian asses (to nearest before 260 from Colchester and mm) 36 elsewhere expressed in terms of date .. 21 21 Diameters and weights of imitations of 10 Roman coins from Colchester related to Claudian asses (minimum condition mean values from towns in Britain 22 4) from three groups of Colchester 11 Examples of the barbarous radiate coins 37 Invictus/Pietas sub-group 46 22 Diameters and weights of imitations of 12 Recorded examples of the barbarous Claudian asses (minimum condition radiate'Spes/Sa/ivs group 47 4) from British sites 37-8 13 Sites and hoards having die- and 23 Diameters and weights of imitations of style-links with Colchester barbarous Claudian asses (minimum condition radiates 48 7) in the Colchester and Essex Museum 38 24 Diameters and weights of imitations of Claudian dupondii ( minimum TABLES condition 4) from Colchester and Fingringhoe 39 1 All the coins from the Lion Walk sites 12 25 Diameters and weights of imitations of 2 All the coins from the Balkerne Lane sites ..12 Claudian sesfert/7 (minimum condition 3 All the coins from the Colchester 4) in the Colchester and Essex excavations 1971 -9 12 Museum 39 4 Stratified Roman coins from Colchester 26 Claudian aes from Colchester shown by excavations 1971 -9 13 denomination 40 5 Roman coins stratified in Roman levels 27 Comparison between coins of Claudius, from the excavations in Colchester Nero and Vespasian present in 1971-9 13 similarly dated contexts from recent 6 Coins contained in small bags. From the excavations in Colchester 40 Lion Walk, Butt Road, and Inner 28 X-ray fluorescence analysis results for the VII Claudian orichalcum coins 42 330-48 types 64 29 Summary of barbarous radiate types 45 44 Catalogue of the West Lodge Road Hoard . 70 30 Coins of Carausius and Allectus from 45 Catalogue of the Balkerne Gardens excavations 1971-82 and in the Hoard B 72-4 Colchester and Essex Museum 50 46 Catalogue of the Artillery Folly Hoard 74 31 Constantinian coins: totals by coin type ... .55 47 Catalogue of the West Bergholt/Great 32 Constantinian coins: totals by site and Horkesley Hoard 75 reverse type 55 48 Summary of 'savings hoards' from 33 Metrical data for the Chorleywood hoard ... 55 Colchester or in the Colchester and 34 Metrical data for the Richborough Essex Museum 75 site-finds 56 35 Summary details of the Constantinian PLATES coins by diameter 57 36 Summary details of the Constantinian 1 Claudian copies from Groups 1-3 100 coins by weight 58 2 Claudian copies from Groups 4-7 101 37 Detailed diameters and weights: 3 Die-related Claudian copies from Constantinopolis 59 Group A 102 38 Detailed diameters and weights: Urbs 4 Die-related Claudian copies from Groups Roma 60 A and B 103 39 Detailed diameters and weights: Gloria 5 Die-related Claudian copies from Groups Exercitus (two standards) 61 C, D, and E 104 40 Detailed diameters and weights: Gloria 6 105 Exercitus (one standard) 62 7 106 41 Detailed diameters and weights: Helena 8 107 and Theodora 63 9 Constantinian copies 108 42 Detailed diameters and weights: two 10 109 Victories 63 11 Constantinian copies 110 43 Detailed diameters and weights: other 12 Constantinian copies 111 viii