Iron Age Gallo-Belgic peoples occupied southern Britain in the middle of the second century BC; within the next century they broke into tribal regions based largely on natural geographical divisions. The Iceni controlled a zone extending north from the River Lark into Norfolk, and west into the Fens, with the Trinovantes to the southeast and the urbane and dominant Catuvellauni to the southwest. The Iceni should be seen as one of the northernmost outposts of an Iron Age culture that supplanted that of the native Bronze Age cruithni, who may have continued to exist as a peasant class in the south and who continued to dominate the north of Britain. The Bronze Age peoples did not mint coins.
Whereas the Catuvellauni were under significant foreign influence before the Roman invasion of 43, the Iceni seem to have pursued a policy of isolation, with an economy founded on sheep-farming, basic industry and few imports. The Iceni were divided into three pagae under subsidiary tribal leaders who probably vied for supremacy with one another, but as in ancient Ireland there appears to have been a ‘high king’ who held a position of overall leadership and, among other things, minted coins. The purpose of these coins was probably to facilitate trade and to pay troops; it is unlikely that ordinary people used them. The pagae may have dominated a) the Lark Valley and eastern Fenland b) southern and central
Norfolk and c) the coastal region, although this speculation is based on natural geographical divisions rather than firm evidence.
The earliest East Anglian coins are the so-called British J gold staters (Spink 30-1), which anticipate the ‘Norfolk wolf’ silver staters characteristic of the central regions of Icenian territory. The ‘wolf’ type was probably peculiar to one pagus. By the mid 1st century BC the coinage of the Iceni consisted of gold staters, gold quarter staters, silver units and silver half units. Unlike the Catuvellauni, the Iceni had no bronze coinage.
This coin is an example of a gold quarter stater of the ‘Irstead’ type from the Late Freckenham series also known as the British N series (Allen BRI ND, Mack 404, VA 628-1). It is very tiny (9mm diameter) and was struck on an oval flan. Part of the oval has been damaged, probably by a plough, but the obverse ‘hatched box’ and reverse horse design remains. The horse design is ubiquitous in Celtic coinage and is generally taken to refer to the goddess Epona. John Hooker has pointed out that the iconography of gold coins tends to be more archaic than silver ones, perhaps because fewer were minted so the dies lasted for longer. This is true of the ‘Irstead’ type quarter staters, which usually bear the impression of a line-engraved stylised horse rather than a realistic image. The meaning of the ‘hatched box’ on the obverse is unknown. The box contains twelve compartments and has two ‘wings’ attached to two sides; the remaining two sides have springs of what looks like mistletoe coming out of them (although these have almost disappeared on this coin). John Hooker has speculated that ‘vexillum’ designs on Celtic coins (which include hatched boxes like this) could represent the correspondences of natural forces at higher and lower levels. For some reason, the device reminds me of an abstract corn dolly. However, it has occurred to me that its bizarre and apparently unrepresentational shape could be explained by the fact that it is something viewed from above; for instance, the hatched area could represent a sacrifical pyre and the ‘wings’ might be flames that are naively depicted emerging from the sides. Unless this device is found somewhere other than on Icenian quarter staters, we may never know its meaning.
A good example of an undamaged ‘Irstead’ quarter stater minted on a round flan can be seen here. On my coin, two crescent moons survive on the reverse next to the horse design, and the importance of the moon to Celtic religion is well attested by Classical authors. On many quarter staters of this type there is a triquetra of three interwoven arcs, familiar in Christian symbolism as a trinitarian device. In a Celtic context and in close proximity to the horse image, this may represent the Deae Matres or Siluviae, the three mother goddesses with whom Epona is sometimes associated.
Of the 114 quarter staters of this type listed by Oxford University’s Celtic Coin Index, 57 have a find date and location. The others (including mine) were presumably found by metal detectorists who sold the coin on before recording the date and location of their find, or were found so long ago that no record was made. The earliest attested find is that at Irstead in 1880, and it is from this discovery that this quarter stater became known as the Irstead Type.
Find locations of Late Freckenham Type Quarter Staters from the Celtic Coin Index at the Portable Antiquities Scheme and the online Celtic Coin Index hosted by Hooker & Perron:
NB the Index at Hooker and Perron gives dates of discovery, the Index at finds.org.uk does not.
000206 Walsingham, date unknown
000969 Beck Row, 1999
001421 Flixton, 2000
002024 Norwich, date unknown
004104 Wickham Market, date unknown
010279 Bure (similar type), date unknown
010280 Fincham, 1996
020239 Stonea, date unknown
020306 Snettisham, date unknown
020328 Parham, date unknown
030091 Snettisham, date unknown
030912 Watton, date unknown
040146 Fakenham, date unknown
042487 Flixton, date unknown
610475 Irstead, 1880
810095 Saham Toney, 1981
860223 Cherry Hinton, 1986
860224 Cherry Hinton, 1986
860225 Cherry Hinton, 1968
870541 Caistor St.Edmund, 1984870542 Ditchingham, 1984
870543 Ditchingham, 1984
870544 Wicklewood, 1987
870773 Carlton Rode, 1987
890097 Thetford, 1989
890207 Lakenheath, 1984
920365 Mundham, 1991
920459 Ashill, 1992
920643 Burlingham, 1992
930372 Ditchingham, date unknown
940171 Wicklewood, 1993
940476 Snettisham, date unknown
940919 Brettenham, 1992
941416 Brettenham, 1992
941499 Kings Lynn, 1994
941588 Narborough, 1994
941591 West Rudham, 1994
950003 Barham, 1993
951189 Pakenham, date unknown
951457 Charsfield, date unknown
951459 Ramsholt, date unknown
953342 Coddenham, date unknown
953352 Snettisham, date unknown
953353 Snettisham, date unknown
953914 Thetford, date unknown
961484 Caistor (Lincs.), date unknown
962978 Mileham, date unknown
970467 Orsett (Ess.), date unknown
980006 Saham Toney, date unknown
980608 Essendon (Herts.), date unknown
980609 Essendon (Herts.), date unknown
981041 Fakenham, date unknown
981378 Bungay, date unknown
981975 Stonea, date unknown
982165 Fincham, date unknown
982285 Baylham, date unknown
982292 Baylham, date unknown
990555 Essendon (Herts.), date unknown
1 Comment
May 20, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Hi
The CCI at the finds.org.uk website is still in development. It does contain more information than that seen on screen (such as disco dates – check this out – http://www.finds.org.uk/CCI/year.php?year=1905)
These data that you compare Hooker & Perron’s and the CCI we are hosting are one and the same. They are the data created by Philip de Jersey et al.
Come June(ish) this data set will be embellished with more information – all data from 2001 – 2007 collected by the Portable Antiquities Scheme and p de J. separately. It will then be the definitive collection of Iron Age coins. Thanks for looking and I hope you like some of the other features I have built in. If you would like a research account, get in touch.
Dan