Evidence of Absence? The Rarity of Gold in Durotrigan Iron Age Coinage

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip De Jersey
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Negative Evidence ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Absence Of Evidence ◽  
Evidence Of Absence ◽  
Age Studies

Generations of archaeologists have done well to remember the truism that ‘absence of evidence is not evidence of absence’. About fifteen years ago I presented Barry Cunliffe with what I regarded as some rather distressingly blank distribution maps of various Iron Age artefacts in northwest France. Far from agreeing with my pessimistic view of the possibility of saying anything very meaningful about such paltry evidence, Barry reminded me of the ‘absence of evidence’ maxim, and encouraged me to think more deeply about the apparent gaps, and to question my assumptions about the usefulness or otherwise of the data—in short, to look more positively at the opportunities for investigating such seemingly negative evidence. It is perhaps a little ironic, then, that in this tribute to Barry’s unrivalled influence on Iron Age studies, I would like to present an example where I am nearly sure that the absence of evidence does indicate evidence of absence. My subject is the lack of a significant gold coinage among the Durotriges of Dorset, in contrast to every other major coin-using polity in late Iron Age Britain. My aim is to demonstrate that this lack of gold coinage is a genuine phenomenon, and not the result of partial or inadequate evidence; and to suggest some reasons why this situation may have arisen. Before focusing more narrowly on Dorset in the mid-first century BC, we need to consider the background to the importation and the production of gold coinage in Britain. Although there were probably very occasional imports of coinage from the time of the earliest ‘Celtic’ imitations, perhaps in the mid-third century BC, the first significant inflows of gold coin did not occur until at least the mid-second century BC. These began with the ‘large flan’ stater and quarter stater (Gallo-Belgic A), probably struck in central and western Belgic Gaul, in the territories later identified with the Ambiani and the Bellovaci. Their distribution in Britain is focused on the Thames estuary, with the majority of findspots in Essex and Kent (Sills 2003: 136, 153). At roughly the same time, the ‘defaced die’ staters and quarter staters (Gallo-Belgic B) were also imported into Britain, perhaps from the territory of the Nervii (Sills 2003: 185–6).

Excavations on the Sites of the Amphitheatre and Forum-Basilica at Silchester, Hampshire: an Interim Report

1985 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Fulford
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
The Third ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Arena Wall ◽  
Age Sequence ◽  
Western Side

A research excavation was commenced on the site of the basilica which forms the western side of the forum of Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester, Hants) in IQ80. Its aim is to examine the Late Iron Age and early Roman occupation which, despite extensive Victorian excavations, was preserved beneath the masonry basilica. So far there is evidence of the Iron Age sequence dating back to the last quarter of the first century B.C.; it ends with the construction of a palisade dating to about the time of the Roman conquest. Two major phases of Roman timber building have been recorded, of which the later consists of a large basilica, interpreted as part of a forum-basilica and of Flavian date. The masonry basilica dates to the early second century. From the mid third until the later fourth century the basilica was given over to metalworking. The amphitheatre, with its well-preserved earthen seating banks, was first constructed during the third quarter of the first century A.D., when the seating, arena wall and entrance passages were built of timber. After several phases of repair the arena wall and entrance passages were rebuilt in stone in the first half of the third century. The full plan of this phase has been recovered; it consists of two opposing entrances on the long axis and two apsidal recesses on the short axis. The monument enjoyed a brief period of reuse in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.

Urbanization and oppida

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Fichtl
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
Surface Areas ◽  
Functional Zoning ◽  
The Alps

The first examples of urbanization in Celtic Europe were the princely residences of the early Iron Age, but it was not until the late third century BC that urban centres began to flourish across Europe. The first were open settlements, followed by fortified oppida. Characterized by very large surface areas (up to hundreds of hectares) and defended by ramparts with strong symbolic and ostentatious connotations, oppida are widely considered the first cities north of the Alps. Craft and commercial activities were prominent, but they were also important political and religious centres, displaying a coherent internal organization, with functional zoning and public spaces. Oppida appeared in the late second century BC, disappearing in the mid-first century BC in the east, but surviving until the Augustan period in Gaul. The structuring of Gaulish civitas territories implies that some oppida were true capitals.

British Potins Abroad: A New Find from Central France and the Iron Age in Southeast England

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Gruel ◽  
Colin Haselgrove
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Research Tool ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Southern England ◽  
Channel Interaction ◽  
Northern France ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Material Evidence ◽  
Age Studies

One of Barry Cunliffe’s abiding research interests has been in the character of cross-Channel interaction during the Iron Age, a topic that he has pursued and illuminated through a sustained programme of excavations and artefact studies in southern England, northern France, and the Channel Islands. Although the exchanges were undoubtedly two-way—and must also be seen in the context of a longer-term pattern of maritime contacts between Britain and its neighbours across the ocean (cf. Cunliffe 2001)— it remains true that for the late Iron Age, much of the material evidence for relations between Britain and France is in the form of continental imports found in Britain (e.g. Cunliffe 1987), rather than the other way around. We are therefore very pleased here, following a new find of British Iron Age coins in France, to be able to offer Barry a study of a relatively rare example of a group of objects moving in the opposite direction, not least because another of Barry’s contributions over the years has been to ensure that the Celtic Coin Index in Oxford has continued to develop into the unparalleled research tool for Iron Age studies that it represents today. The British exports in question are four Flat-Linear potin coins found in a mid-first-century BC context in ongoing excavations at the hilltop oppidum of Corent, in the Auvergne region of central France, over 600km from their home territory in southeast England (figure 14.1). Coins belonging to this series have been previously recorded from northern France, where there have also been a number of new finds in recent years, but never south of the Loire. We will begin by describing these new discoveries in more detail, starting with Corent, before going on to assess their implications for our understanding of the late Iron Age in southeastern England, which are considerable. In conclusion, we will offer some possible explanations as to why these coins may have been exported to France in the first century BC.

The Romano-British Shrines at Brigstock, Northants

1963 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest Greenfield
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
The Third ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Polygonal Shape

SummaryTwo shrines of circular and polygonal shape, probably part of a larger group, were erected early in the second half of the third century A.D., and occupied until late in the fourth century. The shrines occur in an area of widespread settlement dating from the late Iron Age until the end of the fourth century. Many objects of bronze and iron of ritual significance, together with a large number of votive deposits and coins, were recovered from the circular shrine. Miss M. V. Taylor's discussion of the principal objects appears on pp. 264–8.

scholarly journals PERSEPSI TEOLOG MASA KINI DI INDONESIA TERHADAP PIKIRAN TEOLOGI BAPAK-BAPAK GEREJA ABAD PERTAMA SAMPAI KETIGA

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Detty Manongko
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Church History ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Church

The research of exploring the Church History have not been many studies done in Indonesia. Though this field is related to the theology, especially the development of Christian Theology for centuries. One area of Church History that needs to be examined are the Christian Thought of the Church Fathers from first to third centuries. The field is often called “Patrology” which is the study of Church Fathers from first to third centuries. Who are they, what are the results of their work, why they have produced such theological thoughts, and what they thoughts are still influencing to the contemporary theologians in Indonesia?The main problem in this research is how does the perception of contemporary theologians in Indonesia to the Chruch Father’ s theological thoughts? Through a literature review of Soteriology, Christology, and Eschatology, then this research has yielded important principles concerning to the Church Fathers’s theological thoughts at the Early Church period. And then through the field research has proven that the majority of contemporary theologians in Indonesia have a positive perception to the Church Fathers’s theological thought from first to the third centuries. Therefore, the reasons of why this research is conducted and how it is done are described in the first chapter of these book. The second chapter of this writing contains a literature review of the theological thoughts of the church fathers from the first century to the third. There are four groups of Church Fathers from the first century to the third. There are four groups of Church Fathers that are described in this chapter, i.e., The Apostolic Fathers (from the first to the middle of second century), The Aplogists (second century), The Anti-Gnostic Fathers (second and third century), and The Alexandrian Fathers (third century). The third chapter discusses the quantitative methods used in this research including statistical models to prove the validity and reliability of the data acquisition method that is used in the field of this research. It desperately needs accuracy and diligence in order to display a quality and useful research reports for the development of Church History studies. Discussion of the results of this study, along with the evidence that reinforces the result of this research is presented in the fourth chapter. Finally, the fifth chapter of this study elaborates the main thoughts that are generated in this study, which also expected to be important principles in conducting futher research.The results obtained in this study are not yet maximal on account of various constraints, such as limited time, facilities, funding, and so forth. However, the writer wishes that the results achieved in this study will give a valuable contribution to all readers of this writing and that it will be a motivation for a further research in the field of Church History in the future.

New Media in the Late Iron Age

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Wells
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Temperate Europe ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Middle Iron Age

This chapter analyzes coins and writing in late prehistoric Europe. The development of coinage in temperate Europe and the first regular signs of writing are innovations that share some important features. Both were introduced from outside the region, specifically from the Mediterranean world, toward the end of the Middle Iron Age. Although both had existed in the Mediterranean world for centuries before their introduction and adoption in temperate Europe, both appear in temperate Europe at about the same time, during the third century BC and more abundantly during the second and first centuries. They were both adopted at a particular time in Europe's developmental trajectory, and under specific economic and political circumstances.

The Origin of Romano-British Glass Bangles: Forgotten Artefacts from the Late Pre-Roman Iron Age

Britannia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 7-52
Author(s):  
Tatiana Ivleva
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
First Century ◽  
Visual Elements ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Processes

AbstractThis article reviews the emergence and development of Romano-British glass bangles in southern Britain by providing a fresh analysis of finds that also considers recent theoretical and historical advances in interpreting the transition from the late Iron Age to the Roman period. By analysing the emergence of bangles in terms of technological and stylistic transfer, it suggests that the technology used in their production and their visual elements have continental lineage. It also situates bangles amid indigenous developments in bodily adornments in southern Britain before a.d. 43. By reconnecting British bangles with their continental European counterparts and contextualising them within political, social and cultural processes in south-western England during the late pre-Roman Iron Age, the article argues that the emergence of bangles in Britain did not occur in a vacuum after the Claudian invasion in a.d. 43 but formed an integral part of globalising networks of cross-Channel trade and connections with the European mainland in the early first century a.d.

An Unusual Imported Bronze Jug Handle from Late Iron Age Easton, Suffolk

Britannia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 336-347
Author(s):  
Ruth Beveridge ◽  
Tom Woolhouse
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Rural Settlement ◽  
First Century ◽  
Late Iron Age

ABSTRACTDeveloper-funded excavation in Easton, Suffolk, investigated part of a long-lived Iron Age settlement and Roman farmstead. One late Iron Age pit contained an unusual bronze handle, most likely from a jug, the form of which appears to be unique in Britain. The closest parallels are products of Italian workshops in the late first century b.c. This paper describes the likely form of the vessel and discusses the significance of its presence at a rural settlement on the ‘border’ of the Iceni and Trinovantes/Catuvellauni.

scholarly journals IMAGES OF KINGS OF ADIABENE: NUMISMATIC AND SCULPTURAL EVIDENCE

Iraq ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 79-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Marciak ◽  
Robert S. Wójcikowski
Keyword(s):  
Near East ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Economic Prosperity ◽  
Royal Power ◽  
The Third ◽  
Political Relations ◽  
Historical Origin

This paper offers the first ever discussion of all extant images of Abdissar, Monobazos I and ’tlw (Attalos), Kings of Adiabene. In analysing the numismatic and sculptural data, a few conclusions on the historical context are suggested. First, it is argued that stylistic features of the coinage of Abdissar suggest a date in the first half of the second centuryb.c.e., and this dating bears upon the question of the historical origin of the Kingdom of Adiabene. Adiabene originated as one of many “post-Seleucid” states which arose in the Near East when the Seleucid kingdom started to crumble, before the advent of the Parthians. This suggestion is also corroborated by stylistic features of the coinage which accentuate the divine investiture of royal power in Abdissar. It is also held that the Batas-Herir monument depicts King Abdissar. Second, the images on the coin of Monobazos I clearly reflect the time of Adiabene's economic prosperity and political rise to significance among Parthian “lesser kings” in the first half of the first centuryc.e. Third, the reign of King ’tlw (Attalos) remains largely obscure, but the placement of his sculpture in Hatra clearly shows good political relations and close cultural ties between the kingdoms of Adiabene and Hatra in the first half of the third centuryc.e. Additionally, the authors argue that the images of Oriental kings on the coins of Septimius Severus do not represent any particular Oriental rulers (of Edessa, Adiabene or Hatra), but are merely stereotypical images of what the Romans considered to be typical Oriental royal outfits.

The Chronology of Roman Trade in the Indian Ocean from Augustus to Early Third Century ce

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 362-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Cobb
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
The Indian Ocean

The archaeological and numismatic evidence for Roman trade in the Indian Ocean from the Augustan annexation of Egypt up to the early third centuryceshows that the most intense period of contact and exchange was in the late first centuryce. The arguments presented here challenge two major positions, which assert either a peak during the Julio-Claudian period or a continuing intensity of contact until at least the late second centuryce.

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