Internet Archaeol. 21. Clarke, Fulford, Rains and Tootell. The Coins

Phase	Object	SF No.	Context No.	Notes
Period 2	50043			No coins
	50010	3777	3925	Claudius, as, irreg., AD50s
		3985	6573	Claudius, dupondius, irreg.
	50017			No coins
	50034	3110	4589	Iron Age SW Series, Cu alloy
	50033	4077	6637	Iron Age SW Series, base silver
Period 3	50018	1476	1900	Valens, 364-78
		3713	3646	Domitian, as, COS XIII?, worn
		2740	3989	Vespasian, dupondius, worn
	50019	2926	3678	Vespasian, as, somewhat worn
Period 4	50046	945	1582	Fel temp reparatio copy 350s
		983	1656	House of Valentinian, 364-378
		1231	1934	Valens, 364-78
		2963	3049	Claudius I, irreg,, early, a bit worn
		2990	3396	Domitian, as, worn
		4046	4454	Domitian, as, COS XIII (AD 87),a bit worn
Period 3	50037	2846	3532	Valens, 364-78
		2615	3597	Vespasian, as, after AD77, worn
		3129	4758	Domitian, as, slightly worn

House 1: Coin List

The relatively small number of coins from House 1 is typical, both in that coins of the 1st-2nd centuries are mostly large and would have been hard to lose and in that large numbers of coins might not be expected from a space that was, presumably, regularly cleaned.

The late George C. Boon reviewed finds of Iron Age coins from Silchester (Boon 2000). Of 66 coins then recorded, three (4.5%) were of south-western (‘Durotrigan’) type; to 2005, six Iron Age coins have been found in Insula IX, three of them (50%) south-western. Two of these coins come from the Period 2 contexts considered here and unless these are regarded as residual, the possibility must be entertained that they were lost from circulation as minor coins in the late 1st/early 2nd century – perhaps standing in as semisses or quadrantes, denominations that are generally very scarce on British sites. Hoards containing significant numbers of south-western Iron Age coins in association with Roman copper-alloy and/or silver coins are well attested in the area: Timsbury, 1907 (IRBCH 92; to Domitian, c. 86); ‘South Hants’ (Holdenhurst?), 1905 (IRBCH 134; to Hadrian); and the finds from Hengistbury (IRBCH 177; to Antoninus Pius). Timsbury (18 IA coins and 43 Roman aes) and the rather larger ‘Southants’ hoard both included Claudian copies, as well. Though the production of Claudian copies was essentially a phenomenon of the 50s, there is no reason why the better ones should not have continued in use: at 26mm diameter, the dupondius (find 3985) is comparable in size to Vespasian's examples (around 27mm); the as (find 3777) at 23mm is distinctly smaller than those of Vespasian and especially of Domitian (29mm) – but would this have mattered to their users? The coin finds from this period may therefore tend to confirm what hoard evidence (often cited as atypical of everyday circulation) seems to have indicated in this region for some time.

The three coins from Period 3 are all Flavian aes, in appropriately worn states; the number is again small, so the absence of any 2nd-century coins need not surprise.

The Coins

Edward Besly