Two decades before Boudica led the Iceni in rebellion against the forces of Rome, there was Caratacus. He and his brother Togodumnus were co-rulers of the Catuvellauni (an Iron Age people whose lands lay in the south and east of England), and together they led the resistance against Claudius’ invasion of AD 43. The pair achieved early successes through guerrilla tactics but, the Roman historian Cassius Dio writes, when they made a more formal stand at the Battle of Medway, the result was a crushing defeat. Togodumnus was killed, Dio writes (though some modern scholars suggest that he survived and submitted to Roman rule, becoming the similarly named client king mentioned by Tacitus; if so, he was richly rewarded as this figure is commonly associated with Fishbourne Palace in West Sussex), while Caratacus fled west to find refuge among the Silures of south-west Wales. Evidently undismayed by this set-back, he then reappears in written sources (this time, by Tacitus) at the head of British forces opposing imperial incursions into Wales c.AD 50. Again Caratacus was defeated, and again he escaped into exile, this time heading north into the territory of the Brigantes (in what today is Yorkshire). Unfortunately, their queen, Cartimandua, had already made an alliance with Rome, and promptly handed Caratacus to his pursuers. Tacitus tells us that Caratacus and his family were paraded through the streets of Rome as living spoils of war, but after he impressed the Emperor Claudius with an impassioned speech they were allowed to live freely in the city. It is an undeniably dramatic story – and one that might also find material expression in a collection of 35 coins that is currently on display in Treasure: History Unearthed, an exhibition running at the Museum of Liverpool (see ‘Further reading’ below).
The coins in question belong to the Malpas Hoard, which was found by a metal-detectorist in Cheshire in 2014. Ranging in date from 134 BC to AD 50, they include silver denarii from the Roman Republic and the early Empire, as well as seven gold staters representing two British Iron Age tribes. These are the Corieltauvi, northern neighbours of Caratacus’ people who lived in what is now Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, and the southwestern Dobunni, whose lands lay between the Catuvellauni and the Silures. Might this mix suggest a link with the events described above? The Roman coins are all early, pre-dating the Claudian invasion and probably brought to these shores by soldiers; the latest is a coin of Tiberius (r.AD 14-37). Meanwhile, the Iron Age staters span c.AD 20-50, bringing the hoard’s likely burial date within range of Caratacus’ final defeat and capture. Given that the cache was found on a direct route between North Wales and Yorkshire, could they have been hidden by a member of Caratacus’ entourage as they fled north?
Ultimately, we cannot know, but it is an appealing interpretation – and this narrative, which is presented in the exhibition via a voice-over by Dr Sam Moorhead (formerly National Finds Adviser for Iron Age and Roman coins at the British Museum) highlights how finds like this can spark illuminating conversations about the past. When Treasure finds appear in the popular press, coverage often emphasises their glittering appearance or their modern monetary value but, as the Museum of Liverpool’s displays eloquently attest, they represent something far richer: a source of stories about long-vanished communities, and a past that belongs to us all. These stories can only be understood, however, if such finds are properly and promptly reported, allowing their wider context to be revealed through methodical excavation. For almost 30 years the Portable Antiquities Scheme has been working to document archaeological discoveries made by members of the public in England and Wales (Scotland is covered by the Treasure Trove Unit), and the Scheme’s Finds Liaison Officer for Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside has been based at the Museum of Liverpool since the initiative’s outset. Treasure: History Unearthed draws on this long relationship, highlighting the way that responsible metal-detecting can enrich our understanding of the past, and how evolving legal protections have shaped our ability to preserve this knowledge. Its displays bring together finds from north-west England and Wales, combining artefacts from the museum’s own collections with loans from national and local institutions to illuminate episodes of the region’s past across 5,000 years of history.
Excavating Suffolk