Oberlin College and the College of Wooster are excited to welcome guest lecturer Fay Amiro, a postdoctoral associate at Western University in Ontario, for the lecture "The Vindolanda Coins from a Century of Excavations." Part of the Oberlin-Wooster Society National Lecture Series. For more information, contact amason@archaeological.org.
The Vindolanda Coins from a Century of Excavations
The Roman fort at Vindolanda near Hadrian’s Wall is best known for its well-preserved organic materials from anaerobic deposits, including most famously leather objects and writing tablets. Inhabited from ca. 85 to the late fourth century CE, the fort and surrounding community are among the best excavated auxiliary sites in Roman Britain. One major body of evidence that has received less public attention are the approximately 4500 coins found in the excavations of the site since the 1930s. These coins provide insights into the economic and social activities of those living at the fort, as well as providing utility for dating the archaeological contexts.
This past year, I created a standardized database of the coins found at the site, which facilitates study of the entire corpus. The coins have recorded findspots from all excavations from 1930 until present, a rarity for a corpus of this size, and have been individually published in annual and periodic site reports. It is now possible to look back on these to understand the numismatic history of the site as a whole and its broader implications for our understanding of Vindolanda and the Roman frontier in Britain.
The two largest groups of coins from the site are bronzes from late third century Gallic Empire and the House of Constantine. Both groups also include significant quantities of local forgeries used to supplement the coin supply and fill the need for lower denominations for day-to-day purchases. The remaining coins date from the mid-Republic to the Theodosian Dynasty. There is a noteworthy dip in finds from the tetrarchy, suggesting a change in occupation patterns during this time. Collection highlights include the only gold coin found at the site to date, an extremely worn Nero aureus found in a fourth century context, and seventeen coin hoards, varying from small purses to two assemblages of over one hundred radiate copies. Vindolanda’s anaerobic layers have also preserved some of the only Roman copper alloy coins that still have their original surface appearance. These are so rare that even replica Roman coins of copper and orichalcum are produced with a dark patina instead of their original orange and golden hues.
The coins from the site are revealing about settlement patterns and economic activities of the inhabitants of Vindolanda. This includes the identification of a late third/fourth century market within the fort in part due to the high concentration of low value coins in the area around the granaries. While not as well-known as other material from the site, the Vindolanda coins provide a valuable dataset that both complements the site’s other materials and stands on its own.
Open to all members of the public
