The Roman Rural Settlement Project
Coins and Brooches from the east of England: preliminary results
Dr Tom Brindle
Proportions of sites with and without coins
Percentage
of sites
without
coins
44%
Percentage
of sites with
coins
56%
Proportions of sites with and without
brooches
Percentage
of sites
without
brooches
59%
Percentage
of sites
with
brooches
41%
Percentage of sites
with neither coins
nor brooches
37%
Percentage of sites
with brooches but
not coins
8%
Percentage of sites
with coins but not
brooches
21%
Percentage of sites
with coins and
brooches
34%
Proportions of sites with coins and brooches
2.96%
8.58%
6.21%
Sites where coins
were present but
unquantified
Sites with coins but
no dating
information
Sites with coins
with precise
identifications
82.25%
Sites with only
broad dating
information
Sites with
brooches listed
but not
quantified
2%
Sites with
quantification
of brooches
98%
Distribution of sites which
produced coins (red dots)
and sites with no coins
(yellow dots)
Distribution of sites which
produced brooches
(red dots) and sites
with no brooches
(yellow dots)
Percentage of coins by county
Number of coins by county
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Suffolk
12%
Beds
Cambs
Norfolk
17%
Essex
Herts
Norfolk
Herts
14%
Suffolk
100
50
0
Cambs
29%
Essex
22%
Density of coins by area
investigated, minus prolific sites in
Suffolk and Norfolk
Density of coins by area
investigated
150
Beds
6%
Beds
Cambs
Essex
Herts
Norfolk
60
40
20
0
Beds
Cambs
Essex
Herts
Percentage of all brooches by county
Number of brooches by county
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Suffolk
13%
Bedfordshire
Norfolk
10%
Cambridgeshire
Essex
Hertfordshire
Suffolk
Density of brooches by area excavated
Bedfordshire
Cambridgeshire
Essex
Hertfordshire
Norfolk
Suffolk
Cambs
17%
Herts
Norfolk
10
8
6
4
2
0
Beds
9%
Essex
31%
Density of brooches by area excavated,
minus Hacheston
5
4
3
2
1
0
Bedfordshire
Cambridgeshire
Essex
Hertfordshire
Norfolk
Suffolk
Childerley gate (Site 5), hoard
Hacheston, metal detecting
Boxfield Farm,
Chells, Stevenage,
hoard
Number of coins recovered from individual sites shown
against area of investigation (x-axis)
Hacheston,
metal detecting
Baldock
Puckeridge
-Braughing
Sandy, metal detecting
Skeleton Green
Number of brooches recovered from individual sites shown
against area of investigation (x-axis)
Sites with coins
Average area of investigation 2.02ha
Evaluation
12%
Sites without coins
Average area of investigation 0.85ha
Watching
Brief
5%
Watching
Brief
2%
Evaluation
32%
Excavation
63%
Excavation
86%
Sites with brooches
Average area of investigation 2.35ha
Evaluation
9%
Sites without brooches
Average area of investigation 0.9ha
Watching
Brief
1%
Watching
Brief
5%
Evaluation
30%
Excavation
90%
Excavation
65%
The impact of controlled metal
detector use on archaeological sites
• At least 30.59% of all
coins and 19.23% of all
brooches were found
on sites where a metal
detector had been used
• Of 11 sites with over
1000 coins 5, (45.5%),
had a metal detector
used on them
• Of 16 sites with over 40
brooches 5, (31.25%),
had a metal detector
used on them
Kernel density of area of
Investigation (hectares)
Densities of Roman coins from archaeological investigations and those
recorded by PAS
Kernel density of combined
excavated and PAS coins
Densities of Roman brooches from archaeological investigations and those
recorded by PAS
Kernel density of combined
excavated and PAS brooches
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
Nucleated settlement
30.00%
Rural settlement
Religious ritual and funerary
Industry
20.00%
Military
Rural landscape
Communications
10.00%
0.00%
Percentage of all coins arranged by site type major
Distribution of coins and
nucleated sites (unwalled
‘small towns’ and villages)
Distribution of brooches
and nucleated sites
(unwalled ‘small towns’
and villages)
Distribution of sites with late Iron Age coins
Distribution of sites with 1st century coins
Distribution of sites with 2nd
century coins
Distribution of sites with late
Roman coins
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Villa
Gorhambury
Richard Reece
British Mean
1
3
5
7
9
Gadebridge Park
Richard Reece
British Mean
1
3
5
7
9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
500
400
Land Adjacent to
Beech House
Hospital, Exning
200
Richard Reece
British Mean
Farm
0
300
Farm
200
Boxfield Farm,
Chells,
Stevenage
Richard Reece
British Mean
100
1 4
Temple
Caistor St
Edmund temple
Richard Reece
British Mean
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
400
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Villa
11 13 15 17 19 21 23
800
600
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
7 10 13 16 19 22
Shrine
Haddenham
Roman shrine
Richard Reece
British Mean
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Hertfordshire
la_tene
nauheim
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
langton_down
thistle_rosette
eye
Essex
la_tene
nauheim
langton_down
thistle_rosette
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
eye
colchester
Suffolk
nauheim
langton_down
thistle_rosette
eye
colchester
knotenfibel
la_tene
nauheim
langton_down
thistle_rosette
eye
colchester
Norfolk
la_tene
nauheim
langton_down
thistle_rosette
eye
colchester
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
knotenfibel
la_tene
nauheim
knotenfibel
langton_d…
colchester
nauheim_…
hod_hill
early_plate
headstud
horse_rider
tutulus
crossbow
unclassified
knotenfibel
knotenfibel
langton_d…
colchester
nauheim_…
hod_hill
early_plate
headstud
horse_rider
tutulus
crossbow
unclassified
35.00%
30.00%
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
la_tene
Bedfordshire
knotenfibel
knotenfibel
langton_d…
colchester
nauheim_…
hod_hill
early_plate
headstud
horse_rider
tutulus
crossbow
unclassified
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
knotenfibel
knotenfibel
langton_d…
colchester
nauheim_…
hod_hill
early_plate
headstud
horse_rider
tutulus
crossbow
unclassified
knotenfibel
knotenfibel
langton_d…
colchester
nauheim_…
hod_hill
early_plate
headstud
horse_rider
tutulus
crossbow
unclassified
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
knotenfibel
langton_d…
colchester
nauheim_…
hod_hill
early_plate
headstud
horse_rider
tutulus
crossbow
unclassified
Cambridgeshire
langton_down
thistle_rosette
eye
colchester
Conclusions
• Coins and brooches are far from ubiquitous finds at sites in eastern
England
• This clearly in large part reflects the area of investigation and the
investigation strategy
• Unsurprisingly, greater quantities of coins and brooches are
recovered from nucleated settlements, although this may in part
also reflect a disproportionate amount of investigation undertaken
at these sites
• Coin profiles from sites in the east of England are very variable, and
it is not easy to recognise ‘footprints’ for particular sites based upon
their coin profiles alone
• Whilst there is a broad regional pattern in terms of the distribution
of different brooch types there is intra-regional variation
• Analysis of patterns of coin and brooch loss will undoubtedly prove
more beneficial when the results from several regions are
compared