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New Vistas on the Distant Past

Belgic tribes of the East Midlands and South-Eastern England

In the two centuries before the Claudian invasion of Britain, the south of the country was subjected first to raiding and then to settlement by an earlier wave of invaders - the Belgae of north-east Gaul - who left no history of these events. We have to piece together the story from comments by Julius Caesar and the clues in the ground. Belgic tribes in Britain can be identified archaeologically by oppida, wheel-thrown pottery and the minting of their own coinage. Linguistically they differed so little from Brythonic-speaking Britons that we cannot detect their presence from place-names. The earliest coins appear on both sides of the Channel. The first and most spectacular type has been identified with the Ambiani, since it is found in their Somme Valley territory. A later type, issued between c. 90 and 60 BC, may be associated with King Diviciacus of the Suessiones, remembered as a powerful king in both in Gaul and Britain.^{1Caesar, Gallic Wars, II.4; An introduction to British Celtic coinage, from the online Celtic Coin Index, maintained by Oxford University.} The fact that neither of these tribes was mentioned by Ptolemy suggests that the political situation in southern Britain was fluid. An over-king could exact tribute from other tribes, so the Suessiones need not necessarily have had a colony in Britain. Yet the general picture is one of tribes vying for territory, one ousting another, so a colony could have come and gone. The Roman invasion put a stop to inter-tribal warfare and so froze the polities as they happened to stand in 43 AD, except where the Romans restored lands to their allies. The tribal boundaries shown on the map are deduced partly from pre-Roman coinage distributions and partly from Ptolemy. They thus conflate the pre and post-Roman situation and should be seen as only roughly indicative.

• Atrebates: Lived next to the Dobunni. Their town was Calleva (town in the woods) [Silchester, Hampshire], which appears in the Antonine Itinerary as Calleva Atrebatum.^{2Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.2; T. Codrington, The Roman Roads in Britain (1903), introduction.} The Romano-British town was built on the site of a Belgic settlement densly occupied c. 25 BC by a Romanised population. The Atrebates share a name with a tribe of the Gaulish Belgae living in the neighbourhood of Arras. After the conquest of the Gaulish branch of the tribe by Caesar, he installed a picked man as their king - Commius, whom he sent to Britain to pave the way for his short-lived invasion. Caesar tells us that Commius was respected in Britain, which suggests that some Atrebates were already living there. Commius later turned against Rome and was a thorn in Caesar's side.^{3Caesar, Gallic Wars, IV.21, VII, 75-6, 79, VIII, 6-7, 10, 47-8.} After Caesar crushed the final rebellion of the Gauls, Commius fled to Britain.^{4Sextus Julius Frontinus, The Strategemata, II.xiii.11.} Commius issued coins from around 45-30 BC. Coins inscribed COM COMMIUS suggest that he was followed by a son of the same name. Three men explicitly stating on their coins that they were sons of Commius might therefore be the grandsons of the friend-turned-enemy of Caesar. Coins of Tincomarus son of Commius cluster on the south coast around Chichester. So he would have been the king who was supported by a Roman presence (arriving between 10 BC and 10 AD) whose remains were found near Fishbourne Roman Palace.^{5M. Russell, Bloodline: The Celtic kings of Roman Britain (2010), p. 76.} Tincomarus seems to have fled to Rome. Two British kings are mentioned as having taken refuge with Augustus in the monumental text recording his deeds. One name is incomplete, but begins Tim... Perhaps he was ousted by his brother Eppillus, whose coins proclaim him REX (king) and carry the marks CALLE or CALLEV, indicating that they were issued at Calleva. From around 10 AD Verica, a third son of Commius, began to issue coins. Epaticcus, brother of Cunobelin, King of the Catuvellauni, conquered Calleva in about 25 AD. Then Cunobelin's son Caratacos conquered the entire kingdom after 40 AD,^{6Res Gestae Divi Augusti, 32; Celtic Coin Index.} driving Verica to seek refuge and allies in Rome. Verica persuaded the Emperor Claudius to send a force to Britain in 43 AD. Verica may have died before he could be restored to his kingdom, for it was Togidubnus who became a client king within Roman rule.^{7Cassius Dio, Roman History, 60.19 - refers to "Berikos", generally taken to be Vericos; Tacitus, Agricola and Germania, trans. H. Mattingly, with notes by J.B. Rives (2009), Agricola 14, and note 48.} By Ptolemy's day it seems that his territory had been split, with the Regni as a separate civitas. Further reading: Simon Bean, Coinage of the Atrebates and Regni (Oxford University School of Archaeology Monographs 2000).
• Belgae: Lived south of the Dobunni. According to Ptolemy their towns were Ischalis [Charterhouse, Somerset], Hot springs [Bath] and Venta [Winchester].^{8Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.2; J. T. Koch, An Atlas for Celtic Studies (2007), map 15.} The last of the three appears on the Peutinger Map and in the Antonine Itinerary as Venta Belgarum,^{9T. Codrington, The Roman Roads in Britain (1903), introduction.} evidently the civitas capital. The label Belgae, rather than a tribal name, suggests that this civitas was a creation of the Romans. The inclusion of Bath and Charterhouse among their towns would make the territory an odd shape. This may have been a short-term solution to a complex political situation, lumping together the southern part of the Dobunni with other tribes. The map shown here places Bath and Charterhouse within the territory of the Dobunni, as judged by their pre-Roman coin spread. Miles Russell argues that after the Roman conquest, the civitas of the Belgae was one of the regions initially placed under the control of Togidubnus as a client king, and that he was responsible for the construction of the temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath, which became known as Aquae Sulis.^{10M. Russell, Bloodline: The Celtic kings of Roman Britain (2010), pp. 108-112, 176, caption 82.}
• Cantiaci: Lived next to the Atrebates, but further east. Their towns were Londinium [London], Durovernum [Canterbury] and Rutupiae [Richborough].^{11Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.2; J. T. Koch, An Atlas for Celtic Studies (2007), map 15.6.} Durovernum Cantiacorum [Canterbury] evidently acted as the civitas capital. This Romano-British town was built near an Iron Age fort at Bigbury, probably called Durovernon (stronghold of alder) in pre-Roman times. The name was transferred to the new town in Latinised form.^{12A.L.F. Rivet and C. Smith, The Place-Names of Roman Britain (1979), pp. 353-4.} Londinium was a Roman creation. The promontory of Kantion [Gr.], Cantion [Lat.] (Kent) had that name from at least the first century BC and was considered the most civilised part of Britain in Caesar's day.^{13Caesar, Gallic Wars, V.14; Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, 5.21.} It was apparently not one unified kingdom at that point. Four kings of Kent joined the resistance to Caesar's invasion: Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus and Segovax.^{14Caesar, Gallic Wars, V.22.} The coins of Dubnovellaunus, perhaps the King of the Trinovantes of that name, predominate in the area up to around the turn of the millennium. Allowing for common spelling variations, he would seem to be Dumnobellaunus, the other British king who fled to Caesar Augustus. For much of the early first century AD, the coinage of Cunobelin of the Catuvellauni circulated in Kent.^{15Res Gestae Divi Augusti, 32; Celtic Coin Index.} However the Romans recognised the people of Cantion as a civitas, which was to become the Kingdom and then the County of Kent after Roman times. As with Dyfed and Dumnonia, there was a degree of continuity in both the name and the territory with the Romano-British civitas. Yet unlike them, Kent was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom. To be precise, Bede declared it to be Jutish. The foundation legend of the kingdom claims that it was given to the brothers Hengest and Horsa in return for their services in defending the country. There may be an element of truth to this. Archaeological evidence from Canterbury hints at Germanic settlers in Kent as early as the late 4th century, perhaps employed as mercenaries. Kent may be the exception to the general rule in Britain that Germanic incomers established their own polities and customs, rather than simply taking over existing ones. When we have evidence later of Kentish customs of inheritance and land-measurement, they prove to be rather different from the Anglo-Saxon norm.^{16M. Lapidge et al., The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England (1999), pp. 269-270.}
• Catuvellauni: Lived next to the Corieltauvi. Their towns were Salinae and Verolamion [Saint Albans, Hertfordshire].^{17Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.2; J. T. Koch, An Atlas for Celtic Studies (2007), map 15.6.} A tribe of the same name lived in Gaul in the valley of the river Matrona (modern-day Marne). Archaeologically the Aylesford-Swarling culture is common to the British Catuvellauni and Trinovantes, and has parallels with that of the Continental Catuvellauni. The tribal name is a compound of catu- (battle, army) and uer-lo (better), meaning excelling in battle. Caesar tells us that the war-leader who opposed him was Cassivellaunus, whose lands were separated from those of the maritime tribes by the river Thames. In Welsh legend he was remembered as Caswallon. Though Cassivellaunus had previously been continually at war with other British tribes, the threat of Roman invasion created a common cause; he was appointed to lead the defence of Britain. His central oppidum, captured by Caesar, was probably that at Wheathampstead. After that was abandoned, nearby Verulamion rose to importance.^{18Caesar, Gallic Wars, V.11, 20-21; M. Russell, Bloodline: The Celtic kings of Roman Britain (2010), pp. 21, 44; J. T. Koch (ed.), Celtic Culture: a historical encyclopedia (2006), pp. 349-50, 357-8.} The coins of Tasciovanus were the first to appear with the mint-name VER[ulamion]. He also issued coins bearing the mint mark CAMV[dunon], indicating that the Catuvellauni had taken over the capital of the Trinovantes. He was succeeded by his son Cunobelin (hound of Belenos), who made Camulodunon his capital. Coins of Cunobelin are widespread. The tendrils of his power reached from the east coast to the Severn Estuary, judging by the fact that part of the Dobunni were under Catuvellaunian control in 43 AD. His coinage is also found south of the Thames. This was more than just a trading link, for in the 30s AD a son of his called Amminus issued coins in Kent. Possibly he became too independent to please his father, for he was banished by Cunobelin and fled to the Romans. Catuvellian pressure on the Atrebates was the excuse for the invasion by Claudius in 43 AD. Not surprisingly, the opposition was led by the sons of Cunobelin, Togodumnus and Caratacos, Cunobelin himself having died shortly before. Togodumnus perished in the struggle, making the British determined to avenge his death. Caratacos fled to the Silures, and then to the Brigantes, whose queen surrendered him to the Romans. Paraded as a captive in Rome, he spoke so effectively that the Emperor Claudius pardoned him, his wife and his brothers. ^{19Cassius Dio, Roman History, 60.19-21; Cornelius Tacitus, The Annals, 12.32-39; Suetonius, The Lives of the Caesars: Caligula, 44; Celtic Coin Index.} Miles Russell spins another story, arguing that Togodumnus, reported by Cassius Dio to have been defeated and killed, was actually the King Togidubnus who acted as Rome's faithful ally.^{20M. Russell, Bloodline: The Celtic kings of Roman Britain (2010), pp. 100-112, 140-146.} Further reading: Keith Branigan, The Catuvellauni (Peoples of Roman Britain series) (1985).
• Corieltauvi: They were called the Coritani by Ptolemy, who gave their towns as Lindum [Lincoln] and Ratae [Leicester].^{21Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.2.} The Ravenna Cosmography added its own layer of confusion by giving the name of their capital as Rate Corion Eltavori. The correct reading was recognised from graffiti on a tile found in Churchover referring to the Civitas Corieltauvorum.^{22R.S.O Tomlin, Roman Leicester, a corrigendum: for Coritani, should we now read Corieltauvi?, Transactions of the Leicestershire Architectural and Archaeological Society, vol. 58 (1983), pp. 1-5.} Further reading: Malcolm Todd, The Coritani (Peoples of Roman Britain series) (1991).
• Iceni or Eceni: Lived next to the Catuvellauni and were related to the town Venta.^{23Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.2. The name appears on their coins with an initial E.} They were mentioned by Caesar as the Cenimagni (great Ceni).^{24Caesar, Gallic Wars, V.21.} Venta Icinorum [Caistor St Edmund's] appears in the Antonine Itinerary, while the town's name is rendered Venta Cenomum in the Ravenna Cosmography.^{25T. Codrington, The Roman Roads in Britain (1903), introduction; I.A. Richmond and O.G.S. Crawford, The British Section of the Ravenna Cosmography, Archaeologia, vol. 93 (1949) pp.1-50.} This tribe was initially friendly to the Romans, and so were permitted self-rule under Prasutagus as a client king. On his death his wife and daughters were so shamefully treated by Romans that Queen Boudica led a blood-soaked revolt, undoubtedly the most famous episode in the whole history of Roman Britain. Cassius Dio tells us that she was a Briton woman of the royal family and possessed of greater intelligence than often belongs to women... In stature she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace; and she wore a tunic of divers colours over which a thick mantle was fastened with a brooch.^{26Tacitus, Agricola, 16; Cassius Dio, Roman History, 62.1-12.} Further reading: John Davies and Tom Williamson (eds.), Land of the Iceni: The Iron Age in Northern East Anglia (Studies in East Anglian History 1999).
• Regni: Lived south of the Atrebates and the Cantii in Ptolemy's day. Their tribal centre was Noviomagus literally meaning new field [Chichester]. This was a common Romano-Celtic place-name, which generally refers to market towns. We can understand it in the context of the new settlements laid out by the Romans on green-field sites.^{27Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.2; J. T. Koch, An Atlas for Celtic Studies (2007), map 15.6; J. T. Koch, Celtic Culture: a historical encyclopedia (2006), p. 1362.} The tribal name - the people of the king - evidently refers to the status that King Togidubnus enjoyed as a client king after the Roman conquest. Certain states were presented to him, Tacitus tells us, - an example of the long-established Roman custom of employing even kings to make others slaves.^{28Tacitus, Agricola and Germania, trans. H. Mattingly, with notes by J.B. Rives (2009), Agricola 14, and note 48.} The palace at Fishbourne near Chichester is presumed to be his. An altar found at Chichester was dedicated To Neptune and Minerva ....by the authority of Tiberius Claudius [To]gidubnus, Great King in Britain.^{29RIB 91.} The addition of Tiberius Claudius to his name shows that he had received Roman citizenship at the hands of one of the Claudian emperors. The dedication shows that he was thoroughly Romanised. The title of Great King suggests that he ruled over more peoples than just the Regni. If so, the larger state did not survive as a permanent fixture of the Roman province. The coin scatter of the Atrebates suggests that they had incorporated the Chichester region before Verica was ousted by the Catuvellauni. So it is customary to presume that Togidubnus was a member of the royal house of the Atrebates who had been educated in Rome, perhaps a son of Verica or Tincomarus. Further reading: Barry Cunliffe, The Regni (Peoples of Roman Britain series) (1973); Simon Bean, Coinage of the Atrebates and Regni (Oxford University School of Archaeology Monographs 2000).
• Trinovantes: Lived further east than the Iceni, close to the Tamesa [Thames] estuary. Their town was Camulodunon (fortress of Camulos) [Colchester].^{30Claudius Ptolemy, The Geography, II.2; K. Cameron, English Place Names (1996), p.34.} Their name adds the Celtic intensive prefix tri- (very) to the novio (new, fresh) element noted above in the Novantae of what is now Galloway. The Novantae took their name from that of a river. In the case of the Trinovantes, a meaning related to the people themselves has been suggested, such as very lively. More prosaically, the name could equally well denote theseries of new arrivals north of the Thame latest of a series of arrivals north of the Thames.^{31The tribal name is rendered Trinobantes in the original Latin version of Caesar's Gallic Wars and sources dependent upon it. Since b and v are sometimes hard to distinguish in unfamiliar names, this is no matter for wonder, but Miles Russell enjoys playing with the idea that this could have been their real name: M. Russell, Bloodline: The Celtic kings of Roman Britain (2010), p.21.} Cassivellaunus killed the king of the Trinovantes, whose son Mandubracius fled to Caesar in Gaul. Thus the Trinovantes supported Caesar's invasion.^{32Caesar, Gallic Wars, V. 20.} Yet we hear no more of Mandubracius. The first inscribed coinage to emerge in the north Thames region is that of Addedomaros, perhaps from around 35 BC. He was followed by Dubnovellaunus, whose coins are concentrated in Essex, but also found in Kent. Dubnovellaunus fled to Rome and Tasciovanus of the Catuvellauni issued coins from Camulodonum, as did his son Cunobelin, who made Camulodunon his capital. Thus the oppidum became a focus for Roman attack in the Claudian invasion.^{33Celtic Coin Index; Coins of England and the United Kingdom: Spink Standard Catalogue of British Coins 37th ed. (2002), no. 46; Cassius Dio, Roman History, 60.21.} Once captured, it made a convenient base for the Romans. It was already fortified and had river access to a harbour. The first legionary fortress in Britain was built in the centre of the oppidum for the 20th Legion. When that legion was moved to Glevum [Gloucester] in 49 AD, the settlement was converted into the first Roman colony in Britain, officially named Colonia Claudia Victriensis to celebrate the capture of the former oppidum by Claudius. The degree to which this full ceremonial name was used is uncertain. The place appears in various sources as either Colonia or Camulodunum or Coloniae Victricensis Camulodunum. The town probably functioned as the capital of the Roman province of Britannia until the building of Londinium was sufficiently advanced. The veterans planted in the colony treated the whole place as their own, ejecting locals. The bad feeling this caused may explain why the Trinovantes joined Boudica's revolt. Colonia Claudia Victriensis was the natural first target. It was razed to the ground and the inhabitants slaughted in 61 AD. However the colony was rebuilt. The Romano-British town of Caesaromagus [Widford, nr. Chelmsford. Essex] was probably the civitas capital.^{34J. Wacher, The Towns of Roman Britain, 2nd edn. (1995), pp. 112-132, 207-214 and figs.46 and 94; G. de la Bedoyere, Roman Towns in Britain, 2nd edn. (2003), appendix 1.} Further reading: Rosalind Dunnett, The Trinovantes (Peoples of Roman Britain series) (1975).

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