Contextualising Roman coinage from Camulodunum: an exploration of economy and identity in Britannia’s first capital

An important Iron Age centre, then a Roman military installation and subsequently a major town, Camulodunum was integral to the foundation and development of the Roman province of Britannia. Yet despite its significance, much of its material culture remains understudied. Thousands of coins (the most ubiquitous of Roman artefacts) have been recovered from the town and its hinterland, but they have never been analysed in any detail.
Our ground-breaking project will address this issue by exploring the function and use of coinage in Roman Colchester for the very first time. Using the 9,749 coins held by Colchester Museums in its core collection, alongside Portable Antiquities Scheme data, published site reports and commercial archaeological ‘grey literature’, it will ask what numismatic data can reveal about the identity and workings of Camulodunum as an early and emergent Roman provincial hub. This project will make innovative use of identity theory to explore engagement with coinage by a variety of users and will focus on comparing and contrasting experience amongst diverse communities both inside and outside the ancient city. Collaborating with the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, it will also explore resonances of money with some of Colchester’s modern inhabitants, through participatory practice.