Iron Age relic causes a stir
Submitted by PaulM on Thursday, 21 August 2003 Page Views: 1633
Iron Age and Later PrehistoryA unique ancient British coin-die, used to stamp a horse design on Iron Age gold coins, has been found near Alton in Hampshire.A member of the public handed it in at the Curtis Museum where it caused huge excitement, with curator, Tony Cross, describing it as “the most significant find in Alton since the discovery of the Alton Buckle some 40 years ago”.
So rare is the die that the British Museum has only ever seen one before.
Furthermore, according to Mr Cross, the historical implications for Alton are massive. “We have Saxon and Roman relics, but very little evidence has been found of Iron Age existence. Why it has been found here I have no idea,” he said.
Having recognised its significance, Mr Cross handed the relic over to Hampshire County Council Museum Service HQ at Winchester, where archaeologists took an impression from the die.
A study of Iron Age coin books suggested that the die had been used to make Gallo-Belgic B coins.
Kay Ainsworth, the county council’s keeper of archaeology, took the die to Jonathan Williams, the curator for Iron Age coins at the British Museum, who confirmed her belief that the object was indeed the genuine article, dating to around 100BC.
The county council’s Museums and Archives Service’s identification service is inundated with finds, ranging from everyday items, to valuable treasures - and just occasionally something of great academic interest.
According to Ms Ainsworth, this find has certainly caused “quite a stir” within the Iron Age academic world.
“This department looks at thousands of objects every year but it is a rare occasion that we identify something of such international significance. This find could help to unravel the mysteries of the earliest coins ever made in Britain,” said Ms Ainsworth.
She added: “Scholars have long believed that the Gallo-Belgic B coins had been produced here, and not in France - and this discovery certainly suggests this to be the case.”
The design engraved on the working end of the die is said to include a galloping horse, a lyre-shaped symbol and a figure holding a pole.
The horse was a widely recognised symbol of wealth and power in ancient Britain, and a common motif on Celtic coins. Blank gold coins, cast in a clay mould, were placed between the two engraved dies, and the top die was struck with a hammer, transferring the design on to the coin.
Early analysis of the die at the British Museum suggests that Alton’s die may have been made by a forger - someone producing imitation gold coins for their own purposes. However, whatever its origin, it is only the second pre-Roman or Celtic coin-die ever found in Britain.
Gallo-Belgic B coins are found in south east England and northern Gaul. There were extensive trade and cultural links across the Channel before the Roman invasion of Britain in AD43. During the Iron Age, there was a major cross-Channel port at Hengistbury Head, now in Dorset, and finds at Danebury Hillfort also show evidence of links with continental Europe.
The die would have produced some of the earliest gold coins in Britain, which would have been distributed across the south and south east of England. The coins originated from the Philip of Macedon staters, a coin produced in the middle of the 4th century BC with a laureate head of Apollo on the one side, and a two-horse chariot on the other.
During the following centuries, as the use of coins gradually spread throughout Europe, the original classical design was forgotten. By the time it reached Gaul and Britain, the coins became totally abstract in design, with only the odd facial features of Apollo and disjointed horses and chariot wheels identifiable.
While an archaeological investigation is to be undertaken on the site of the find in Alton - the location of which has not been revealed - Tony Cross is hoping that the Curtis Museum may, at the very least, receive a replica of the coin-die, if not the original which, due to its historical interest, may well end up as part of the national collection in the British Museum.
Source The Alton Herald 21 August 2003
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