Celtic coins from The Netherlands and their archaeological context / Nico Roymans and Wijnand van der Sanden

Berichten van de Rijksdienstvoor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek

jaargangso, 1980

AFKORTINGEN/ABBREVIATIONS

AWN Archeologische Werkgemeenschap voor Neder-iand (Archaeoioglcal Work Group forthe Netherlands)

BABesch. Bulletin (van de Vereeniging tot hevordering derkennis van de) antieke beschamng

BAI Biologisch-Archaeologisch Instituut, GroningenBH Brabants HeemBAR British Archaeological ReportsBJ Banner JahrbucherB(K)NQB Bulletin van de(n) (Koninklijke) Nederland-

s(ch)e(n) Oudheidkundige(n) BondBRGK Bericht der Romisch-Germanischen KommissionBROB Berichten van de Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkun-

dig BodemonderzoekDAG Diaionaire archeologique de la GauleGOM (Gemeentelijk Oudheidkundig Museum, Heer-

lenIPP Instituut voor Pre- en Protohistorie, AmsterdamJGS Journal of Glass StudiesJMP Jaarboek voor munten penningkundeJNG Jahrbuchfilr Numismatik und GeldgeschichteKMP Koninklijk Munt- en Penningkabinet, Den HaagMPA Monumenta delta pittura anticaNAP Nieuw Amsterdams Peil (Dutch Datum Level)NDV Nieuzo Drents(ch)e VolksalmanakNKNOB Nieuwsbulletin van de Koninklijke Nederlandse

Oudheidkundige BondNM Noordbrabants Museum, 's-HertogenboschNN NormalnullOKT Oudheidkamer Twente, EnschedeOML Oudheidkundig e Medede (e) lingen uit het Rijksmu-

seum van Qudheden te LeidenPOM Provinciaal Overijssels Museum, ZwollePPS Proceedings of the Prehistoric SocietyPZ Praehistorische ZeitschriftRBN Revue beige de mimismatiqueRMK Rijksmuseum G, M. Kam, NijmegenRMO Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, LeidenROB Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemon-

derzoek, AmersfoortVMORG Verslagen en Mededeelingen van de Vereeniging tot

beoefening van Overijssehch regt en geschiedenisWLM Wurttembergisch Landesmuseum, Stuttgart

MOOTHet aardewerk is op schaal i: 4 afgebeeld, tenzij anders aan-gegeven; de profielen van het handgevormde aardewerk zijnwit, die van gedraaid aardewerk zijn zwart getekend.Unless otherwise stated, the pottery is drawn to a scale of 1:4;the profiles of hand-made pottery are represented in white,of wheel-thrown pottery in black.

BERICHTEN VAN DE RIJKSDIENSTVOOR HET OUDHEIDKUNDIG BODEMONDERZOEK

Berichten van de Rijksdienstvoor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek

Proceedings of the State Service

for Archaeological Investigations

in the Netherlands

jaargang 30, 1980

REDACTIE

W.A. van Es, J.F. van Regteren Altena, P.J. WelteringenW.C.MankAdres: Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek,Kleine Haag 2, 3811 HE Amersfoort, Nederland

INHOUD

Dick Stapert, A Levallois Flake from the IJssel-meer 7

T. Douglas Price, The Mesolithic of the DrentsPlateau 11

A.D. Verlinde, Die Gra'ber und Grabfunde derspaten Bronzezeit und friihen Eisenzeit in Over-ijssel, III 65

Wijnand van der Sanden, A Bronze Socketed Axefrom Wijchen, Gelderland 169

Nico Roymans and Wijnand van der Sanden, Cel-tic Coins from the Netherlands and their Archaeo-logical Context 173

D. Teunissen and H.G.C.M. Teunissen-vanOorschot, The Development of the Environmentof the Kops Plateau, near Nijmegen, since RomanTimes 255

J.H.F. Bloemers, R.S. Hulst, and WJ.H. Wil-lems, A Short Introduction to the Eastern RiverArea (ERA) Project 277

Clasina Isings, Glass from the Canabae Legionis atNijmegen; with a contribution by J.H.F. Bloe-mers 283

L.J.F. Swinkels and E.M. Moormann, Wall-Painting Fragments from a Roman Villa at Vlen-gendaal (Bochholtz) 347

L.J.A.M. van den Hurk, The Tumuli from theRoman Period of Esch, Province of North Bra-bant, IV; with a contribution by Henk Kars 367

Henk Kars, Early-Medieval Dorestad, an Ar-chaeo-Petrological Study, I: General Introduction- The Tephrite Querns 393

Henk Kars, J.M.A.R. Wevers, and R.D. Schui-ling, Struvite, a Mineralogical Curiosity from anArchaeological Site 423

NICO ROYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN

Celtic Coins from the Netherlands and theirArchaeological Context*

PREFACE page 173 SUMMARY 247

i CELTIC NUMISMATICS: OBJECTS ANDMETHODOLOGY

Coin production: technical aspectsThe ordering in time and spaceCeltic coins and their function

174

175177181

REFERENCES 248

II DISTRIBUTION AND ARCHAEOLOGICALCONTEXT OF COINS FOUND INTHE NETHERLANDS 183

Coins from the south Netherlands coversandand loss area 1841 Find spots 1842 Significance of the finds 186Coins from the eastern part of the river area 1871 Celtic coins from Nijmegen 1872 Celtic coins from the river junction atRossum/Lith 1913 Other find spots in the eastern river region 1994 Significance of the coins in the eastern riverarea 201The coin from Velsen (western Netherlands) 204

III THE SILVER TRIQUETRUM COINS FROM THEEASTERN RIVER AREA: A BATAVIAN EMISSION? 205

IV CATALOGUE OF CELTIC COINS FOUND INTHE NETHERLANDS 215

Gallic coins 216Rhenish coins 239Central European coins 246

* Translated by Ina Rike.

PREFACE

This article discusses a category of archaeological findswhich has received very little or no attention in theNetherlands to date: the Celtic coins dating from theLate Iron Age and beginning of the Roman period. Theonly Dutch author to have considered these objectsworth more than a casual mention is M.P.M. Daniels,former municipal archivist in Nijmegen, in his surveyDe antieke munten der Nijmeegse verzamelingen (TheAncient Coins in the Nijmegen Collections), publishedin 1950. This is in marked contrast with other countries,where Celtic coins have long since constituted a subjectof study and have indeed inspired a considerablenumber of publications. The blame for this discrepancy,however, must to a certain extent be placed on thegreater frequency of occurrence of such coins in thecountries adjacent to the Netherlands.In view of the general unfamiliarity of Dutch archaeolo-gists with Celtic numismatics, we decided to include anextensive introduction to our discussion of the material.At the end of this introductory section, the theoreticalframework for the functional interpretation of nativecoinage is discussed. This article does not purport toprovide a definitive functional interpretation of theDutch coins, as the geographical context is far toolimited: such analysis must span a much larger area, for

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NICO ROYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlands and their Archaeological Context

example the whole of northern Gaul. Our present aimis merely i) to present a numismatic data-set, 2) to dis-cuss the archaeological context of the finds, and 3) toexamine one specific group of coins - the silver trique-trum pieces - in more detail.The first attempts at systematic collection of all Celticcoins found in the Netherlands started in 1975 and con-tinued until the end of January 1981. In this five-yearperiod, during which also the scarce references in theliterature were researched, an inventory was compiled ofthe coins in the collections of the Dutch museums, theKoninklijk Munt- en Penningkabinet, the archaeologi-cal institutions, and a limited number of amateur ar-chaeologists. Efforts to obtain information concerningspecific coins which changed hands at coin auctionsunfortunately proved unsucccessful.This publication could not have been written withoutthe support and assistance of many - numismatists,(amateur) archaeologists, and curators alike. We areindebted most of all to Dr S. Scheers for her highlyappreciated contribution in terms of information, criti-cal comments, and warm encouragement. Thanks arealso due to: G.A.C. Beex, H.J.E. van Beuningen, Pro-fessor J.H.F. Bloemers, Professor J.E. Bogaers, L.J.van der Bij I, Dr K. Castelin, Dr J.-B. Colbert de Beau-lieu, M. Dhenin, F. G. van Dinter, A. M. Gerhartl-Wit-teveen, M.E.Th. de Grooth, Dr J.K. Haalebos, P.J.Haane, H. Hanssen, A.V.M. Hubrecht, J.T.J. Jamar,H. Jansen, H.A. de Kok, Dr L.P. Louwe Kooijmans,J.A.M. van Mourik, A. Peddemors, A. A. van der Poel,P. de Foot, A. van Sprang, Dr J. Sprenger, A. J. Sprik,M. Thirion, E. Tholen, J.R.A.M. Thijssen, A. Verha-gen, J.P.A. van der Vin, P. Vons, J. van de Wetering,S.L. Wynia, J. Ypey, and P. Zoetbrood.We are very grateful to Philips N.V., and especially toW. A. Witmer and A. Jaspers, who conducted the metalanalyses of a large number of the coins. We also wish toexpress our gratitude to Professor H.T. Waterbolk, BAI,Groningen, and Dr J.A. Bakker, IPP, Amsterdam, fortheir stimulating critique of the two graduate theseswhich form the basis of the present article.It is our sincere hope that this publication will arouse a

wider interest in native coins in general, and in particu-lar that it will convince numismatists of the importanceof the archaeological context for a true understanding ofthe role played by these coins in prehistoric societies.

I CELTIC NUMISMATICS: OBJECTS ANDMETHODOLOGY

Celtic numismatics, as a separate branch of Ancientnumismatics, is the study of mass-produced artefacts ofprehistory: the gold, silver, bronze, and potin (high tin-content) Celtic coins. The term Celtic coin was and in-deed is still used in a fairly conventional sense, that is,to denote all native coins in circulation in western, cen-tral, and eastern Europe during the Late Iron Age and,in certain areas, in the early years of the Roman Empire.The broad definition of the term is amply illustrated bythe following quotation from the Austrian numismatistK. Pink: 'Keltische Numismatik ist die Miinzkunde derkeltischen Volker im weitesten Sinne. Auch der Osten Eu~ropas, die Daker und Thraker, werden einbezogen, soweitsie am Miinzverkehr teilgenommen haben.'1

The earliest date and duration of native coin productionvaries from one place to another. Pink was adamant inhis conviction that the duration of Celtic coin produc-tion was restricted to roughly one century, from approx-imately the mid-second century BC to shortly after themiddle of the first century BC.2 Pink's dates have beenthe target of considerable criticism over the years, andin the more recent literature the chronology is proved tospan a much longer period. The earliest date of coinproduction in France, for instance, is now assumed to bethe third century BC, in Rumania even the fourth cen-tury BC. In some areas the production of Celtic coins isassumed to have ceased before the end of the first cen-tury BC, in other areas, such as Austria and Britain, itis shown to have continued until about the middle of thefirst century AD.3 This would mean that native coin pro-duction spanned a period of over three and a half centur-ies.

i Pink 1974, i. In recent years, however, there has been atrend towards sutonomy in certain areas. A striking exampleis to be seen in Rumania, where several authors refer to Dako-Getic coins and even to Geto-Dakic numismatics, in view ofthe specific nature of the local 'East-Celtic' groups of coins (cf.Preda 1966, 63-7; 1970, 63-4).

2 Cf. e.g. Pink 1974, 4.3 See slso Colbert de Beaulieu 1973, 170-2; Scheers 1977,27 and 88; Preda 1970, 64; Gobi 19733, 64; Allen 1944, 42;1980, 26. Cf. arguments against the early dating with respectto the Belgic territory, Castelin I979b, 229.

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NICO ROYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlsnds and their Archseological Context

The first systematic attempts to study the Celtic coinageof western and central Europe (the area to which we willrestrict ourselves), date from the second half of the nine-teenth century, with important contributions by Evans(1864), Muret and Chabouillet (1889), and De la Tour(1892). The stream of publications on this subject grewsteadily in the twentieth century. Influential studies inthis special field of numismatics were undertaken byBlanche! (1905), Forrer (1908; 1968; 1969), Paulsen(1933), Pink (1950, i974)> Mack (1953), Allen (1961,1980), Castelin (1965), Pautasso (1966), Gobi (19733),Colbert de Beaulieu (1973), and Scheers (1977). Thenumber of publications on Celtic numismatics has be-come so great in recent years - not least because archae-ologists have also contributed their special expertise tothis field in the past decades - that today 'no one indivi-dual can hope to master all the literature.'4

Coin production: technical aspectsIn this section we shall consider the technical processesof coin production, a subject which is of special rele-vance to one of the prime research methods in the studyof Celtic coinage: the analysis of dies. The two principalprocedures will be discussed below: the striking of coins(produced by striking individual flans by means of twoengraved dies) and the casting of coins (the entire coin,including the designs, is cast in a single operation).The production of struck coins falls roughly into threestages:1 acquisition and preparation of the raw material;2 production of the flans;3 marking the flans with an obverse and reverse type.Comparatively little is known about the first stage.Several classical authors mention gold and silver minesin barbarian territory, but these statements do not al-ways correspond with the numismatic evidence.5 TheCzech scholar K. Castelin believes that the raw materialfor the large quantities of gold coins in Bohemia waspanned out of the rivers; he bases his theory on the LateIron Age finds of Modlesovice in the Otava region (awooden trough and strands of flax with gold-dust).6 TheBritish researcher D.F. Allen emphasizes that the pre-cious metals brought back as booty from the plunderingexpeditions in the Mediterranean world may have beenan important source.7

The second stage, that is, the production of blanks, isgenerally assumed to have involved the use of clay plateswith rows of small cavities. Such plates have been foundon a large number of sites in Europe (fig. la). In 1960

s-e

Fig. la Moulds for flans from Colchester. 1:3. AfterHawkes/Hull 1947, pi. XVI.b Reconstruction of the production of flans. After Castelin1960, 37, fig. 4.c The striking of the flans. After Colbert de Beaulieu/Lefevre 1963, 58, fig. 32.

4 Allen 1980, 41.5 Allen 19763, 202-3.6 Castelin 1965, 69.7 Allen 19763, 203.

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Castelin gave the following - largely convincing - recon-struction of the technique using the clay moulds.8 Hemaintains that the depressions in the plate were fillednot with molten metal as had been commonly assumeduntil then, but with carefully weighed quantities of met-al in the form of grains, lumps, or pieces of old coins.Burning charcoal fired with the aid of bellows was thenused to melt the metal in each depression (fig. ib). Cas-telin's reconstruction offers a satisfactory explanationfor several special characteristics of the moulds, whilethe fact that the quantity of the metal was weighed priorto casting constitutes a particularly strong argument inhis favour.Expansion and criticism of this reconstruction emanatedfrom Britain. R.F. Tylecote conducted a number ofexperiments with the production of blanks and reachedthe conclusion that charcoal - in the clay or on themould - most probably served a prominent function inobtaining suitable, slightly globular blanks. He alsofound that Castelin's proposed method does not pro-duce sufficiently high temperatures to melt the metal.Tylecote's alternative suggestion is that the plate washeated under a charcoal fire.9

Moulds of the above description occur in a wide area -from Great Britain in the west to Czechoslovakia in theeast. The list of about forty find spots includes sites inGreat Britain: St Albans, Colchester, Silchester, Win-chester, Bagendon, Haverhill, Old Sleaford, Needham,and possibly also Hod Hill; in Germany: Manching andKarlstein; in Luxemburg: Titelberg; in France: Alise-Ste-Reine, Bavai, and Mont Beuvray; in Switzerland:Altenburg-Rheinau; in Poland: Krakow-Mogila; inCzechoslovakia: Stradonice, Stare Hradisko, andZavist.10 Scales have been found in St Albans, Boviolles,

Mont Beuvray, Altenburg-Rheinau, Zavist, StareHradisko, and other places.11

In some cases a different technique was employed forthe production of blanks, as for instance in southwesternFrance, where hammered-out plates of silver were cutinto pieces of the required size. In certain parts of Gaulblanks for bronze coins were cast, but the techniqueinvolved bears more resemblance to the production ofpotin coins (see below). The blanks came from themould in strips or trees, so the connecting tongues ofmetal had to be cut off prior to striking.12

The third stage in the production process, the strikingof the flans, was relatively easy (fig. ic). The blank (4)was placed on the obverse die (5) which was probablyencased in a metal ring and set in a wooden base (7). Thereverse die, which was cut at the end of a metal rod (3),was then placed on top of the blank. Both obverse andreverse types could then be obtained in a single ope-ration by hammering on the top of the reverse die. Dieshave been found in Avenches (Switzerland), Bar-sur-Aube, Martres-de-Veyre, Mont Beuvray, Moirans, andSt Symphorien-d'Ancelles (France). The finds fromBagendon and Zavist have not been conclusively identi-fied as dies. The most famous dies in eastern Europe arethose of Szalacska (Hungary), Tilisca (Rumania), andCerikovo (Bulgaria).13

West European Celtic coinage comprises one specialgroup of cast coins: the relatively late potin pieces.Unlike the struck coins, these cast coins are character-ized by accurate centring and consistency in the orien-tation of the types. The final word on the exact methodsof production has not yet been written. It is generallyassumed that the comparatively thick potin coins on theContinent were cast in two-sided clay moulds, the types

8 Castelin 1960, 35-8.9 Tylecote 19623; l$62b.10 Cf. Collis 1981, 53. St Albans: Frere 1957, 6-7 and pi.Hlb; 1958, 13 and pi. Vb; Colchester: Hawkes/Hull 1947,129-33 and pl- XVI and fig. 2; Silchester: Boon 1954, pi.XVI; Winchester: Biddle 1966, 320; 1968, 255 and fig. i;Bagendon: Allen i96ib, 144-9 and pis. XL-XLI; Haverhill:Allen 19613, 286; Old Sleaford: May 1976, 168; Needham:Frere 1941, 50, fig. 8; Hod Hill is uncertain, because themoulds deviate slightly: Brailsford 1968, 138 and pi. I4b;Manching: Kramer 1957, 42-4 and pi. 7; Karlstein: Menke1968, pi. i; Titelberg: Reding 1972, pi. XXIV; Weiller 1977,137 ff. and pi. XII; Alise-Ste-Reine: Musee Alesia; Bavai:Boucly 1966, fig. 3; Mont Beuvray: Dechelette 1927, 1052, fig.

715,5; Altenburg-Rheinau: Fischer 1966, 300 and fig. 6;Krakow-Mogila: Wozniak 1977, fig. 4; 1978, figs. 2-3; Strado-nice: Castelin 1960, figs. 1-3; Stare Hradisko: Castelin 1960,fig. 3; Meduna 1970, 54 and pi. 15; Zavist: Jansova 1974, figs.4-5-11 Cf. also Castelin 1960, 36, n. 13; 1965, 85.12 Allen 1980, 34-5.13 Avenches: Forrer 1968, 31, fig. 56; Bar-sur-Aube: Blan-chet 1905, 52; Martres-de-Veyre: Blanche! 1905, 52; MontBeuvray: Delestree/Duval 1977, figs. 1-2; Moirans: BlanchetI9°53 52, fig- !j St-Symphorien-d'Ancelles. Delstree/Duval1977, 47; Bagendon: Allen I96ib, 147 and pi. XLVI; Zavist:Jansova 1974, 26, fig. 13; Szalacska: Gohl 1907, pi. Ill;Tilisca: Forrer 1969, pi. 19; Cerikovo: Allen 19763, 205, 4a-c.

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being impressed in the mould with wooden dies or anexisting coin.14 Various theories have been launchedconcerning the technique employed for the productionof the thin British potin coins,15 the most recent onebeing that papyrus was used. The papyrus was first cutinto the shape of a coin-strip (coins connected by smalltongues). The strip was then pressed into two oblongplates of clay, after which the design was scratched intothe depressions with a stylus. Once the clay moulds haddried or been baked the metal could be poured into thetwosided mould. After the hardened coins were removedfrom the mould, all that remained was to cut off the ton-gues of metal connecting the coins.16

The only clay moulds for potin coins to have been foundso far were recovered in the nineteenth century from thesite of Boviolles in France.17

The ordering in time and spaceMost of the literature on Celtic coinage focuses on ques-tions of chronology and attribution. A survey is givenbelow of the numismatic methods of ascertaining thedate and provenance of the material after classificationinto series and classes. First, the methods employed forthe establishment of a relative chronology will be dis-cussed, then the methods whereby the numismatistobtains absolute dates (usually in the form of a terminusante or post quern), and finally we shall discuss how thenumismatic evidence is used to reconstruct the ethnicattributions.

Chronological orderingTraditionally, the most important methods of establish-ing a relative chronology are based on weight, metalliccomposition, and type. The basis of metrological re-search has been expressed by Castelin as follows: 'Es isteine ... fur fast alle keltische Gebiete festgestellte allge-meine Regel, dass die keltische Munzprdgung einer fort-schreitenden, andauernden Gewichtsv erring erung derSchrotlinge, d.i. einer stdndigen Gewichtsabnahme derMiinzen, unterlag,'18 The weight of the coins (some

researchers start out from the average weight of a certainseries or class of coins, others group their data in fre-quency distributions, applying class intervals of o.io or0.20 gr, and proceed with the modal classes) is employedas a criterion to arrange different classes within one se-ries and typologically associated series in relation to oneanother.19

It is a common phenomenon in the coinage of antiquitythat coin series undergo changes in composition in thecourse of time, and that these changes always signify adecline in the metal standard. This process is also to beobserved among the gold and silver Celtic coins; andhere, too, the metallic composition serves as a guide-linefor the determination of the relative chronological posi-tion. In the words of Castelin: 'Im keltischen Miinzwesenist es eine fast ausnahmslose Regel, dass Miinzen mithoherem Feingehalt zu dem dlteren, fruheren Geprdgen zurechnen sind, dagegen Statere mit geringerem Goldgehaltunter die spdteren, also jungeren, Geprdge einzureihensind.'20 Sometimes the process of gradual deteriorationof standards is visible to the naked eye, as in the case ofseries that are produced in various alloys (the rainbowcups of the triquetrurn type). However, to determine thechronological order of the different classes within oneseries of the same metallic composition, it is necessaryto undertake laboratory tests to analyse the metals che-mically, by X-ray fluorescence or neutron activation.21

The third general indicator is the type. The typologicaldevelopment often tends towards increasing abstractionand fantastic designs.The Austrian numismatist R. Gobi warns against an alltoo dogmatic use of weight as the criterion, especiallywhen the data base is very small. The results of Gobi'sstudy of the dies have shown that the decline in weightis not always equally regular, and that there are obviousfluctuations.22 The same warning is expressed by theFrench researcher J.B. Colbert de Beaulieu: 'Le poids dlui seul ni meme I'aloipar lui meme ne sont des elements suf-fisantspour etablir la succession reelle. Le critere est ... lateneur reelle en fin de la piece de monnaie.'23 The author

14 Colbert de Beaulieu 1975, 25-6.15 Evans 1855 (wooden casting moulds with branded cointypes); Mack 1953 (moulds of clay with impressions of woodendies); Dolley 1954 (lost-wax method).16 For the papyrus theory see Wild 1966; Allen 19713; argu-ments against this theory in Hodges 1966.17 Blanchet 1905, 57; Allen I97ib, 28, n. 5.18 Castelin 1965, 28.

19 Cf. e.g. Castelin 1965 and Scheers 1977.20 Castelin 1965, 29.21 See Gobi 1978, 241-2. There are specific advantages andlimitations to each method. Comparison of the results of thedifferent research methods must take into account the specificcharacteristics of the various methods.22 Gobi 19733, 20.23 Colbert de Beaulieu 1973, 37; Cf. also Forrer 1969, BN 31.

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also stresses the relative value of the metrological data:series deriving from different ethnic groups cannot belinked together on this basis.24 Finally, in the methodicalpart of his Traite, he draws attention to the fact that thetypological development does not always follow thesame course. His analysis of the dies of the silver Corio-solites coins has shown that the development can some-times take the opposite direction.25

One of the most recent methods in the study of Celticcoinage is indeed the comparative analysis of coin-dies.The method was introduced at the turn of the centuryin connection with Greek numismatics, and it was ap-plied to Celtic coins by Colbert de Beaulieu in the1950s.26 It is based on the critical scrutiny of the typesand the identification of types obtained with the samedie (this is done by means of measurements and/or onthe basis of easily recognizable distinctive features, suchas those resulting from cracks in the die). Colbert deBeaulieu's study also showed (as might be expectedfrom the point of view of technology) that the numberof reverse dies exceeded the number of obverse dies byfar, so that numerous combinations of dies occur. Thestudy of these combinations of dies, coupled with care-ful observation of the growing cracks in the dies, ena-bled Colbert de Beaulieu to determine the relative chro-nology of three classes of the silver Coriosolites coins.25

Quite independently of Colbert de Beaulieu, Gobi alsoarrived at this purely technical approach to the problem,although the scope of the method was considerablyenlarged by his studies.27 Gobi based his study on theactual coin-striking process. Intensive use of the samedie results in signs of wear: the image becomes blurred,while diameter and curvature increase (thus makingstraight lines curve). Contrary to what is generallyassumed, however, the old, worn dies were not alwaysdiscarded. Old dies could be touched up for re-use, andnaturally this touching up is dependent on the extent ofwear of the die. The same die could be touched upseveral times, and sometimes it was even altered to pro-duce an entirely new type. The study of these successivestages of wear, touching up (Nachschnitt) and alteration(Umschnitt) of dies enabled Gobi to distinguish eight

die-continua (Prdgestdmme) for Westnoricum, and tosynchronize the different 'families' on the basis of die-links, stylistic parallels, and the like.28

Gobi expresses himself very clearly with regard to therelevance of this time-consuming and little consideredmethod: 'Die Bedeutung verldsslicher technischer Unter-suchungen in der Numismatik bedarf keiner besonderenUnterstreichung: da es gegen den Nachweis des technischenAblaufes keinen Einspruch gibt, ist die negative Kompo-nente des spekulativen Elements ausgeschaltet, Der tech-nische Methodologie gebiihrt in der Numismatik eindeutigder Vorrang gegenuber alien anderen, spdter nicht minderwichtigen Methoden, deren Einsetzung in das gewonneneGeriist iiberdies dann besonders an Tragfdhigkeit gewinnt,wenn dieses wirklichfeststeht.''29

A special aid in the reconstruction of the relative chro-nology of coins is the occurrence of superimpositions, aswhen a coin of a particular type was used as a flan fora coin of another type, so that the two original obverseand reverse types are overlaid by two new ones. Thisoverlay has been observed more than once, especially inNoricum.30 If the original coin can still be identified(which is not always possible), it provides a terminus postquern for the superimposed type, while comparative ana-lysis of the different combinations provides insight intothe relative chronology of different types.Another important source of information on the relativechronology is the study of hoards. A large number ofcoin hoards dating from the Late Iron Age have beenfound in Europe.31 Some of these hoards consist exclusi-vely of coins, others comprise coins accompanied bynecklaces, fibulae, and other objects. The number ofcoins in such a hoard can run into several thousands(Jersey-g: 12,000 Coriosolites staters, Lavilleneuve-au-Roi: c. 13,000 silver coins; each of these hoards containsroughly the same number of coins that have been foundin the whole of Britain).32 Among the most famous ofthese hoards are Tayac-Libourne, Snettisham, Frasnes-lez-Buissenal, and the recently discovered hoard of Nie-derzier. Several hoards were discovered in the eigh-teenth and nineteenth centuries, and as a consequencethe exact contents are not always known.

24 Colbert de Beaulieu 1973, 224, n. 361.25 Colbert de Beaulieu 1973, 112 ff.26 Colbert de Beaulieu describes his characteroscopic meth-od in detail in Colbert de Beaulieu 1973, 40 ff.27 Gobi 1972; 19733, 10 ff; I973b, 8 ff.28 Gobi 19733, 23-30.

29 Gobi 1972, 54.30 Cf. Gobi 19733, 15.31 Cf. e.g. Scheers 1977, 872 ff for the Gallo-Belgic area; forBritain, see Allen 1961, 286-96; for central Europe, see Caste-lin 1965, table X; Pink 1974, 54 ff.32 Cunliffe 1981, 29.

I78


Information concerning the relative chronological posi-tion of different coin types can only be obtained bymeans of comparative study of several hoards, for thesimultaneous burial of various coin types in one pot doesnot necessarily mean that the coins were all minted atthe same time. Furthermore, comparative research intocoin hoards comprising datable Roman coins can pro-vide fixed dates for an absolute time scale. In one suchhoard the most recent (dated) Roman coin merely signi-fies a terminus post quern for the burial, which does nothelp much in establishing the date of the native coins inthe hoard. Only the repeated occurrence of certain com-binations of coins within a limited time-span can pro-vide an appropriate terminus ante quern for the produc-tion of native coins.An important characteristic of Celtic coinage is that it isimitative: the native coins derive their types from eitherGreek or Roman examples. Thus the main prototypes ofthe gold staters in the western Celtic area are the goldstater of Philip of Macedonia and a few staters of thetown of Tarentum. The chief examples of the gold andsilver coins of central Europe were, respectively, thegold stater of Alexander the Great and the silver tetra-drachm of Philip of Macedonia. Of the numerousRoman republican coins which served as prototypes fornative coin groups, the best known is the denarius ofPublius Sulla, which served as the example for the Gal-lic KAAETEAOY SVLA coins.33 The date of the prototypeprovides a terminus post quern for the native series, butwe have no certainty about the date of the commence-ment of native production: the gap between the two mayhave been long or short.Among the coins of the Celts there are a fairly largenumber of epigraphic coins, that is, coins on which oneor more names are inscribed. In the nineteenth centuryit was already recognized that some of the namesappeared to correspond with the names of kings andchiefs mentioned in Julius Caesar's Commentaries. Thishistorical connection with the Gallic War (58-51 BC)provides an overall absolute dating for the coins. Thisinduced F. de Saulcy in 1867 to publish a list of 28

names associated with France. However, this list wasseverely reduced in later years: many of the names werescrapped because the links were considered too tenuous.This ultimately left eight names of prominent leaders inGaul mentioned by Caesar. They are: ADIETVANVS(Adiatuanus), COMMIOS (Commius), DVBNOREIX(Dumnorix), DVRAT (Duratios), EPAD (Epasnactus),LITAVICOS (Litavicus), TASGIITIOS (Tasgetius) andVERCINGETORIXS (Vercingetorix).34

In Britain, too, a number of coin legends, in combina-tion with historical sources, provide clues for an abso-lute chronology. Thus the coins of Tincommivs andDvbnovellavnus can be dated to the beginning of thefirst century AD; both names are mentioned in EmperorAugustus' Res Gestae (Monumentum Ancyranum, AD14). Indications for the date of the coins with the namesof Verica, Cunobelinus, and Caratacus are to be foundin the writings of the author Dio Cassius.35 Finally, thelegend VOKK, which occurs on Westnoric silver coins,could be connected with the Noric king Voccio, who islikewise mentioned by Caesar.36

Another pointer for the absolute time-scale is providedby the historically dated complex of ditches D near theFrench village of Gresigny, in the direct vicinity of theoppidum Alesia.37 In the mid-nineteenth century Napo-leon III ordered excavations to be undertaken on thissite, which yielded numerous native and Roman coins(449 Celtic and 134 Roman).38 This particular find com-plex can be associated directly with an event - thestorming of Labienus' camp - which is described byCaesar in his Commentaries as taking place in the year 52BC. That year constitutes a terminus ante quern for thedifferent coin groups encountered on this site: the coinsmust have been in circulation before that date or theycould not have been found in the ditches. However, theAlesia complex is sometimes used as negative evidence:if a relatively late and widespread type of coin does notoccur in the ditch complex D, this is taken to mean thatthe coin in question did not exist before 52 BC, in whichcase that date provides a terminus post quern.39

33 For a general survey of the prototypes, see, e.g., Forrer1968; for a detailed survey of the republican prototypes of na-tive coins in the Gallic area, see Scheers 1969.34 Colbert de Beaulieu 1962.35 Allen 1944, 7, 9, 21, 23, and 26.36 Gobi 19733, 76.37 Le Gall 1963.

38 The native coins comprised 10 specimens of gold, 246 ofsilver, 140 of bronze, and 53 of potin. Gold appears to haveplayed a negligible role - at least in Gaul - after the GallicWar. Silver, bronze, and potin predominate after that date.See for the list of coin groups, Colbert de Beaulieu 1955.39 E.g., for the type BN 8124 (catalogue sub XI); cf. Colbertde Beaulieu in Forrer 1969, BN 49.

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Some researchers seek to correlate hoards40 or certaindevelopments in coin series with historically docu-mented events. An example of the latter is to be seen inS. Scheers' study of the Treveri staters d I'oeuil (seecatalogue sub III). Another example is to be found inColbert de Beaulieu, who relates the metrological deve-lopments of the monnaies d la croix to the main eventsin the history of the Tectosagae.41 As certain as the his-torical dating of Alesia is, so speculative and uncertainare the historical links - hence also the dates - of the lat-ter.Finally, mention should be made of the use of the den-drochronological dating of wood remains from theTitelberg.42 Some researchers have used this date (31BC) as a terminus ante quern for the Celtic coins from thelayer underlying the wood.43 However, this date shouldserve exclusively as a terminus post quern, since the onlyconclusion that can be drawn is that the Celtic coins de-riving from the layer above the wood remains foundtheir way into that layer after 31 BC.

Ordering in spaceThe object of the numismatist is not only to establish thechronology of coins, but also to order the material inspace. In practice this usually means that the differentcoin series are attributed to certain ethnic groups. Theimportance that is attached to the attribution is illus-trated by the following statement by G. Behrens con-cerning the Celtic coins in the Rhineland: 'Das Endzielbei der Erforschung der keltischen Numismatik muss sein,die einzelnen Munztypen bestimmten Volksstdmmen zu-weisen zu konnen.'44 Attribution to specific ethnic unitsis effected by combining the data from two sources:archaeological (the actual coins and their find spots) andhistorical (observations by classical authors concerning

the different ethnic groups and their respective home-lands).45

Usually a coin series is attributed to the group on whoseterritory the largest concentrations of the coins (bothstray finds and hoards) were encountered. An exampleof this is to be seen in The Early Coins of the Treveri byD.F. Allen, who employs the criterion of geographicdistribution to attribute a number of related series ofgold pieces to the Treveri, which had long been assumedto derive from the Aulerci Cenomani (Emigrati) on thebasis of typological similarities.46 Colbert de Beaulieusometimes attributed specific series to a certain ethnicgroup by using circles of a certain radius, at the centreof which the chief settlement of the group was situated.In such cases the circle in which the greatest number offinds occur determines the ethnic attribution.47 How-ever, for such methods to be effective it must be possibleto distinguish a nucleus in the distribution pattern.The coins found in oppida can also provide indicationsas to the provenance of certain coin groups. The verylarge number of CRICIRV coins (over 50% of the total inthe oppidum Pommiers - Caesar's Noviodunum, chieftown of the Suessiones - is generally regarded as proofof their attribution to the Suessiones.48 Similarly, thehigh proportion of ARDA coins (c. 38.5 %) on the Titel-berg was decisive for their attribution to the Treveri.49

Yet another method of ordering is that based on typolo-gical analogy: a coin series exhibits typological similari-ties with contemporary series of neighbouring ethnicgroups. That exceptions to this rule may well occur hasbeen demonstrated in connection with the early Trevericoins.50

A particularly important source of information is, again,provided by the coin legends. A number of those leg-ends, largely occurring on silver and bronze coins in the

40 One of the best-known examples is Ferrer's interpreta-tion of the hoard of Tayac-Libourne. He believes that thecomposition of the hoard reflects the migrations of Cimbresand Teutons, and accordingly dates the find to c. no BC; cf.also Kellner 1970.41 Colbert de Beaulieu 1973, 278 ff. and esp. fig. 50.42 Metzler 1977, 37.43 Scheers 1977, 191; 1981, 20.44 Behrens 1949-50, 336.45 This also often happens when there is no certainty withrespect to the chronology, as in the case of Allen 19713, wherethe author attributes coins dating from the second century BCto the Treveri, whereas the earliest written sources whichmention this particular ethnic group date from the mid-first

century BC; id. Scheers 1977, 27 ff, in connection with theAmbiani. It is generally assumed that the coins were centralemissions. However, there is no conclusive evidence to sup-port this. It is for instance also possible that the early gold andsilver coins were brought into circulation by individual noble-men, and that the late bronze pieces were introduced by pagi;cf. Collis 1974; Nash 1976, 1978. This constitutes one of themost important areas of future research in Celtic numismatics.46 Allen 19713.47 Colbert de Beaulieu 1973, 118 ff.48 Colbert de Beaulieu 1973, 355.49 Scheers 1977, 150.50 Colbert de Beaulieu 1973, 142 ff; Scheers 1977, 22, n. 89.

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Gallic area, clearly reflect the names of ethnic groups,sometimes combined with personal names: REMO/REMO(Remi), AR/VOLC (Volcae Arecomeci), AVLIRCO IIBVRO-vic (Aulerci Eburovices), REX ADIETVANVS FF/SOTIOTA(Sotiates), SVTICOS/VELIOCA®! (Veliocasses).51 Ob-viously personal names can also provide informationconcerning the origin of coins. An exceptional case is pre-sented by several groups of British coins bearing the leg-ends (sometimes fragmentarily) CAMVLODVNO, VERLA-MIO, and CALLEVA. These are the only coins - exceptingthose from the Iberian peninsula - upon which the placeof mintage is inscribed: notably Camulodunum (Colches-ter), Verulamium (St Albans), and Calleva (Silchester).52

Finally, important indications of coin production in acertain locality are the dies and moulds mentioned pre-viously. Well-preserved dies can of course be directlyrelated to a certain type of coin, but in the case ofmoulds (for the production of blanks) such links aremore difficult to establish. Analysis of metal traces inthe depressions as well as the diameter of the depres-sions in the moulds can, however, give direction to cer-tain hypotheses.

Celtic coins and their functionAs we have seen in the preceding section, numismatistshave devoted most of their efforts to the problems ofchronology and attribution. However, some attentionhas also been paid to e.g. art-historical aspects, notablythe general trend in stylistic development, the interre-gional differences, and the relation with other contem-porary art forms.53 The nature of the representations onthe coins has also been studied, and it is in this field thatthe most fantastic theories have come to the fore, nota-bly in the works of L. Lengyel and M.E.P. Koenig.54

The interpretations of these 'astro freaks', however, de-serve to be forgotten as soon as possible. More down-to-earth suggestions are made by Allen in his article 'Belgiccoins as illustrations of life in the late pre-Roman IronAge of Britain,' which deals in particular with weapons,warfare, horse-trappings, the physical appearance ofmale and female Britons, religious ceremonies, and thelike.55

A similar close tie with history, this time not so muchan illustration as a reconstruction, is to be found in 'TheBelgic dynasties of Britain and their coins,' in whichAllen approaches history from a numismatic point ofview.56 Using distribution maps of mostly epigraphiccoins, he reconstructs the political history of the Belgicand non-Belgic dynasties in England: Atrebates, Trino-vantes, Catavellauni, and Cantii on the one hand, andDurotriges, Dobunni, Iceni, Brigantes, and Coritani onthe other. Allen establishes the dynastic relations andtraces the territorial expansions and divisions. The storythat unfolds is one of warring kings. Sometimes Allen'shistory seems a little far-fetched, as for example, in thecase of Caratacus, son of Cunobelinus, where one singlecoin is used as the starting-point for unequivocal state-ments concerning Caratacus' and his father's politicalaims.However, on the most important aspect of these nativecoins, namely their function, the numismatists have verylittle to say. If this aspect is mentioned at all it is in pas-sing, and in a conventional sense: the coins are regardedas having the same function as money in modern society,namely as a means of (commercial) exchange. The fol-lowing excerpts offer typical examples of such implicituse of the formal definition of money:57

J.-B. Colbert de Beaulieu on the gold Gallic coins: 'Pre-mierement, la pratique de Vor monnaye constitue le stadeprimaire dufinancement des operations commerdales,'5* K.Castelin on the gold Bohemian coins: 'Dorthin gelangtenals Erlos fur die handwerklichen Erzeugnisse Munzen ausdem Geldumlauf im Lande und auch aus der Fremde.'59 J.Winkler on Rumanian silver coins: 'Die erstaunlichgrosse Zahl von Typen und Varianten der lokalen Munzendeutet auf eine fortgeschrittene Wirtschaft mit lebhaftenTauschbeziehungen, die immer wieder neue Munzserienbenotigte.'60

In the course of the 19705 the subject carne under dis-cussion in (British) archaeological circles, thanks largelyto the stimulating influence of J. Collis, who posited, ina number of articles, that the differences in archaeologi-cal context indicated that valuable gold and silver coinsserved primarily for the storage of wealth, and that they

51 Colbert de Beaulieu in Forrer 1969, BN 52. 5652 Allen 1980, 127. 5753 Cf. e.g. Allen I976b; Duval 1979. 5854 Lengyel 1954; Koenig 1966; 1976. 5955 Allen 1958; cf. also Allen 19710; Muckelroy/Haselgrove/ 60Nash 1978.

Allen 1944.Polsnyi 1968, 194.Colbert de Besulieu 1973, 214.Castelin 1968, 123.Winkler 1966, 102.

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circulated by means of gift-exchange, while the smallsilver, bronze, and potin coins (class II) functioned inmarket economies in the larger setttlements.61 W. Rod-well opposes this interpretation; he does not see any evi-dence of the circulation of gold and silver coins in a 'gift-exchange or similar mysterious process,' and thereforesees no reason to refute the notion that the coins wereused primarily for money market transactions.62

Although the archaeologist Rodwell agrees with the pre-vailing numismatic views, Allen expresses the sameideas as Collis, in an article published posthumously.63

To judge the respective merits of the above views andalso to comprehend the most recent developments, it isnecessary to take a brief look first at the controversybetween the formalist and substantivist approaches toeconomic anthropology.64 The economics historian KarlPolanyi and his colleagues have argued convincinglythat formal economic theory, designed to explain thephenomena of the western industrial market system(that is, a transactional mode in which goods, services,and resources are exchanged at prices determined by theimportant forces of supply and demand, the prices intheir turn performing the function of allocating factorresources among alternative outputs) is not applicable toother economic systems. The application of conceptsrelating to the historically unique capitalist system in theanalysis of primitive economies inevitably causes distor-tion. Hence Polanyi and his associates redefined oldconcepts more neutrally, and developed new concepts.The substantivists, as they are called, demonstrated thatin primitive society most goods and services are trans-acted according to other, non-market principles, termedreciprocity and redistribution, which are embedded insocial relations.65 The economy is not a separate subsys-tem, as in our society, but is strongly affected by kin-ship, political organization, religion, and so on. Markets(that is, specific sites where buyers and sellers convene)and/or the market principle may be present in primitive

61 Collis 19713; 19710; 1974; 1976.62 Rodwell 1976, 207-8, 211-2, 313-4; cf. also Cunliffe1981. Rodwell maintains that also exceptional and luxurygoods, such as Italian wine, Roman pottery of high quality, aswell as silver and bronze dishes, were freely available on themarket for anyone to buy. His arguments in favour of the exis-tence of a market economy and the functioning therein of bothhigh and low-value coins are not very convincing. His concep-tion of primitive economies is an obvious case of, as he himselfputs it, 'entrenched dogma'.63 Allen 19763, 200-2.

societies, but only peripherally. P. Bohannan and G.Dalton cite the most important characteristics of theperipheral market as: (i) market sales are not the domi-nant source of livelihood; (2) supply and demand forcesare operative, but are affected by a variety of social fac-tors; (3) prices made in the market-place do not performthe function of allocating factor resources among alter-native outputs; (4) rarely, if ever, are land or labourtransacted through this market.66 In contrast to modernsociety, the economy of many primitive societies is orga-nized into independent spheres, each transacting differ-ent materials or assets, and each marked by differentmoral values and (possibly) different transactionalmodes. Primitive economy, in this view, is regarded asmulticentric.67

The substantivists' insistence that superficially similarphenomena in different economic systems need not havefunctioned in the same way certainly applies to money.Although money fulfils more than one function in ourmarket-dominated society, the most important use is asa means of commercial exchange. This so-called generalpurpose money is a prerequisite for an economy inwhich market exchange is the chief transactional mode.In non-market integrated societies the situation is dif-ferent. In the words of Polanyi:'...different objects are, as a rule, employed in differentmoney uses. The various money uses are therefore institu-tionalized separately and, mostly, independently from oneanother. Consequently, the distinction between the variousmoney uses is here of utmost practical importance for theunderstanding of the money use of quantifiable objects.'6*Polyani termed such money, which serves only one ortwo functions, special purpose money. Other moneyuses - besides its role as medium of exchange as dis-cussed above - are described by the same author as fol-lows:69

- means of payment: discharging of obligations throughthe handing over of quantifiable objects; in many primi-

64 Cf. Polanyi/Arensberg/Pearson 1957; Dalton 1961; 1968;Ksplan 1968.65 Reciprocity is defined as 'exchange between people whoare bound in non-market, non-hierarchial relationships withone another'; redistribution is defined as 'movement of goodstoward an administrative centre and their reallotment by thecentral authorities' (Bohannsn 1963, 231-2).66 Bohannan/Dalton 1962.67 Cf. eg. Bohannan 1959.68 Polanyi 1968, 191.69 Polanyi 1968, 178-88, 192-3; see also Dalton 1965.

182


tive societies the capacity to make big payments con-ferred prestige and enhanced status.- storage of wealth or hoarding: accumulation of quan-tifiable objects for future disposal or simply to hold astreasure; their possession and display should redound tothe credit of the owner and all those whom he mayrepresent.- standard of value or accounting use of money is theequating of amounts of different goods either for thepurposes of barter or in any other situation involving theneed for accountancy, e.g. administration.It is largely within this explicit substantivist economicframework that the most recent contributions explainthe function of the different groups of Celtic coins inBritain. Haselgrove argues that the gold coins - as a spe-cial purpose money in the prestige sphere - served as ameans of payment and for the storage of wealth.70 Pay-ments were made to meet social, political, or religiousobligations, for example, dowries, death compensations(Wergeld),n fines, and services rendered.72 Haselgrovejustly criticizes Collis and others for assuming that theoccurrence of large numbers of bronze and potin coinsin the major and minor nucleated settlements indicatesthe emergence of a market economy in the modernsense. Both bronze and potin coins could have been usedas a means of exchange within a distinct sphere, forexample, that of subsistence (food, ordinary domesticutensils), in a multicentric economy.73

Ian Hodder put forward the hypothesis that bronzecoins are not necessarily connected with the existence ofmarkets. They may have served as payments (tribute)and as a local standard in the socially and politically con-trolled process of collection of goods from the local tri-bal areas, involving a high frequency of interchange,accounting, and conversion. As Hodder says, 'the bronzecoinage aided exchange at fixed rates as a controlled, so-cially embedded process.'74

It should be clear from the foregoing that the majorityof numismatic scholars and some archaeologists take anethnocentric view of Celtic coinage, thereby seriouslydistorting our conception of the money uses in Iron Agesocieties. Substantivist economic theory offers a betterguide-line for the study of socio-economic phenemenaof primitive society. Some British students of Celticcoins, working within this paradigm, have advanced

hypotheses concerning the role of native coins in LateIron Age society. Markets and the market principle arethought to have occupied only a peripheral place. Totest these hypotheses, more studies of coin distributionand quantitative approaches are needed, and, equallyimportant, social-cultural analyses of other aspects ofLate Iron Age societies.

II DISTRIBUTION AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF

COINS FOUND IN THE NETHERLANDS

The chart and distribution map of figs. 2 and 3 give asurvey of the find spots of Celtic coins in the Nether-lands. It is immediately evident that their occurrence inthe Netherlands is limited to the three southern pro-vinces of Limburg, North Brabant, and Gelderland.The coin from Velsen (province of North Holland) isthe only exception; in the northern and western Nether-lands, including the Zeeland area, other such nativecoins do not occur. The vast majority of the coins de-rives from the eastern part of the Netherlands river re-gion, which may be regarded as comprising also theNorth Brabant Maaskant. The other coins come fromthe late Pleistocene coversand and loss regions of NorthBrabant and Limburg, with the exception of the piecefrom Velsen in the west Netherlands coastal region.Virtually all the coins discussed here were found in siteswhere Late Iron Age and/or Early Roman settlementshave existed or were to be expected. Of particular im-portance regarding the function of Celtic coins in thesesettlements is the nature and date of habitation - hencespecial attention will be paid in this chapter to thearchaeological context in which the coins discussed heremay be placed. The find spots in the southern coversandand loss areas, those in the eastern river region, and theone find spot in the western coastal zone will be dis-cussed in succession. In some instances it is possible todiscuss the settlements and the coins encountered therein more detail; Nijmegen and Rossum/Lith, two centresin the eastern river region, have yielded over thirty coinseach, thus permitting comparison with the coin lists ofother contemporary Belgian and Rhineland centres.However, in the case of most other settlements it is notpossible to draw conclusions, particularly because the

70 Haselgrove 1979. 7371 Cf. Grierson 1978. 7472 E.g. military services; cf. also Nash 1978; Kent 1978.

Haselgrove 1979, 205-6; see also Nash 1978, 7.Hodder 1979, 191.

183

NICO ROYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlands and their Archaeologies! Context

Fig. 2 Table of Celticcoins found in theNetherlands.

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nature and date of the habitation have not yet beenestablished.Five coins, which have been included in the cataloguelist for completeness sake, will not be discussed in thischapter: the two gold Treveri staters (I-i and III-i), thetwo central European gold staters (XVII-i and XVIII-i), and one AVAVCIA coin (XIV-56). These pieces werereportedly found in the Netherlands. However, the ori-ginal nineteenth-century indications regarding theirfind spots are very vague,75 the reliability thereof cannotbe furthur verified, and the occurrence of these coins(with the exception of the AVAVCIA coin) in the Nether-

lands does not fit in with what we now know of the dis-tribution areas of these coin types. It is, therefore, advis-able to consider Dutch origin uncertain in these cases,and accordingly to exclude the coins from the analysisbelow.

The coins from the south Netherlands coversand and lossarea.

i The find spots

A brief look at the distribution map of Celtic coins in theNetherlands shows that five find spots are located in the

75 The find spot notation of the three coins 'from Nijmegenor Goch' - 2 gold Treviri staters and one AVAVCIA coin - alsodates from the nineteenth century. The notes in DAG ii 1919,

296, are based on information from Van der Chijs, director ofthe Academisch Munt- en Penningkabinet of the LeidenUniversity in the mid-nineteenth century.

184

NICO ROYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlands and their Archseological Context

Fig. 3 Find spots of Celtic coins in the Netherlands.

holocene marine clay, river clay, and peaty soils

pleistocene coversand and loss areas; holocene dunesands along the coast

1 Velsen2 IJzendoorn3 Rossurn/Alem/Maren4 Kessel5 Lith6 Alphen7 Teeffelen8 Megen

9 Nijmegen10 Grave11 Orthen12 Veghel13 Bladel14 Kessel15 Horn/Beegden16 Heerlen

southern part of the country. Three of these sites (Heer-len, Kessel, Horn/Beegden) are situated in the provinceof Limburg; the North Brabant coversand area hasyielded only two find spots, namely Veghel and Bladel.

A total of four gold coins has been found in the southernNetherlands. Virtually nothing is known of the find cir-cumstances of the two quarter staters of the Pegasustype. One of them was found in a field near Heerlen; ofthe other piece we know only that it was found in Lim-burg. Fortunately, we are somewhat better informedabout the find circumstances of the gold Ambiani staterfrom Bladel. The coin is a surface find and derives fromthe archaeologically rich site Kriekeschoor, which islocated on a coversand ridge at the confluence of twosmall rivers. In the course of recent excavations at thissite the remains of a (severely disturbed) native ceme-tery from the Roman period have been unearthed, aswell as traces of a Late Iron Age enclosure.75 The find

76 Excavations were conducted here in 1978 and 1979 by theArcheologisch Instituut der Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam,under the supervision of J. Slofstra.

185

Nico ROYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlands and their Archaeological Context

material collected to date comprises objects from boththese periods. Noteworthy in this connection are eightfragments of glass La Tene bracelets, a bronze spoon-bow fibula, and some Early Roman imported pottery,including Belgic beakers and a specimen af Arretine ter-ra sigillata from the Augustan-Tiberian period.77 Theother Ambiani stater from the Netherlands was found inan asparagus field south of Donk, a hamlet in the muni-cipality of Kessel, on the Maas. No Late Iron Age orRoman material has yet been found at this site, with theexception of a second-century sestertius and somesherds of native pottery.78

The find spot of the bronze coin from Veghel, probablyminted in pre-Augustan times, is not known in detail.However, habitation traces from the Roman period havebeen found near the Mastbrug in Veghel79, although itis impossible to establish the exact date of the oldestmaterial. Furthermore, a republican denarius fromVeghel is mentioned by Boersma.80

All the other Celtic coins from the southern Netherlandsare of the bronze AVAVCIA type. Such pieces were foundin Heerlen and Horn/Beegden. In Heerlen/Coriovallumfive specimens were retrieved, three being unearthedduring excavation work.81 In the Roman period a settle-ment of considerable size developed on this site, whichwas situated at the junction of the roads leading fromBavai to Cologne and from Aachen to Xanten. To judgefrom the Arretine terra sigillata encountered there, theearliest habitation of the site may be dated to the (late)Augustan or Tiberian period.82 Although little is knownof the nature and extent of the habitation, it seems likelythat we are dealing here with a Strassenvicus guarded byspecial army units.83 Also from Heerlen come two frag-ments of glass La Tene bracelets.84 All we know of thefind spot of the AVAVCIA coin of Horn/Beegden is thatit was reportedly found in a Roman cemetery situated

77 All these finds await publication, with the exception ofsome fragments of glass Late La Tene bracelets, which arelisted in Peddemors 1975, 122 (nos. 278-79).78 Bloemers 1973, 25, and oral communic3tion of the finderof the coin. During 3 visit by N. Roymans to the site severalnative sherds were collected. More precise dating is, however,not possible.79 Beex 1973, 183.80 Boersma 1963, 59.81 Possibly some more AVAVCIA coins are included amongthe find material of the ROB excavations in Heerlen, whichawaits inventorization (oral communication Professor J.E.Bogaers and J.T. J. Jamar).

between the two villages in 1854. The occurrence ofAVAVCIA coins in Early Roman graves is not unusual;they have been found in a similar context in Cologne,Kobern (in the German Rhine and Moselle regions, res-pectively), and in Blicquy (Belgium).85

2 The significance of the findsAll the gold coins that are known to be of Dutch originwere encountered on the Late Pleistocene sands or lossgrounds of North Brabant and Limburg: two Ambianistaters de type uniface and two quarter staters of thePegasus type. The coins are the most peripheral exam-ples in the distribution area of both types, the main con-centrations clearly being located outside the Nether-lands (cf. fig. 17). Together they represent the oldestgroup of Celtic coins from the Netherlands, becausethey were struck during the Gallic War (the Ambianistaters) or even somewhat earlier (the Pegasus staters).It is not known how long the two types continued to cir-culate, but they no longer occur in the major Augustancentres of the Gallo-Belgic area (army stations, vici). Itseems likely that the production and circulation of goldcoins in northern Gaul came to a virtual standstill at theend of the Gallic War.86

According to Caesar's reports, the region betweenMeuse and Rhine, and presumably also the eastern partof North Brabant, constituted the territory of the Ebu-rones at the time of the Gallic War.87 So if these goldpieces were lost during this time it must have been inEburonean territory.Coins struck between the periods of Caesar and Augus-tus do not occur in the southern Netherlands, with thesole exception of the bronze coin from Veghel (whichcannot be further determined).The bronze AVAVCIA coins are more common in thesouthern Netherlands, where they occur exclusively in

82 Vanvinckenroye 1967-8, 4, 22.83 Vanvinckenroye 1967-8, 22; Bogaers/Ruger 1974, 173;Vsn Es 1981, 87.84 Peddemors 1975, 122 (nos. 311-12).85 Cf. Scheers 1977, 824, 827, 828; Nuber 1974, e.g. fig. I.86 Castelin 1973, 64: 'Nach allgemeiner Ansicht der Numis-matiker verschwand dort [i.e. in Gaul] nsmlich so gut wie allesGold wahrend der Gallischen Kriege (58-52 v.Chr.) aus demUmlauf. Nach der Eroberung Galliens und nach Casars Kon-fiskstionen kann schwerlich noch viel Gold in den Handen derunterworfenen Gallier gewesen sein.'87 See Van Es 1981, 27; Byvanck 1944, vol. I, 45.

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the province of Limburg. They appear to have beenstruck in the Augustan period and presumably consti-tuted a considerable proportion of the currency in theGerman Rhineland and the adjoining Belgian andDutch areas.88 They were still in circulation underTiberius, although to a lesser degree. The occurrence ofthose AVAVCIA coins appears to be mainly restricted tosettlements with explicit centre-functions, such as mili-tary stations, canabae, and vici. A similar context may beassumed for the examples from Heerlen/Coriovallum,where there was already a vicus probably in the firstdecades of the first century AD. The coin from the Horn/Beegden grave-field may well be an exception to thisgeneral rule.

Coins from the eastern part of the river area

I Celtic coins from NijmegenIn the case of 38 Celtic coins, explicit mention is madeof the fact that they were found in Nijmegen. No suchdefinite statements are recorded concerning 13 othercoins kept in the Rijksmuseum G.M. Kam, namely 3examples from the former Municipal collection, 2 fromthe former private collection of G. M. Kam, 7 from the'residue' of the latter collection, and one piece withoutan inventory number. Although we cannot be certain onthis point, it seems fair to assume that these pieces toowere found in Nijmegen.89 This brings the total numberof coins from Nijmegen to 51. They can be classified asfollows:

TABLE I

type number

- bronze CRICIRV coin, Suessiones (V)- bronze VIROS coin, Nervii (VI)- bronze triquetrum coin, Eburones (VII)- bronze VERCIO coin, Nervii (VIII)- bronze ACVTIOS coin, Carnutes (X)- bronze Nervii coin, type rameau I (IX)- potin coin Suessiones LT 7873 (XII)- bronze GERMANVS INDVTILLI coin (XIII)- copper triquetrum coin (XVIb)- bronze AVAVCIA coin (XIV)

iiiiI3ii4

37

total

In the case of 36 coins the find spot within Nijmegen isfairly accurately known. Fig. 4 shows the distribution ofthese coins, against the background of the Early Romansettlement structure of Nijmegen. From this it is evidentthat the coins derive from the three major settlementcomplexes from the Early Roman period. An outline isgiven below of each settlement, with the date and char-acter of the habitation, followed by a survey of the coinsfound in the different sites.

1 The settlement on the Kops Plateau (fig. 4-1).Important stratigraphic research has recently beenundertaken on the north edge of the Kops Plateau; thefindings indicate that the habitation started in about theyear 10 BC.90 The oldest habitation phase must havecome to an end before about AD 10. Until then the settle-ment had a Roman military character. After that the na-ture of the settlement probably changed. The site ap-pears to have been abandoned in about AD 70 as a resultof the Batavian rebellion. The Kops Plateau site yieldedthe following coins:- 2 AVAVCIA coins and i copper triquetrum coin werefound behind the former inn De Zwaan or HetZwaantje.- 3 AVAVCIA coins derive from Holwerda's 'Batavianfort' situated on the Kops Plateau.- 4 AVAVCIA coins derive from Holwerda's 'Batavianvillage' due south of the aforementioned 'fort'.- 4 AVAVCIA coins were retrieved during exacavationsconducted bij the ROB on the site of the aforementioned'Batavian village'.- i AVAVCIA coin derives from the Kops Plateau, but noindications as to the exact find spot exist.

2 The main army station on the Hunerberg (fig. 4-2).In the time of Emperor Augustus there was a largeRoman military settlement on this site. The fragmentsof Roman imported ware (the earliest of the whole of

88 Cf. Nuber 1974.89 Cf. Daniels 1950,1-3, where the author discusses the col-lections of G.M. Kam and the Municipality of Nijmegen.Although Kam apparently also bought coins from internatio-nal coin-dealers (notably 'fine' specimens), 'it seems that thiswas seldom the case with the pieces in the collection discussedhere.' Consequently, Daniels includes this group of Celticcoins in his survey of the antique coins in the Nijmegen collec-tions.90 Bogaers/Haalebos 1975; id. 1979 in Noviomagus, 18-23.

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Fig. 4 Distribution of Celtic coins in Nijmegen.1 the settlement on the Kops Platesu;2 the large army station on the Hunerberg;3 the settlement on the Valkhof and environs

A copper triquetrum coin• bronze AVAVCIA coin• bronze Nervii coin, type Scheers 1904 other coins[•] exact find spot unknown

Nijmegen) found here so far indicate that the first occu-pation started in about 15/10 BC.91 This may be con-nected with the campaign led by Drusus in the year12 BC. After AD 16 its function as a legion-camp seems tohave been discontinued; at any rate no habitation traceshave been found of the period from AD 16 to the year 70,when the site was resettled by the army. The Hunerberghas produced the following coins:

91 Bloemers 1979, in Noviomagus, 25-7.

188

— 4 AVAVCIA coins, i copper triquetrum coin, 2 bronzeNervii coins type rameau I, and I bronze triquetrumcoin of the Eburones, all found in the area occupied bythe army station.- i bronze VIROS coin of the Nervii was found along theBatavierenweg near the former Beatrixstraat; the findspot is located due west of the Augustan military stationon the edge of the Early Roman cemetery.- 3 AVAVCIA coins and i bronze coin with the legendGERMANVS INDVTILLI L derive from the Hunerberg, butno details concerning their exact location are available;it seems reasonable to assume that they were found


either in the army station area proper, or in the adjacentcemetery, or in the former Hunerpark.92

3 The settlement on the Valkhof and surroundings(fig. 4-3).The site, which extended over the Valkhof and the adja-cent Kelfkensbos and Hunerpark in the Early Romanperiod, yielded finds dating from the days of Augustusto about AD 70. It is likely that the centre of the civitasof the Batavians in the period before AD 70, which wasmost probably called Batavodorum, was located here.93

The Valkhof and surrounding area has produced the fol-lowing coins:— I AVAVCIA coin found on Marienburgplein.- i AVAVCIA coin and i copper triquetrum coinretrieved during excavations south of the Kelfkensbos.- 2 AVAVCIA coins derive from the former Hunerpark.A third AVAVCIA coin was found in the Hunerpark nearGraadt van Roggenstraat.- i AVAVCIA coin found near the St Stevens church-yard.94

- i AVAVCIA coin found in sand derived from the lowerpart of the city (no further details available).

From the data listed above it can be concluded that theearliest habitation phase of the Kops Plateau, theHunerberg, and the Valkhof and surroundings, goesback to the Augustan period. We may therefore assumethat the Celtic coins from Nijmegen are all specimensthat circulated there in the Early Roman period, notablyunder Augustus. This is not surprising, as some typeswere only struck in the Augustan period, notably theAVAVCIA coins, the bronze coins with the legendGERMANVS INDVTILLI L, and perhaps also the copperrainbow cups of the triquetrum type.95 Also representedin the Nijmegen material are several coin types that wereissued in the pre-Augustan period, some of which even

92 Van Buchem (1941, 19-20) maintains that at the end ofthe last century the indication 'Hunerberg', which accompa-nied a large number of fibulae and other archaeological findsin the Municipal collection, refers to the Hunerpark, the gravefields O, E, S, OH, CC and the camp of the Tenth Legion.93 Bogaers 1979, in Noviomagus, 30-3.94 The find spot of this coin lies outside the Early Romanhabitation area on the Valkhof and environs.95 Concerning the date of the copper triquetrum coins, seechapter III.96 These were published by Strack 1904, 451-2.

go back to the end of the Gallic War or the years imme-diately following. These coins apparently remained inuse for a longer period of time. It is important to note,though, that they always concern pieces made of inferiormetals, that is, of bronze or potin. The (comparativelyearly) gold and silver Celtic coins do not occur in Nijme-gen.

Comparison of the Celtic coins found in the three mainNijmegen settlement complexes yields provisional re-sults only. Up to the present all three sites - the castraon the Hunerberg, the Kops Plateau, and the Valkhofand surroundings - have produced a number of AVAVCIAcoins as well as a rainbow cup of the triquetrum type.The specimens coined in the pre-Augustan period allderive from the Hunerberg. The total number of coins,however, is too small to justify further conclusions.The overall impression of the circulation of Celtic coinsin Early Roman Nijmegen is largely the same as that ofthe other Early Roman centres in northern Gaul and theLower Rhine area.Thus the Roman military settlement complex at Neuss/Novaesium produced a comparatively large number ofcoins. They were collected at two different times: a) atthe turn of the century in the area of the 'Ziegelei Sels',96

and b) during excavations conducted between 1955 and1962 by the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in a terrainthat extended from the 'Ziegelei Sels' to the 'Koenen-Lager'. Some other coins may derive from graves orfrom the civilian settlement of Novaesium.97 It isassumed that the Roman military presence in Neusscommenced in c. 20/i5BC.9S The vast majority of theCeltic coins may quite possibly be related to the tracesencountered there of various military camps and asso-ciated canabae legionis from the Augustan period.99 Anoverall survey of the coins found in Neuss is given be-low.100

97 For a survey of the coins mentioned under b, see Chan-traine 1968, 39-42.98 Cf. Muller 1975, 386 ff; Gechter 1979, 100; Chantraine1968, 34.99 Traces have been found in Neuss of 9 different armycamps from the Augustan-Tiberian periods. Three of themdate from the Augustan and early-Tiberian periods. Cf. Mul-ler 1975, fig. i 3nd 386-93; Gechter 1979, 100-1.100 This survey is based on the coin lists of Strack (1904)and Chantraine (1968). Not included in this survey are 556non-determinable bronze coins mentioned by Strack (1904,452), although most of them are presumably Celtic.

189


TABLE IIcoin type

potin coin Leuci, LT 9078potin coin Treveri, Scheers 201bronze Carnutes coin, LT 6077bronze Turones coin, legend TVRONOS/CANTORIX, LT 7005bronze Mediomatrici coin, legend MEDIO, Scheers 138potin coin Turones, legend TVRONOS/CANTORIX, LT 7011bronze Veliocasses(?) coin, legend SVTIC[C]OS, Scheers 164potin coin Suessiones, LT 7873, Scheers 197bronze Remi coin, legend REMO/REMO, LT 8040, Scheers 146bronze Treveri coin, legend ARDA, Scheers 303bronze VERCio coin, Nervii, Scheers 145copper rainbow cup triquetrum typebronze GERMANVS INDVTILLI coin, Scheers 216bronze AVAVCIA coin, Scheers 217not further determinable bronze coinsmall silver coin, not further determinedpotin coin, not further determined

total

number found

iii3 (i uncertain)i3ii

15 (i uncertain)2i

18 (i uncertain)2

381 (51 uncertain)9345

533

The occurrence (in somewhat larger quantities) of Celticcoins in an Augustan context is not restricted to theRoman military centres in northern Gaul and theadjoining Lower Rhine area. Celtic coins are regularlyencountered in the Strassenvici which started to developin this period. A good example is the vicus Bons-Villersat Liberchies (Henegouwen), situated along the Bavai-Cologne road. Until now over one hundred Gallic coinshave been found in that site.101 There are strong indica-tions that these coins were in use there in the EarlyRoman period, and notably in the time of Augustus. Atany rate, a number of coins of various types were foundin a stratigraphic context, of which the layer in questionis dated to after 20/10 BC.102 The coin list of Liberchiesis composed as follows:

101 For 3 survey of the Celtic coins found 3t Liberchies, seeGraff 1972 and 1974, 8-17.102 Cf. note 101.

TABLE III

coin typenumberfound

silver VIRO [s] coin, Nervii? ibronze VIROS coin, Nervii, Scheers 293 4bronze triquetrum coin, Eburones, Scheers 31 Ibronze Ambiani coins, Scheers 8of and i 2bronze VERCIO coin, Nervii, Scheers 145 3bronze Nervii coin, Scheers 190, class I 2bronze Nervii coin, Scheers 190, class II ipotin coin Nervii, Scheers 190, class III ipotin coin Nervii, Scheers 190, class IV 26potin coin Rerni, Scheers 191 ibronze GERMANVS INDVTILLI coin, Scheers 216 4bronze AVAVCIA coin, Scheers 217 37unidentifiable coin 11not identified coin icoin since lost 6

total 101

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Comparison with the Celtic coins from the town of Ton-geren is unfortunately less revealing, because a detailedsurvey of the pieces found there is not available.103 How-ever, the site (which was founded in the early Augustanperiod) produced large numbers of A V A V C I A coins aswell as various bronze coins with the legend GERMANVSINDVTILLI L, a bronze VIROS coin, and a potin coin ofthe type Scheers 190 (the latter two being attributed tothe Nervii). Also three small silver coins, bearing thelegend ANNAROVECI, were found in Tongeren. Scheersdates these coins to the Augustan period, and assumesthat they were struck in Tongeren.104

The foregoing coin lists of the different Augustancentres show that all the coins (some light-weight silverpieces excepted) are made of inferior metals, notablybronze and potin. Some were struck in the pre-Augus-tan period, but most of them were issued in the time ofEmperor Augustus. The general predominance ofAVAVCIA coins is remarkable. Sometimes the regionalcharacter of the circulation of certain coin types isexpressed in the coin lists. This is illustrated by the ab-sence of copper rainbow cups of the triquetrum type atLiberchies and Tongeren: such pieces are characteristicof the coin circulation in the Lower Rhine area, a consi-derable distance away. Furthermore, the comparativelylarge number of Nervii coins from the vicus in Liber-chies can be explained by the location of the site in theborderland between the Nervii and the Tungri. Ingeneral, however, it is fair to say that Celtic coin circula-tion in the Gallo-Belgic and Rhineland areas in theAugustan period follows a strong homogeneous pattern.

2 Celtic coins from the river junction at Rossum/LithThe area that produced the second largest number ofCeltic coins (after Nijmegen) comprises the Meuse vil-lages of Lith, Kessel, Maren, Alem, and Rossum. Thefirst three villages belong to the North-Brabant munici-pality of Lith, and are situated on the south bank of theMeuse. Rossum and Alem, are situated on the north

bank of the river.105 The coins from these five localitieswill be discussed as one group. There are several reasonsfor this. First, all the material we are concerned withhere was retrieved during dredging operations in theMeuse and/or sand-extraction from the river forelands(uiterwaarden). The different find spots are located atthe most 5 km (as the crow flies) away from each other,in an area where the courses of the rivers Meuse andWaal run very close together over a stretch of severalkilometres (see fig. 5). On the basis of the distributionpattern of the find material from the Late La Tene andEarly Roman periods, however, it is impossible to dis-tinguish spatially isolated settlement complexes withinthis area. Up to now the dispersion of the finds seemsto have more to do with the dredging operations thanwith the true distribution of archaeological material. Be-sides, the variety of coins thus retrieved from the differ-ent find spots is fairly constant: in each of the sites oneor more silver triquetrum coins turned up, while bronzeAVAVCIA coins were found in both Lith and Alem. Inview of the above it seems reasonable to abide by thebroadest definition of the find spot, namely, that all thecoins were found during dredging operations under-taken in the stretch of the river between Rossum andLith. Up to the present the material found in this areacomprises the following coins:

TABLE IV

numbercoin type found

silver triquetrum coin (XVI a) 22bronze VERCIO coin, Nervii (VIII) ipotin coin RemiLT 8124 (XI) ibronze GERMANVS INDVTILLI coin (XIII) ibronze AVAVCIA coin (XIV) 7

total

103 Lesenne (1975, 95-6) does mention a number of Celticcoins in her bibliographical repertorium of the archaeologicalmaterial encountered at Tongeren, but it is not clear whichcoins were found within the Early Roman city and which werefound elsewhere in Tongeren/Koninksem. Concerning theCeltic coinage at Tongeren, see also Scheers 1977, 352, 407,424, 431, 509, 632, 746. This author, too, does not consistentlydistinguish between coins drawn from the town of Tongeren

proper, those from the surroundings, and those withoutfurther find spot indications.104 Cf. Scheers 1977, 119, 508-10 and fig. 117.105 Prior to the correction of the old Meuse meander duenorth of the village of Alem in the 19305, the village belongedto the province of North Brabsnt; since then it has been partof the province of Gelderland.

191


Fig. 5 The Rossum/Lith area, with indication of the msjorfind complexes.1 terrain Het Klooster, Rossum, most probably the site of aRoman castellum;2 sand-pit De Marensche Wssrden, Alem;3 sand-pit De Kesselsche Waarden, Kessel;

4 sand-pit De Bergen, Lith;5 sand-pit near brick factory De Hoogew3ard, Heerewaar-den;6 location in the Meuse river-bed near Heerewaarden wheremany finds were brought to the surface in 1935 (after anunpublished map by Braat)

The river junction at Rossum/Lith has produced largequantities of sometimes remarkably rich material fromvarious periods, but especially from the Late La Teneperiod, the Roman era, and the Early Middle Ages.106

The first group of finds retrieved by dredging was col-lected in the 19305, when large-scale river regulationwas carried out on the Meuse. The banks were height-ened with sand extracted from the river-bed, and atAlem a meander of the Meuse was cut off (see fig. 9).A second stage in the collection of this material started

in the 19505, as a consequence of large-scale sand extrac-tion in the Meuse forelands. This resulted in the forma-tion of large sand-pits in the vicinity of Rossum/Lith:one at Alem, one at Kessel, and the third at Lith (see fig.5). In the latter two sites the dredging operations are stillunder way. These two sand-pits will be ultimatelyjoined together, thus creating a single lake (see fig. 5)which will be used for recreational purposes.107

A survey of the Late La Tene and Early Romanarchaeological material from these three sand-pits is

106 Cf. Bogaers 1962-3; Ypey 1962-3; Brast 1964; Elzinga1959; Verwers/Ypey 1975; Van Es/Verwers 1977; Arts/Bazel-msns/Ector 1979; NKNOB, ser. 6, 10, 1957, *52~3; id. ii,1958, *83 and *I34; id. 13, 1960, *83-4 and *i32-3; BKNOB76, 1977, 189.

107 Oral communication J. Kuijpers, public works depart-ment, Municipality of Lith.

192


given below. Special attention is paid to the followingfind categories: Celtic and Early Roman coins, iron LateLa Tene swords, bronze bracelets, and Nauheim andspoon-bow fibulae. However, since we are concernedhere with much unpublished material from diverse pub-lic and private collections, the survey cannot lay claimto completeness. Other find categories should also beincorporated into this investigation, but this is hardlyfeasible until a detailed inventory has been compiled ofthe dredge-finds from this area.

1 The sand-pit near Alem in the Marensche Waarden(fig. 5-2).The site is located on the south side of an old meanderof the Meuse. Dredging operations lasted from the early19505 until about 1970. The following finds were col-lected:- 3 Celtic coins, i.e. i VERCIO coin (Nervii), i AVAVCIAcoin, and i silver triquetrum coin.- 8 open bronze bracelets with profiled, knobbed endsand cast torsion. C. 6.5 cm in diameter (fig. 8-1 to 4).These pieces can be considered a closed find.108

- 3 bronze spoon-bow fibulae (fig. 6-3).109

- 3 asses of Augustus, including one halved specimen,and I barbarian bronze coin of Tiberius (coll. VanSprang).110

- 4 asses of Augustus, including i halved specimen, and2 asses of Caligula (coll. Van de Wetering).111

- i republican denarius, i dupondius of Caligula, andi as of Caligula.112

- i dupondius of Caligula and i sestertius of Cali-gula.113

108 The bronze bracelets were purchssed in 1962 by H.A.de Kok from J. van de Wetering (Sliedrecht), supervisor ofdredging operations 3t Alem. The Istter informed us that 7 ofthe 8 bracelets were held together by the 8th - i.e., they consti-tuted a single find. The bracelets are now dispersed: 4 are inthe RMO (inv. nos. e 1962/9.1 and 2; e 1981/2.1-2; 2 in theRMK(inv. nos. 5. 1964. 3 and 4); 2 are owned by relatives of Mr deKok.109 One spoon-bow fibula is in the collection of A. vanSprang, Barneveld-Voorthuizen (cf. Haalebos 1976, 204;Ulbert 1977, 39, figs. 2-5). The two other fibulae are in theRMO, inv. nos. k 1953/10.7 and k 1971/1.5. See also Haalebos,in preparation.no Collection A. van Sprang. Cf. Haalebos 1976, 204, andarchaeological documentation ROB, map 458, Rossum.in Collection J. van de Wetering, Sliedrecht. The coinswere determinedxjn 1962 by the KMP. Cf. also documentationROB, correspondence file Rossum.

- i republican denarius, i denarius of Augustus, and iof Tiberius.114

- 5 bronze coins of Augustus, I of Marcus Agrippa, and1 of Caligula.115

- 4 halved republican asses (i determination uncertain),3 halved asses of Augustus and i halved as, not deter-minable.116

2 The sand-pit near Kessel in the Kesselsche Waarden

(fig- 5-3).This dredge-pool is situated due south of the presentcourse of the Meuse. Dredging operations started herein February 1971, and are still under way. The finds areas follows:- ii silver triquetrum coins.- I bronze spoon-bow fibula.117

- 2 iron Late La Tene swords (fig. 7-2, 3) and i frag-ment of a third sword. The bronze discs on the hilts areespecially characteristic.118

3 The sand-pit in the foreland De Bergen between Kesseland Lith (fig. 5-4).This dredge-pool is situated directly opposite Heere-waarden, due south of the present course of the Meuse.Dredging started here in the 19505, and continues today.The finds are as follows:- 6 silver triquetrum coins and 4 AVAVCIA coins.- i fragment of a ribbed, open bronze bracelet (fig.8-5).

119

- 2 fragments of open bronze bracelets with cast torsionand thickened ends (fig. 8-6).12°- 2 bronze spoon-bow fibulae (figs 6-6 and 8) and 2asses of Augustus, one of which is halved.121

112 BKNOB 22, 1969, *47. The republican coin is a so-called legionary denarius of Marcus Antonius, 32-31 BC (RRC1230). Find spot incorrectly indicated as Rossum.113 NKNOB, ser. 6, 13, 1960, *i32-3, 84.114 Cf. archaeological documentation ROB, map 458, Ros-sum. Find spot incorrectly indicated as 'from the Waal' atRossum.115 RMO, k 1954/6.18-21 and k 1955/2.22-24.116 Cf. Elzinga 1959. Find spot incorrectly indicated as Ros-sum.117 Collection H.J.E. van Beuningen, Neerlangbroek (cf.Ulbert 1977, 39, and Haalebos, in preparation).118 Cf. Verwers/Ypey 1975.119 RMO, k 1971/11.26.120 RMO, k 1971/11.1 (fig. 8-6) and k 1972/12.8.121 NM, 11246.

193


194


Fig. 6 Some early fibulae from the Rossum/Lith area. Scalei: i. Nos. i and 4 after Van Es and Verwers 1977, 154; othernos. drawing IPP (J. de Wit).i, 2, 4, 7 from the Meuse at Alem;5 from the Meuse at Maren;3 sand-pit De Marensche Waarden at Alem;6, 8 sand-pit De Bergen between Kessel and Lith

- 3 silver triquetrum coins and i spoon-bow fibula (fig.6-5) from the Meuse at Maren.128

- 2 bronze coins of Augustus, and i as of Tiberius fromthe Meuse at Heerewaarden.129

- 2 AVAVCIA coins, i GERMANVS INDVTILLI coin, and ipotin coin of the Remi from the Meuse at Lith.- 4 republican denarii and i plated denarius of Tiberiusfrom the Meuse at Lith.130

- 2 iron Late La Tene swords (fig. 7-1, 4), one withbronze discs on the hilt (cf. the swords from Kessel).122

- I bronze coin of Augustus.123

- i bronze omega-shaped buckle, presumably datingfrom the Augustan period.124

The dredge-pit near the brick factory De Hoogewaardnear Heerewaarden on the north side of the Meuse (fig.5 -5) has also produced archaeological material, notablya large number of Roman and native sherds and a frag-ment of a brown glass La Tene bracelet.125 Celtic coins,however, are not included among the find material.The archaeological material found in the vicinity of Ros-sum/Lith in the 19305 during canalization works on theMeuse comprises the following:- i bronze spoon-bow fibula from the Meuse underRossum.126

- 2 bronze spoon-bow fibulae, i Nauheim-fibula and iearly wire brooch from the Meuse at Alem (fig. 6-1, 2,4, 7).127

The find spots of these dredge-finds from the 19305 areonly vaguely indicated, and it is not always possible torelate them to the find spots established in the same areaafter 1950. If the reported find spots are correct,131 wemay assume that the objects 'from the Meuse underRossum' and those 'from the Meuse at Alem' belong tothe same find complex as the aforementioned materialfrom the dredge-pool in the Marensche Waarden atAlem.132 Perhaps the same is true of the finds 'from theMeuse at Maren', but the possibility exists that thesewere found further east, somewhere between thedredge-pits of Alem and Kessel (cf. fig. 5). The coins'from the Meuse at Heerewaarden' and 'from the Meuseat Lith' appear, roughly, to derive from the areabetween the dredge-pits of Lith and Kessel. Holwerdaand Braat, writing in 1935, mention a find spot 'in thebed of the Meuse at Heerewaarden', from which 'an im-portant collection of Roman fibulae, coins, small orna-ments, some fragments of Roman pottery,' and otherobjects was drawn.133 According to a map drawn byBraat at that time,134 this find spot was situated in the

122 RMO, k 1969/5 (cf. Verwers/Ypey 1975) and e 1955/1.1.The find spot of the latter sword is mentioned as 'from theMeuse at Heerewaarden,' i.e., from the dredge-pit De Bergenbetween Lith and Kessel.123 RMO, e 1955/9.5. The find spot is indicated as 'from theMeuse opposite Heerewaarden,' i.e., from the sand-pit DeBergen between Lith and Kessel.124 RMO, k 1972/12.2. For comparison, see Fingerlin1970-1, fig. 9-4 and pi. 14-6.125 Oral communication P. de Foot (Oss), who collected thematerisl himself from the gravel-heaps lining this dredge-pit.Finds from the same location are also in the possession of A.Verhagen (Den Bosch).126 RMO, e 1935/2.2.127 NM, resp. 8484 (purchased 1935; cf. Van Es/Verwers1977, 154-5, fig- 2:2); 8487 (purchased 1935); 8482 (pur-chased 1935; cf, Van Es/Verwers 1977, 154, fig. 2:1, withinventory number and find spot incorrectly indicated) and8483 (purchased 1935).

128 The spoon-bow fibula is in the NM, inv. no. 8436 (pur-chased 1935; 'found in the Meuse opposite Maren').129 RMO, resp. e 1936/7.4, e 1939/4.1. For the as of Tiberius,see Boersma 1963, 45.130 Cf. Boersma 1963, 50.131 See p. 201-2.132 Further confirmation is provided by the fact that thefinds recovered in the 19303 (notably the spoon-bow fibulae)are entirely in accordance with the material that was recentlybrought to the surface in the dredge-pit at Alem.133 See Verslag Rijksmuseum van Oudheden te Leiden over het

jaar 1935, The Hague 1936, 4-5. Cf. also Oud VondstarchiefRijksmuseum van Oudheden, s.v. Rossum.134 In Oud Vondstarchief Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, s.v.Rossum. Holwerda and Braat visited the find spot in 1935.Braat reported: 'According to Mr Sprik countless other fibulaewere found there. Most probably a settlement was situatedthere on the Meuse or in the present river-bed.'

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Meuse due east of the brick factory De Hoogewaard (fig.5-6). The latter finds may in that case have belonged tothe same complex as the material drawn from thedredge-pit at Kessel. Besides, it is probable thatarchaeological material was also found further east in theMeuse, namely, in the direction of the dredge-pit atLith.With regard to the date of the archaeological materialdredged in the Rossum/Lith area, the following state-ments can be made.Let us start with the Celtic coins. The youngest speci-mens are obviously to be found among the AVAVCIAcoins. Such pieces are typical of the coin circulation inthe Augustan centres of Belgium and the Lower Rhinearea, although some specimens were still in use later(under Tiberius).135 The same applies to the dating ofthe GERMANVS INDVTILLI coin.136 The bronze VERCIOcoin and the potin coin of the Remi were issued in thepre-Augustan period, but both types were certainly stillin use in the early Augustan period.137 However, the vastmajority of the coins from the Rossum/Lith area (two-thirds of the total), i.e., the triquetrum coins with theirhigh silver content, were apparently no longer in useunder Augustus, since no coins of this type have as yetbeen found in the Augustan centres in the Rhinelandarea. Their predominance in Rossurn/Lith is in sharpcontrast with the complete absence of such specimens inNijmegen, where only the later, high copper-contentcoins were found. Most probably they were no longer incirculation in the early Augustan period, and more spe-cifically after c. 15 BC.138

It seems reasonable, then, to assume that the Celticcoins from the river junction at Rossum/Lith are con-nected with two different habitation phases. The first isdatable to before c. 15 BC, and is represented by the sil-ver triquetrum coins. The second is datable to theAugustan period and is represented by the AVAVCIAcoins and the GERMANVS INDVTILLI piece. The bronzeVERCIO coin and the potin piece of the Remi may havebeen in use during both phases. Consequently, the sit-uation at Rossum/Lith is essentially different from thatat Nijmegen where only the second, Augustan phase isrepresented in the archaeological material.Let us now turn to the chronology of the other groups

135 Cf. no. XIV in the catalogue.136 Cf. no. XIII in the catslogue.137 See nos. VIII 3nd XI in the catalogue.138 See also chapter III on this subject.

Fig. 7 Four iron La Tene swords from the Rossum/Litharea. C. 1:5. Nos. 2-4 after Verwers/Ypey 1975, fig. 6; no. iphotograph RMO.1, 4 sand-pit De Bergen between Lith and Kessel;2, 3 sand-pit De Kesselsche Waarden at Kessel

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of finds drawn from the Meuse area at Rossum/Lith.Although accurate dating is not always possible, thegeneral pattern seems to confirm what the Celtic coinstell us, namely, that habitation of the area occurred inthe Late La Tene and Early Roman periods.Two spiral fibulae with internal chord and piercedcatch-plates are fully in accordance with the Late LaTene tradition (fig. 6-1 and 2). One of them belongs tothe so-called Nauheim type, which is especially commonin the second half of the first century BC, although suchpieces still occur fairly frequently in an Augustan con-text.139

The comparatively large number of spoon-bow fibulae(10 pieces) is remarkable. Two variants are repre-sented.140 Variant I has a narrow cap passing into a bowwith raised borders (fig. 6-5 to 8), and variant II has awide cap often decorated with grooves (fig. 6-3 and 4).Such fibulae (Schiisselfibeln, kapfibulae) are derivedfrom Late La Tene prototypes. The two variants, whichwere presumably contemporaneous, are typical of theEarly Roman period, and more specifically of Augustan-Tiberian times.141

A relatively rare occurrence in the Netherlands are ironLa Tene swords, with their characteristic arched hilt-ends. Four such swords were found in the Rossum/Litharea (fig. 7), as well as a fragment of a fifth. Especiallystriking are the swords with bronze discs on the hilts(fig. 7, nos. 2-4, and also the fragment of the fifthsword). There are so many similarities between themthat Verwers and Ypey presume that they were pro-duced in the same workshop.142 Three more swords ofthis type have been found in the Netherlands, but infor-

mation concerning the exact find spots is not avail-able.143 Very few parallels exist outside the Netherlands.However, on the basis of their length and the dating ofsome more or less similar pieces abroad, Verwers andYpey date the swords to the Late La Tene period, possi-bly also the (early?) Augustan period.144

The dating of the open bronze bracelets, few of whichhave been found in the Netherlands, raises considerableproblems. It is possible to distinguish two subgroups: aopen bracelets with knobbed, sometimes decorated endsand a cast torsion (fig. 8-1 to 4, 6), and b the ribbed bra-celet (fig. 8-5). The fashion for wearing bronze brace-lets with or without torsion and thickened ends can betraced back to the Early La Tene period.145 Althoughthey appear to have been worn until well into the Romanperiod,146 it should be pointed out that type a with casttorsion is no longer found in the Roman cemeteries ofthe Netherlands and Belgium. A dating to the Late IronAge, possibly also the transition to the Roman period,seems most likely here. The same applies to the ribbedbracelets - these, too, no longer occur in a Roman con-text.147

The foregoing survey of Roman coinage includes onlythe Early Roman specimens, up to and including thoseissued under Caligula - a total of forty-four coins. It isdifficult to ascertain exactly to which habitation phasethey should be attributed, so long as we do not have adetailed coin list (spanning the entire Roman period) atour disposal. However, the relatively large number ofrepublican and Augustan coins, including remarkablymany halved asses (i i pieces), indicates habitation in theEarly Roman period, particularly the Augustan-Tiber-

139 Werner 1955, 172-5. See also Collis 1975, 57-8.140 This classification of spoon-bow fibulae according toUlbert 1977, 37-40.141 Ulbert 1977, 40; Bloemers 1978, II, 306; Collis 1975, 59,fig. 20. Concerning the dating, see Haalebos, in preparation.142 Verwers/Ypey 1975, 88.143 Concerning these swords, see Verwers/Ypey 1975. Oneof the swords is, in our opinion, incorrectly attributed to a findspot at Roermond. The only indication we have of the findspot in this case is an antique-desler's report that it wasbrought to the surface by a dredge-worker who spent most ofhis working life near Roermond (cf. acquisition book RMO, k1973/4-144 Verwers/Ypey 1975, 90-1,145 Cf. Haffner 1976, vol. 2, pi. 18, 37, 64, 74; Engels 1974,pi. 3 (D), 10 (A and C), 28, 32, 35, 42, 57. Cf. also Cahen-Del-hsye 1976, figs. 4, 5, and 6.

146 De Laet et al. 1972,1, 74, no; II, pi. 59, nos. 8-9. Bru-let 1972, 45, 86, fig. 24 no. 8. Several identical bronze braceletswith torsion derive from the cemetery of Maaseik. Cf. Janssens1977, graves 43, 57, 62, 75,129,145. Many of them are datableto the Middle Roman period. However, we are concerned herewith bracelets with a real torsion, as opposed to the braceletsfrom Rossum/Lith which all have a cast or imitated torsion.The ends are also constructed differently.147 A comparable bracelet is to be found in Hsffner 1976,vol. 2, pi. 51 (no. 13). Grave 195 in the Gallo-Roman cemeteryat Maaseik produced a fragment of a virtually identical bronzeribbed bracelet with flat inner surface (cf. Janssens 1977, 44,pi. XXII). In view of the other grave-goods it is probable thatthis grave dates from the pre-Roman period.

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Fig. 8 Bronze bracelets from the Rossum/Lith area. 1:1.Photographs F. Gijbels, IFF (nos. 2, 4) and RMO (nos. i, 3, 5,6).

1-4 sand-pit De Marensche Waarden at Alem;5-6 sand-pit De Bergen between Lith and Kessel

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ian times.148 The latter is confirmed by the occurrenceof AVAVCIA coins and a GERMANVS INDVTILLI coin -both of which were in use in this period.

Before we attempt to interpret the aforementionedmaterial dredged from the Rossum/Lith area, it isnecessary to discuss the representativeness of thesedredge-finds. In other words, to what extent does thematerial collected to date reflect the actual archaeologi-cal find complex present in the soil of the Rossum/Litharea?149 It is, of course, extremely difficult to findanswers to this question. However, we can put forwardseveral considerations which may throw some light onthis problem.150

1 nearly all the archaeological material from the Ros-sum/Lith area are chance finds collected by dredge-workers;2 only a small part of the archaeological material pre-sent in the soil in a certain place is brought up to the sur-face during dredging activities;3 only a small proportion of the archaeological mate-rial transported to the surface during dredging operationis noticed by the dredgers;4 dredge-finds are selectively collected: pottery andglass fragments, bone material, and the like are rarelypicked out;5 only part of the dredged finds are reported to thearchaeological institutions in the Netherlands.From the above considerations it is evident that therepresentativeness of dredge-finds is often very low. Itis difficult to establish how low, and virtually impossibleto quantify. However, this statement is of essential im-portance for the interpretation of the dredge-finds fromthe Rossum/Lith area. The impression is that thearchaeological material collected here to date is only a

small fraction of the find complex that is really presentin the soil in that area.

3 Other find spots in the eastern river regionOf the six remaining find spots, five are situated in theMeuse area (Grave, Megen, Alphen, Orthen, and Teef-felen), and one in IJzendoorn on the river Waal. Nearlyall the material consists of dredge-finds from the bedsof the rivers or the adjacent forelands.The silver triquetrum coin from Orthen (municipalityof VHertogenbosch) was brought to the surface in!955j when the local marina was extended anddredged.151 This small lake is situated in the formerpolder known as Het Erdveld on the right bank of asmall river called the Dieze, at only a few kilometers'distance from its outlet into the Meuse. The same sitehas also produced an Augustan as.153 Further details arenot available.At Teeffelen (municipality of Lith) an AVAVCIA coin wascollected as a surface find in a field known as De Honig.Over the years local amateur archaeologists have collec-ted a large quantity of material from diverse periods,mainly from the Late Iron Age, the Early, Middle, andLate Roman periods, and the Early Middle Ages.153 Thefind material comprises at least ten fragments of glass LaTene bracelets.154

The two AVAVCIA coins from Alphen (municipality ofAppeltern) were dredged from the Meuse in 1936, to-gether with some other finds from the Roman periodand the Early Middle Ages.155 In that year the Noord-brabants Museum acquired two Early Roman spoon-bow fibulae, obtained from the river Meuse at Maas-bommel-Alphen.156 Could these finds have come fromthe same find spot?

148 The Early Roman coin types recovered from the Meusearea at Rossum/Lith, notably republican asses, mint masterasses struck under Augustus, bronze 'altar' pieces of Lugdu-num, and bronze coins of Nemausus, are all typical of the coincirculation in Germany in the Augustan and Tiberian periods.The practice of hslving bronze coins was most widespread inthe late Augustan and Tiberian periods. Cf. Kraft 1955-6,95 ff.149 Concerning the representativeness problem of dredge-finds, see Wegner 1976, 16-20. He maintains 'dass die Gegen-stdnde von ihrer Versenkung im Fluss bis zu ihrer Auffindung"Filter" mannigfacher Art zu Passieren haben.' The followingfactors play a decisive role: i. the nature of the material; 2. thesize of the finds; 3. the nature and intensity of the dredgingoperations. Cf. also Torbriigge 1970-1.

150 The information below was scquired through interviewswith personnel and supervisors of the dredging companies, aswell as with middlemen who offered the archaeological mater-ial to the various museums.151 Cf. top. map 45A, co. 148.325/413.250.152 RMO, k 1955/12.2.153 The finds await publication.154 Oral communication P. de Foot, Oss, who collected mostof the pieces. All have been donated to the NoordbrabantsMuseum at 's-Hertogenbosch.155 RMO, e 1936/10.1-7 and e 1937/1.156 NM, 8581 and 8582. The latter piece has been publishedby Van Es/Verwers 1977, 154 and fig. 2, no. 3.

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The find spot of the triquetrum coins from Megen isfairly accurately known: a sand-pit in the foreland DeMegense Ham, due north of the village of Megen.157 Inthe old days the Megense Ham was situated along thesouth bank of the Meuse (in the province of North Bra-bant), but since the river regulation operations con-ducted in the 19303, this foreland has been part of theMunicipality of Appeltern, province of Gelderland (fig.9). This sand-pit produced, in addition to three rainbowcups of the triquetrum type, four Early Roman coins:two republican denarii, one Augustan denarius, and oneaureus of Nero.158

It is quite possible that the coins dredged from thissand-pit may be related to the Roman period (and IronAge?) habitation traces encountered in 1934, during theaforementioned regulation work in the Megense Ham.These finds were collected on the site where the newcourse for the river Meuse was planned.159 Holwerdaand Bursch, both of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden inLeiden, visited the site. Holwerda noted that the findswere located under (from top to bottom) a layer of clayeydeposits between 3 and 4m thick and a layer of gravel.160

Also some Medieval material (up to the tenth century)was encountered in the same level. In view of the pre-sence of the stratum of gravel, which indicates a power-ful and eroding Meuse current, it is evident that we aredealing here with washed-down finds.Furthermore, the present centre of Megen also pro-duced finds from the Roman period (notably the area ofDe Hoge Hof.161 Boersma mentions a number of Romancoins from Megen, including one denarius of Augustusand pieces issued by second-century and later empe-rors.162

We may conclude that Megen was inhabited in theRoman period, although the nature and date of the habi-tation are still subject to much speculation. The pre-sence of silver triquetrum coins could indicate that thesite was already settled in the pre-Augustan period.163

Of the two AVAVCIA coins found near Grave we onlyknow that one of them was dredged from the Meusebetween Gassel and Grave. There may be a connectionbetween these finds and those encountered in the nearbycoversand plateau which is bounded by the Meuse. Theplateau has proved remarkably rich in archaeologicalmaterial from the Late Iron Age and Roman period: atleast 24 fragments of glass La Tene bracelets were foundnear the Cuykse Steeg, at about looom from the pre-sent-day course of the Meuse, as well as traces of aRoman cemetery and settlement material dating fromthe Late Iron Age and Roman period.164

Furthermore, Grave is mentioned as the source ofseveral other, sometimes surprisingly rich dredge-finds.In some cases the find spot is specified.165 Most of thematerial dates from the Roman period; an exception maybe a bronze, open bracelet with partial groove deco-ration and thickened ends, which could be dated to theLate La Tene period.166 Another remarkable find is abronze Early Roman spoon-bow fibula;157 Boersmamentions a number of Roman coins from Grave, the ear-liest specimen being a denarius of Caligula.168 However,no Roman archaeological material has been found so farin the town of Grave itself.The rainbow cup from IJzendoorn was dredged from asand-pit in De Waard near IJzendoorn on the Waal,169

where archaeological material, mostly dating from theRoman period, was regularly found in the 19605.17°

157 Cf. top. map 39G, co. 166.250/427.00.158 See find report A.V.M. Hubrecht in NKNOB 24,1971, *87.159 See Oud Vondstarchief Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, s.v.Megen, which includes several profile photographs taken inAugust 1934. Cf. also Verslag Rijksmuseum van Oudheden teLeiden over hetjaar 1934, The Hague 1935, 5-6. The finds arekept in the RMO, k 1934/11.1-8. See also k 1936/8.160 See note 159.161 Top. map 396, co. 166.92/425.85. See find reportG. A.C. Beex in NKNOB 20, 1967, *92.162 Boersma 1963, 52.163 Concerning the date of these silver triquetrum coins, seechapter III.164 Cf. Koolen 1978, 213-20, and Verwers/Beex 1978,20-1.

165 RMO, k 1939, 7.1; k 1939/10; k 1939/1.1-4 (approx.200 m below the bridge at Grave); k 1939/3 (between Graveand Ravenstein); k 1938/9.1-11 (approx. ikm below Grave).RMK, 11.1937.1-2; i.i939-i;NM, 8868. Cf. also Oud Vondstar-chief Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, s.v. Grave.166 RMO, k 1938/9.6 ('dredge-find approx. ikm belowGrave').167 RMO, k 1938/9.8.

168 Boersma 1963, 42.169 Top. map 39G, co. 165.25/434.75.170 RMO, e 1963/6; e 1967/6. RMK, 4.1965.3; 7.1965.16;11.1966.1; 11.1966.1-3; 11.1968.53; 11.1969.1-2; 5.1964.1-2;7.1964.1; 9.1964.26; 4.1965.1-2. Still in the possession of J.van de Wetering, Sliedrecht, is a bronze Roman pan from thedredge-pit at IJzerdoorn.

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~-^$''-"7Heerewaarden$£<<•/ .^'Vx^rrx

old Meuse river-bed

Qi new river-bed

Fig. 9 Survey of the water regulation works undertakenbetween 1933 and 1939 in the Meuse between Alem andMegen.

These finds may be related to the archaeological mate-rial dating from the Late Iron Age (?) and also from theRoman period collected from De Waard in the earlyyears of this century.171

4 The significance of the coins in the eastern river areaWith the exception of the Nijmegen coins, nearly all theCeltic coins from the eastern river region are reportedto be dredge-finds from the Meuse or Waal or the adja-cent forelands. This is the case with a total of 44 pieces,divided over eight different locations. Dredge-findsfrom the river area are generally regarded with somereservations by Dutch archaeologists, for several rea-sons. The find spot specifications are often vague, thefinds are often surprisingly rich by Dutch standards,

and there is no satisfactory explanation for their pres-ence in the wet, uninhabitable river forelands. An addeddisadvantage is that the finds were often sold tomuseums by antique-dealers. The consequence was thatdredge-finds did not always receive the attention theydeserved, and sometimes even serious doubts arose con-cerning the veracity of the reported find spots.This atmosphere of suspicion that often surrounds riverfinds (and sometimes probably quite rightly)172 necessit-ates further consideration of the significance of Celticcoins as dredge-finds. Two questions require answers:a) is the information concerning the find-spots reliable?and b) if so, how can the presence of the coins in themarshy forelands by the rivers be explained?With respect to the first question it seems, all things

171 Cf. Heuff 1908, XXXVI.172 Well known in this connection are the bronze Trajan'shead in the Rijksmuseum G. M. Kam at Nijmegen, which waspresumed to have been found 'in the river' close to Nijmegen,and a mould for terra sigillata 'from the Meuse at Alem.' The

latter piece was purchased by the Noordbrabants Museum in1937 or 1938 from the antique-dealer M. J.H. Langenhuijsen.The doubts surrounding both pieces were never whollyremoved. Cf. Van Es/Verwers 1977, 168.

2OI


considered, that there is no reason to doubt the truth ofthe stated provenances of any of the dredged coins. In-deed, the find spots of all material brought to the surfacein the area since 1960 are well recorded. By questioningthe individuals who offered the coins for sale tomuseums and private collectors, and especially theworkers and supervisors of the dredging companies, ithas proved possible to establish exactly from whichsand-pit each find was collected during the past twodecades.However, the problem cannot be so satisfactorily solvedin the case of the archaeological material dredged fromthe Meuse during the thirties, when massive water regu-lation work was undertaken on this river (see fig. 9). Thefind spot indications are mostly very vague, and it isobviously not feasible to obtain direct information fromthe dredge-operators or the dealers who sold the mater-ial to the museums. But even here there is little reasonto doubt the information available. First, all the coins,and especially the bronze pieces, display the characteris-tic appearance of river-finds. A second argument is thefact that similar coin types were retrieved after 1960 inor around the same find spots where Celtic coins andother archaeological material were collected in the19305. This is especially relevant to the area of Rossum/Lith, which produced AVAVCIA coins and silver trique-trum coins both in the thirties and after 1960. Finally,it is interesting to note that in the 19305 both Holwerdaand Braat of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden at Leidenpaid regular visits to sites in or near the Meuse wherearchaeological material was encountered.173

This brings us to the problem of how to explain thepresence of Celtic coins and so much other archaeologi-cal material from the Late Iron Age, Roman period, andEarly Middle Ages in the uninhabitable and marshyriver forelands. A considerable handicap is the lack ofgeological maps of these foreland areas outside the riverdikes. A further difficulty is that so little is known aboutthe find circumstances of the archaeological materialdredged here. Only in the case of Megen and in thesand-pits of Kessel and Lith do we have any indicationas to the stratigraphic position of the finds.

In 1976/77, a rich archaeological layer was exposed inthe sand-pit at Kessel (fig. 5.3). It contained the remainsof Roman walls, pottery from the second century, LateRoman, Merovingian, and Carolingian periods, and theLate Middle Ages.174 The finds were obviously washeddown by the river stream. They appeared to lie in an oldMeuse-bed directly above a level of clean grey clay. Themaximum height of this eroded and thus secondaryarchaeological layer corresponded with the presentwater-level, and was covered by a c. 3-m-thick layer ofsandy river sediment.In 1979 and '80 the opportunity arose to study the steepwalls of the sand-pits at Kessel and Lith, and thus togain an impression of the stratigraphic position of thefind layers. The situation appeared to resemble thatobserved in 1976/77 in many respects. In various placesa layer of gravel could be seen under a 3 to 4-m-thickstratum of clean, mostly sandy river deposit. The gravellayer was often located just under the present water-le-vel, and contained some sherds from the Roman periodand Late Middle Ages. However, the gravel layer didnot occur in all the profiles, in which cases the find layerwas probably located further down, under the presentwater-level. The finds dredged from the river forelandsat Kessel and Lith all seem to come from a secondarycontext, that is, they no longer lie in situ, but are washeddown by the stream and subsequently covered by mostlysandy deposits.In the Megense Ham the situation was virtually identi-cal. During digging operations for the altered course ofthe Meuse in 1934 a find layer was encountered undera (from top to bottom) 3 to 4-m-thick clayey sedimentand a layer of gravel.175 The archaeological materialcomprised finds from the Iron Age (?), the Roman peri-od (including fragments of roof-tiles), and the EarlyMiddle Ages. Here, too, we are dealing with washeddown finds in a secondary archeological layer in an oldMeuse-bed.The above information concerning the find circum-stances of the dredge-finds is too meagre to provide adefinitive explanation of the presence of archaeologicalmaterial in the Meuse-bed and its forelands. For the

173 In 1934 Holwerda and Bursch paid a visit to Megen,where numerous finds were unearthed during the digging ope-rations for the new river-bed (cf. note 159). In 1935 Holwerdaand Braat visited a site in the Meuse between Rossum andHeerewaarden, where many fibulae and other finds werebrought to the surface (cf. notes 133 and 134). In 1939 Braat

visited various places, such as Ravenstein and Grave, along theMeuse where Roman archaeological material was found, (cf.Verslag Rijksmuseum van Oudheden te Leiden over het jaar1939, The Hague 1940, 4).174 Cf. BKNOB 76, 1977, 189.175 See note 159 to this chapter.

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time being, therefore, we will have to content ourselveswith hypotheses which may serve as a starting-point forfuture archaeological investigations in the area outsidethe dikes, and which may be of assistance in arriving ata provisional interpretation of the often 'mysterious'river finds.The first hypothesis that presents itself is that the findsare connected with habitation on the old levees of theMeuse, which were gradually eroded by the changingcourse of the river. All the find spots concerned withhere are situated within the river's meander belt, that is,the area in which the river shifted its course over thecenturies.176 These meander belts are not static pheno-mena, and even the levees enclosing the meander zonecan at times be subject to the erosive power of the.stream.177 Consequently, if there was habitation on oneof these levees in the Late Iron Age, Roman period, and/or Early Middle Ages, these traces are eroded and thearchaeological material falls into the river-gully.178 Theerosion is followed by a process of re-sedimentation,which ultimately results in the (secondary) find layerbeing covered by mainly sandy deposits forming a bedseveral metres thick.The erosion or swallowing up of settlement sites datingfrom the Roman period by the changing river courses isa fairly common occurrence in Dutch archaeology. No-table examples are Velsen, Valkenburg, Maurik, Cuyk,and Rossum (the site known as Het Klooster along theWaal).179 Similar processes seem to have taken place inthe Meuse area at Rossum/Lith. The map of the oldcourse of the Meuse in this region shows that there aretwo meanders jutting out northwards towards the Waal,namely at Alem and at Lith. Both water-courses maywell have eroded the northern levee of the Meuse. Aglance at the distribution of the dredge-finds shows that

their concentration is greatest in the present-day courseof the Meuse between Alem and Lith and in the fore-lands directly adjoining the river (cf. fig. 5). Remarkablyenough, the area further south near the dikes of Kesseland Lith has produced no archaeological material.180

All this seems to indicate that the dredge-finds from theRossum/Lith area are connected with one or possiblyseveral settlement complexes located on an ancientnorthern levee of the Meuse. The frequent presence ofCarolingian sherds among the dredge-finds suggeststhat the site was finally eroded in the post-Carolingianperiod.

A final question of considerable importance concernsthe historical interpretation of the presence of Celticcoins (a large concentration by Dutch standards) in theeastern river area of the Netherlands. We have seen thatall the coins were in use here after the Gallic War, andmost of them during the Augustan period.181 In view ofthis date it is interesting to see what the classical authorshave to say about the regions where these coins circu-lated. We find that the eastern river area coincides,roughly, with the territory of the Batavians. These peo-ple who, according to Tacitus, descended from the tribeof the Chatti located in Hesse, must have entered theeastern river area at some time between 50 and 12 BC.182

In the year 12 BC Drusus used the Batavian territory asa home-base for his conquests in Free Germany. Quiteprobably, the Batavians had by then already concludeda treaty with the Romans. The exact extent of the terri-tory occupied by these people is difficult to establish.Literary sources indicate that the heartland must havebeen the insula Batavorum, that is, the area bounded bythe Waal and lower reaches of the Meuse on the onehand and the Neder-, Kromme-, and Oude Rijn on the

176 Cf. Havinga/Op 't Hof 1975, 266. The diversity of findsin and along the Meuse at Rossum/Lith, which include muchsherd material, roof-tile fragments, coins, heavy constructionremsins (Kessel, Late Roman), some altar stones (Alem), andnumerous utensils of iron and bronze, indicates that we aredealing here with settlement material.177 See Havinga/Op 't Hof 1975, 267.178 The important question here is whether the finds werewashed mainly in a vertical direction or also in a horizontaldirection, i.e., transported downstream. The latter seemshardly to have been the case: the current of the meanderingrivers Meuse and Waal in the Netherlands is too weak becauseof their low fall to carry material over large distances. It is

remarkable that severely eroded sherd material (due to rivertransport) occurs only rarely (cf. Arts/Bazelmans/Ector 1979,163). See also Wegner 1976, 21.179 Cf. Bogaers/Riiger 1974, resp. 30, 40, 68, 84, and 74.The settlement complexes concerned are 3!! of 3 militsry na-ture.180 The authors' personal observation and oral informationwere supplied by the dredging personnel.181 See p. 247, and concerning the date of the triquetrumcoins, see chapter III.182 Byvanck 1944, I, 202-3; Vsn Es 1981, 27; Bogaers1960-1, 263.

203


cataloguenumber

XVIa-iXVIa-2XVIa-3XVIa-4XVIa-5XVIa-6XVIa-7XVIa-8XVIa-9XVIa-i3XVIa-i8XVIa-i9XVIa-20XVIa-2iXVIa-22XVIa-23XXIa-25

average

find spot

AlernKesselKesselKesselKesselKesselKesselKesselKesselLithLithMarenMarenMarenMegenMegenRossum

weight

6.5ogr.6.58 gr.6.93gr.5-97 gr-6-77 gr.6.65 gr.6.58 gr.6.66 gr.6.8ogr.6-5igr.6.iogr.6.71 gr.6.62gr.6. 20 gr.6.50gr.6.5igr.6.85 gr.

6.59gr.*

typevariant

bbacacbcbbaabbaaa

composition in percentages

Au

20

612.5

4

14

25.0524.4527.85199-5

18

15

Ag

5644445538

52

45-7547-3543-45350.548

48.1

Cu

233330.53344

25

25.224.124.75243126

28.6

Fe

i17ii12

14

9

2

2

2

4

98

7.6

Pb

tr

trtr

tr

2

2

2

trtrtr

As

2

trtr

Sb

tr

trtr

tr

tr

Ti

trtr

Sn

tr

Fig. 10 Weight, type-variant, and metallic composition of anumber of triquetrum coins of the Lith group.* coin XVIa-4 is not included;tr: only traces present

other. It is not inconceivable that parts of the adjacentNorth-Brabant river area (especially the Maaskant) werealso inhabited by the Batavians.183

Thus no chronological or geographic reasons operateagainst the proposition that the Celtic coins from theeastern river region circulated in Batavian territory.Two centres can be distinguished within this area:Nijmegen and Rossum/Lith. But this does not meanthat all the coins were used exclusively by Batavians. Onthe contrary, a large proportion of the coins, notablythose which circulated in the Augustan period, have lessto do with Batavians themselves than with the presencein their territory of a major Roman military station.This, however, does not apply to the silver triquetrum

coins which must already have been in use in the pre-Augustan period.

The coin from Velsen (western Netherlands)One of the factors explaining the absence of Celtic coinsin the western and northern parts of the Netherlands isthat no important centres developed there during theAugustan/Tiberian period. Only Velsen can be men-tioned in this context - and one AVAVCIA coin has beenrecovered from that site. This piece derives from thefind spot Velsen I, where a Roman military settlementwas established under Tiberius in c. AD 15/20. We donot know exactly how long habitation continued.Although some terra sigillata fragments date from theClaudian or early Neronian periods,184 the numismaticmaterial seems to indicate that the Roman military occu-pation of the site came to an end in about AD 3O.185 Thefact that only one coin out of more than 100 EarlyRoman pieces is of the AVAVCIA type186 supports thehypothesis that this coin type had already disappearedfrom circulation almost completely in Tiberian times.

183 Concerning the territory of the Batavians, see Van Es1981, 27; Bogaers 1960—1, 263; Ruger 1968, 33-5. Bogaers(1967, 106) mentions the possibility that also the Frisiavonesmay have inhabited part of the North Brabant river area.

184 Glasbergen/Van Lith 1977.185 Vons 1977, 151-8.186 See the list of coins from Velsen I in Vons 1977, 142-5.

204

NICO ROYMANS xtfD WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlands and their Archaeological Context

Fig. 11 Survey of reversetype-variants of triquetrumcoins of the Lith group

III THE SILVER TRIQUETRUM COINS FROM THEEASTERN RIVER AREA: A BATAVIAN EMISSION?

For a number of reasons, the most interesting group ofCeltic coins found in the Netherlands is the group of sil-ver rainbow cups of the triquetrum type.187 Up to nowa total of 26 such coins has been collected. These Celticcoins are second only to the AVAVCIA pieces in frequencyof occurrence (fig. 2). By a comparison (in so far as pos-sible) of weight, metallic composition, types, and prove-nance 01 these pieces, the following results are obtained(see fig. 10):

1 The weight of the coins varies between 6.5 and 7grams. The only exception is coin XVIa-4 from Kessel,which has a weight of nearly 6 grams; this may beexplained by the missing fragment along the edge of thecoin.2 Twelve coins have been subjected to X-ray fluores-cence analysis to establish the composition of the metal.One of these coins was also analysed by means of neu-tron activation.188 Silver proves to be the main compo-nent; the content varies between 40 and 55 %.189 The sil-ver is in nearly all cases mixed with considerable propor-tions of copper and gold. The copper content is consis-tently more than 20%, as opposed to the gold contentwhich ranges from o to a maximum of almost 28 %. Likethe gold content, the proportion of iron varies consider-ably: in some cases it is virtually absent, in others it isquite high, up to a maximum of 17%. On the basis ofthese spectral-analytic data it may be assumed that an

alloy of copper and silver (in which silver predominates)served as the basic raw material for these coins, whilegold and/or iron were added in varying quantities. Theelements lead, arsenic, titanium, tin, and antimony,which are present in minute and usually immeasurablequantities, may be interpreted as impurities in the afore-mentioned main elements.3 All the pieces bear the same motif. However, a smallcircle which occurs as an extra mark on the reverse ofsome specimens makes it possible to distinguish threetype variants: a, b, and c (fig. ii).4 The distribution of these coins (fig. 15) in the Neth-erlands is restricted to the eastern part of the river re-gion, namely, the Gelderse Betuwe and the North Bra-bant Maaskant, with the Rossum/Lith area accountingfor the vast majority of the coins.The aforementioned analyses have shown that the silvertriquetrum coins from the Netherlands have numerouscharacteristics in common. As regards weight, type, andcomposition there is a high degree of homogeneitywhich, in our opinion, justifies the distinction of a sub-group within the larger heterogeneous group of trique-trum coins. The subgroup will henceforth be referred toas the silver triquetrum coins of the Lith group,190 sincemost of the coins in this subgroup were drawn from themunicipality of Lith.It is important at this point to consider whether thissubgroup of silver triquetrum coins occurs only in theDutch river region or whether we are concerned herewith a northwestern offshoot of a larger group of coinscentred in the German Rhineland. The West German

187 For a general introduction on the triquetrum coins, seethe catalogue, no. XVIa.188 For a brief evaluation of both methods of analysis, seeintroduction to chapter IV.189 An exception is the coin XVIa-5 from Kessel, in whichcopper dominates with 44 %, while the silver content is a mere

38 % (cf. fig. 10). As regsrds weight and type variant, however,this piece matches the other specimens of the Lith group.190 The alloy of the coins of the Lith group can best betermed silver. The term electrum is ceminly not applicable inthis case, since the gold content is much too low (in electrumcoins the gold content must vary between 40 and 60 %).

205


inventory number

WLM Stuttgart- S.U. 502HLMKassel-78i5HLMKassel-78i6HLMKassel-78i7HLMKassel-78i9HLMKassel-7821HLMKassel-78i8UM Marburg - 4248HLMKassel-7820UM Marburg - 4249

average

find spot

MardorfMardorfMardorfMardorfprob. N-Hesseprob. N-HesseMardorfMardorfMardorfMardorf

weight(sr }

6.947.2877.2147.1096.9377-0537.2847.2787.4717.303

7.188


Au

ca.39565352525263776250

55.6

Ag

ca. 52333536383723182339

33-4

Cu

9ii12

II

IO

IO

13.55

14-5ii

10.7

impurities

Pt, Pb, Sn, Ni, Bi, SbPb, Sn, Ni, Bi, Zn, SbPt, Pb, Sn, Ni, Bi, SbPt, Pb, Sn, Ni, Bi, SbPt(?), Pb, Sn, Ni, Bi, SbPt, Pb, Sn, Ni, Bi, Zn, SbPb, Sn, Ni, BiPt, Pb, Sn, BiPt, Pb, Sn, BiPt, Pb, Sn, Ni, Bi, Sb

Fig. 12 Weight and metallic composition of some gold tri-quetrum coins from north Hesse (group Mardorf). After Hart-mann 1976, table 3

triquetrum coins are, as regards diameter, types, andshape (cup-shaped profile with a concave and a convexside), identical with the Dutch pieces. However, on thebasis of the composition of the metal, it is possible todistinguish a group of coins with a high copper contentfrom a group made of superior metals, namely, gold orelectrum. This difference in composition correspondswith a difference in weight.It is fairly easy to distinguish the copper rainbow cups,of which a few specimens have also been found in theNetherlands (Nijmegen and Megen) from the silver tri-quetrum coins of the same type (see fig. 13). The maindistinctive features are given below.

1 The weightof the coins is clearly lower, varyingbetween 4.5 and 6 grams.191

2 The coins, whose composition was analysed,192

proved to contain over 80 % of copper. The copper isnearly always mixed with some silver (up to 17%). Irononly occurs as an impurity in the copper, just as lead,

tin, and antimony. Furthermore, R. Forrer assumedthat some of the high copper-content pieces from thewell-known hoard at Bochum were silver-plated.193

There is also a gilded piece from Nijmegen, while someother coins have a low gold content (8 % and less).3 Compared with the gold and high silver-content tri-quetrum coins, there is sometimes a considerable dete-rioration of style to be observed; this is especially mani-fest in the laurel wreath on the obverse.194 Here, too, theoccurrence of extra marks on nearly all the pieces makesit possible to distinguish several type variants. A smallcircle crossed by a line, an A, a V, an X, and a small cir-cle with a dot, are, in this order, the most common extramarks.195 The type variants b and c, which are typical ofthe Dutch silver triquetrum pieces (fig. ii), do not oc-cur among the copper specimens.4 The map marking the distribution of the copper tri-quetrum pieces (fig. 15) shows that they belong in theWest German Rhineland, downstream from Koblenz,and in the area between Ruhr and Lippe. The pieces

191 Cf. Forrer 1910, 457, 459, 3nd 469 (note i). One piecefrom the Titelberg (Luxemburg) weighs a mere 4.24 gr.; how-ever, the coin is no longer complete.192 It is regrettable that Castelin's recently published catalo-gue (Castelin 19793) gives only the metallic composition of thetriquetrum coins of high vslue, and not the copper pieces. In

order to gain more insight into the classification and chrono-logy of the different groups of triquetrum coins, it is necessaryto analyse the metal of the baser subgroups.193 Cf. Forrer 1910, 453.194 Cf. e.g. Forrer 1910, 444 (figs, i and 9), 448 (fig. n-k).195 On these 'subsidiary markings' see Forrer 1910, 454-6.

2O6


Fig. 13 Weight and compositionof some copper triquetrum coinsof the Bochum group. Data onBochum coin after Forrer 1910,453; on Titelberg coins afterReding 1972, 218-22.do: dominant element;a: element present;tr: element present in traces only

cataloguenumber

XVIb-iXVIb-2XVIb-3XVIb-4XVIb-5

52052i523524525526

find spot

MegenNijmegenNijmegenNijmegenNijmegenBochum

TitelbergTitelbergTitelbergTitelbergTitelbergTitelberg

weight

5-35 gr.5-25 gr-5-71 gr-5.08 gr.4.80 gr.

4.92 gr.5.20gr.547gr.4.87 gr.4-89 gr.4.24 gr.


Au

tr48

12.9

tr

Ag

1777

iiIO

17

prprprtrpr

Cu

8189838977.183

dodododododo

Fe

2

tr2

trtr

trtrtr

Pb

trtrtr

trtrtrtr?trtr

Sb

trtrtrtr

Sn

trtrtrtrtr

Zn

pr

from the Netherlands (Megen, Nijmegen) represent themost northwesterly offshoot of this group of coins in theLower Rhine area.The copper triquetrum coins are in the first place asso-ciated with the famous hoard of Bochum, which con-tained over 500 of these pieces. They constitute a homo-geneous and distinctive group of coins, hereafterreferred to as the copper triquetrum coins of the Bochumgroup.Then there are the triquetrum coins of gold and elec-trum. The distribution of these coins (fig. 15) is centredin Hesse, while some specimens are also known fromBavaria and the Rhineland between Koblenz and Co-logne. Coins of this type have not been found in theNetherlands to date. Thanks to the recent studies of I.Kappel and A. Hartmann we are well informed concern-ing the gold triquetrum pieces from northern Hesse,most of which derive from the well-known Mardorfhoard.196 These coins, too, are homogeneous, so that itis fair to speak also in this case of a separate (sub)group,characterized by specific common features. This coingroup will henceforth be referred to as the gold trique-trum staters of the Mardorf group. Kappel considers it

quite conceivable that these coins were minted in theoppidum Amoneburg in north Hesse.197 Hartmann alsoassumes that the mint cannot have been situated very farfrom Mardorf.198 The coins of the Mardorf group arefairly easy to distinguish from the high silver-contentpieces from the Netherlands, on various grounds.

1 The weight is considerably higher, varying between6.9 and 7.5 grams (cf. figs 12 and 14).2 Subsidiary marks do not occur, so that all the coinsare identical in type with variant a of the staters of theLith group.3 The coins are made of an alloy of gold, silver, andcopper (see fig. 12), with gold predominating (asopposed to the staters of the Lith group) with an averageof 56%.199 Remarkably, there is a complete absence ofiron, an element that is consistently present in the Lithgroup of coins, and sometimes even deliberately added.Another striking feature is the relatively low coppercontent: an average of 11 % against 29 % in the speci-mens of the Lith group. The same applies to the silvercontent, which accounts for an average 33 % as opposedto 48 % in the Dutch pieces.

196 Kappel 1976, 75 ff.; Hartmann 1976, 108-9, table 3.197 Kappel 1976, 92.198 Hartmann 1976, 109. This is based on the geographicdistribution and the occurrence of 3 small number of one-sideddie-identical specimens among the Mardorf pieces.

199 Cf. Hartmsnn 1976, table 3 3nd 108-9. The coin withinv. no. S.U. 502 deviates quite strongly from this averagecomposition: Ag predominates with 52%, Au follows with39 %, then Cu with 9 %.

207


Fig. 14 Table showing weightsof the various groups of triquetrumcoins. Data derived from figs. 10,12, and 13, from the survey of goldand electrum staters op p. 208-10,from Castelin 1979, Kappel 1976,83, 85, and Forrer 1910.The data of the copper coins areslightly distorted because Forrergives only the extreme weights.The majority weigh between 5.49and 5.00 gr.

7.49-7.40 gr.7-39-7-30 gr.7 -jQ 7 7O 0T•^y /.-&u gi .7. 19-7. 10 gr.7(~io .7 on PT,uy /.uu gx.6.99-6.90 gr.6. 89-6. 80 gr.6. 79-6. 70 gr.6. 69-6. 60 gr.6 <rn f\ en erroy u.^u &A .6.49-6.40 gr.6. 39-6.30 gr.6.29-6.20 gr.6.i9-6.iogr.6.09-6.00 gr.5. 99-5.90 gr.5 So < Sn PT.oy ^.ou gi.

5.79-5.70 gr.5. 69-5. 60 gr.5cn_ t< cn or•_>y jOu &1 •5.49-5.40 gr.5-39-5-30 gr.5. 29-5.20 gr.5.19-5.10 gr.5.09-5.00 gr.4.99-4.90 gr.4.89-4. 80 gr.4.79-4.70 gr.4. 69-4. 60 gr.4.59-4.50 gr.

gold/electrum

Mardorfgroup

••

« 0

• *

othercoins

a

•

•

silver

Lith group

*• 0

« *

0 0 0

•

9

0

othercoins

*

•

•

copper

Bochum group

•

0 0 0

• 0

* • 0 »

0 0

0 0

0

0

0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0

0

Hartmann assumes that the metal employed for thenorth Hesse triquetrum pieces was composed as fol-lows:200 the basic material was presumably gold with aweak platinum content and a silver content of c. 23 %,to which a fairly constant quantity of copper was added,and in the majority of cases also some extra silver (ingreatly varying quantities).Much less is known about the triquetrum staters madeof superior metals, i.e. gold, electrum, or silver, whichwere found at other places in West Germany (and spora-dically elsewhere). Quantitative data concerning the me-tallic composition are virtually non-existent, and for a

200 Hartmann 1976, 109.

number of specimens there is not even a record of eitherthe types or weights. For these reasons it is very difficultto compare them with the triquetrum coins of the Lithgroup. However, a survey is given below of these gold,electrum, and silver coins per find-spot, as well as suchdetails as are available in the literature. The coins fromnorth Hesse are also included in the survey (Mardorf,Kirchberg). The find spots are indicated on the distri-bution map (fig. 15), excepting numbers 10 to 15 whichfall outside the scope of this map.i Mardorf, Kr. Marburg-Biedenkopf (north Hesse).201

A total of 25 triquetrum coins certainly or most proba-

201 Kappel 1976, 79-85.

208


Fig. 15 Distribution of groups of triquetrum coins.a silver coin(s), Lith groupb coin(s) of gold or electrum, including those of the Mardorfgroupc coin(s) of silver, not of Lith groupd copper coin(s), Bochum groupe distribution area of coins of Lith groupf chief distribution area of gold and electrum coinsg chief distribution area of coins of the Bochum group

1 IJzendoorn2 Rossum/Alem/Maren3 Orthen4 Kessel5 Megen6 Nijmegen7 Haltern8 Oberaden9 Mulheim

10 Bettenkamper Moor11 Neuss12 Keulen

13 Siersdorf14 Oberpleis15 Stieldorf16,17 Andernach18 Ochtendung19 Cobern20 Polch21 Titelberg22 Kirchberg23 Heidetrank-oppidum24 Hochst

bly derive from Mardorf, or at any rate from northHesse. The vast majority of these staters belong to theMardorf hoard, which was discovered in 1880. Origi-nally there must have been many more coins, but thesehave since been lost, or their whereabouts are notknown.2 Kirchberg, Schwalm-Eder-Kreis (north Hesse).202

This gold coin has since been lost.3 Heidetrank oppidum, Gemarkung Oberursel-Ober-stedten, Hochtaunuskreis.203 Gold stater, weight 7.05gr., type variant a. 'Die relativ helle Fdrbung des Metallslasst auf die Beimengung von Silber schliessen.'4 Hochst, Kr. Wiesbaden.204 Two triquetrum staters,one of Electrum (weight 6.95 gr.), and one of besseresGold (weight 6.23 gr.).5 Stieldorf, Rhein-Sieg-Kreis.205 Three gold trique-trum staters, two of which belong to type variant a.

6 Cologne.206 One coin; Silber-Electrum; gut silberneTriquetrum-stiick. Weight 5.51 gr., type variant a.7 Andernach, Kr. Mayen-Koblenz.207 One specimenof schlechtem, stark silberhaltigem Golde, found in einerGraburne on the Martinsberg near Andernach. Weight5.8 gr.8 Siegtal.208 One gold coin.9 Bochum, Kr. Bochum.209 Five or six triquetrumcoins from the Bochum hoard are described by Forreras being made of silver; he assumes, on the basis of thecolour, that some tin and gold was added to the basicmetal. All may be counted as type variant a, and showmore signs of wear than the other coins. They are fairlyheavy: 5.85, 5.82, 5.62, and 5.34 gr. Forrer concludesfrom these characteristics that they are the earliest coinsin the Bochum hoard.210

10 Burchgriesbach, Kr. Neumarkt i.d. Opf.2U Onegold specimen.

202 Kappel 1976, 98. 206203 Muller-Karpe/Muller-Karpe 1977, and pi 6, no. i. 207204 Forrer 1910, 459, 465-6; Ksppel 1976, 93. 208205 La Baume 1960, pi. 16, nos. 153-5; Kappel 1976, 91; 209Meier-Ahrend 1974, 26-7, figs. 59-60. Scheers (1977, 82, n. 210216) mentions un depot a Stieldorferhohn, Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, 211and notes 4 triquetrum coins in this connection.

Forrer 1908, 222, fig. 400. Idem 1910, 459, 467.Forrer 1910, 467, 459; Kappel 1976, 91.Schaaffhausen 1888; Scheers 1977, 82, n. 216.Forrer 1910, 453-4.Forrer 1910, 453, 456.Kappel 1976, 92.

209


11 Donauworth, Kr. Donau-Reis.212 One specimen ofgold, weight 7.042 gr.12 Manching, Kr. Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm.213 Mate-rial unknown.13 Hohenburg, Kr. Amberg-Sulzbach.214 One goldcoin.14 Lausanne (Switzerland).215 One silver coin aus derGegend von Lausanne. Weight 5.86 gr. Au 13%, Ag82 %, Cu 5 %; type variant a.15 Siaugues-Saint-Romain, Haute Loire (France).216

One gold(?) coin, type variant a.Until further data concerning metallic composition,217

weight, and type variant have been collected, it is verydifficult to compare the staters of gold, electrum, andsilver found outside north Hesse with the staters of theLith group. A few provisional observations, however,may be made. The eleven staters of which the types arerecorded all belong, like the north Hesse specimens, tovariant a; subsidiary marks do not occur.218 The weightof eleven coins is known: seven weigh between 5.5 and6 gr. (the pieces of Cologne, Andernach, Lausanne, andBochum) and are therefore clearly distinct from thecoins in the Lith group, which are considerably heavier.It is remarkable that virtually all these pieces appear tobe made of silver or of an alloy with a high silver con-tent. Future research will have to show whether it is jus-tified here to distinguish a separate subgroup consistingof silver coins without extra marks and weighingbetween 5.5. and 6 gr. We also know the weight of anumber of gold coins. The pieces from Donauworth andthe Heidetrank oppidum, with their weight slightly inexcess of 7 gr., match the triquetrum staters of the Mar-dorf group. Only the pieces from Hochst are comparablein weight (6.95 and 6.23 gr.) to the coins of the Lithgroup. Because the Hochst coins are described as beingmade of electrum and gold respectively, they are pre-sumably of a superior composition compared to thestaters of the Lith group with their high silver content

yearsBC

20 —

40—

60—

80—

IOO —

rainbow cup

'Vogelkopf/Torques'stater

?

igold

7-5 gr.

?

s

triquetrum-staterMardorfgroup

?

?gold/

electrum7.2 gr.

?

triquetrum-staterLithgroup

?

isilver6.5 gr.

">

triquetrum-staterBochumgroup

?copper

5gr-

? . . ..

Fig. 16 Diagram showing (approximate) chronology of thevarious groups of triquetrum staters and their prototype.Chronological position of Vogelkopf I Torques staters after Cas-telin 1973. Horizontal dashed line: probable limits of periodof minting. Vertical dashed line: probable period of circula-tion.

alloyed with copper. Here, too, a quantitative or semi-quantitative analysis of the metallic elements will haveto provide further evidence.

The above survey shows that the triquetrum statersencountered outside the Netherlands (largely in north

212 Kappel 1976, 92; Forrer 1910, 458, 465.213 Kappel 1976, 92.214 Kappel 1976, 92.215 Forrer 1910, 459, 465, 468; Kappel 1976, 92; Castelin19793, no. 1099.216 Castelin 1973, 69 and fig. 9-10.217 In two other esses of gold triquetrum coins the metalliccomposition is known, but unfortunately the find spot is not.One piece is in the WLM Stuttgart, without no.: weight 7.141gr., Au 45%, Ag 44%, Cu 11% (Hartmann 1976, table 3).

The coin mentioned in Castelin 19793, no. 1097, weighs 7.011gr., Au47%, Ag 43.5%, 019.5%. In view of the weight andmetallic composition both pieces may be attributed to theMardorf group.218 The coins Castelin 19793, nos. 1097 (electrum, 7.011gr.), 1098 (silver, 6.164 gr.) and De la Tour pi. XXXIX, nos.9439 (gold, 7.15 gr.), 9440 ('electrum', 6.00 gr.), and 9441('electrum', 5.65 gr.) have no extra markings either. The findspots of these pieces are unknown.

210


Hesse and the German Rhineland downstream fromMainz) differ from the coins of the Lith group to agreater or lesser degree in composition, type, and/orweight. Although it remains to be seen to what extentthe present distribution pattern of the finds representsthe true circulation area, the information presented inthe foregoing strongly suggests that the circulation ofthe Lith staters was restricted to the eastern part of theDutch river region. In the previous chapter mention wasmade of the fact that this area was inhabited in the earlyAugustan period by the Batavians, who migrated tothese parts at some time between 50 and 12 BC. In orderto ascertain whether there is any connection between thetriquetrum staters of the Lith group and the Batavianhabitation it is necessary first to examine the-chronologyof these coins.The diagram of fig. 16 shows the approximate date ofissue and duration of circulation of the most importantgroups of triquetrum coins. The implications are dis-cussed below.A relative chronology of the different groups of trique-trum staters may be compiled on the basis of (parallel)processes of decline in weights and metal standardswithin this class of rainbow cups.219 Thus it is fair tostate that the gold or electrum coins of the Mardorfgroup (weight c. 7,2 gr.) are older than the predomi-nantly silver pieces of the Lith group (weight c. 6.6 gr.).The latter in their turn pre-date the copper pieces fromthe Bochum group (weight c. 5.3 gr.).Subsequently, we can attempt to place this relativechronology in an absolute time scale. To start with,there are the south-German Vogelkopf I Torques staters ofthe Vindelici (weight c. 7.5 gr.), which were mintedbetween c. 80 and 50 uc.23t> From these staters are de-rived, typologically, the oldest triquetrum coins, that is,those of the Mardorf group.221 However, it is not knownto what extent the two emissions overlap in time. Be-cause the average weight of the gold staters of the Mar-

dorf group is slightly lower (by c. 0.3 gr.) and extra sil-ver was added to the material, thus reducing the quality,it is possible that these coins are of a slightly later datethan the Vogelkopf'Torques staters. The fairly constantweight of the coins and their homogeneous compositionseem to indicate that the production of this coinage tookplace in a comparatively short period of time. Like theVogelkopf I Torques staters and other groups of southGerman rainbow cups, the emission of the Mardorf goldstaters was probably discontinued towards the middle ofthe first century BC.222 This accords with the develop-ments in northern Gaul, where the production of goldcoins came to an end during the Gallic War.223

We now come to the coins of the Lith group. Thesepieces differ from the Mardorf group staters on severalpoints: their weight is a good 0.5 gr. lower, the gold con-tent has been reduced to a relatively modest proportionin favour of silver (which clearly predominates) and cop-per. They are also the first coins to have extra markings.The types themselves are, however, still of a fairly highstandard, in other words, there is no stylistic decline tobe observed as yet. We may assume, on these grounds,that the silver coins of the Lith group are slightlyyounger than the Mardorf staters. A terminus post quemfor their production may be provisionally established inthe middle of the first century BC; a date later than theyear 51 BC is suggested by the fact that the triquetrumcoins of the Eburones, which were produced during theGallic War, were still obviously inspired by the gold(German) triquetrum pieces, both as regards material(gold) and obverse type.224 It is more difficult to estab-lish a terminus ante quem for the production of the coin-age of the Lith group. In view of the fairly constantweight and homogeneous composition of the pieces it islikely that this emission, too, took place in a relativelyshort period of time. The fact that the coins are olderthan the copper pieces of the Bochum group and thatthey do not occur in the Augustan military centres (no-

219 For the use of data concerning weight and metallic com-position relevant to the construction of relative chronologies inCeltic numismatics, see chapter I.220 Castelin 1973, 72-6, and table 2.221 The torques on the reverse of the triquetrum staters hasdegenerated into a zigzag line. The laurel wreath on the ob-verse is still virtually identical with that of the Vogelkopf I Tor-ques staters (Streber, no. 37), which generally have a highergold content and weigh more (Hartmann 1976, table i). Cf.also fig. 16 in this chapter.

222 See note 220.223 On the termination of the gold emissions in Gallia Bei-gica during the Gallic War, see Scheers 1977, no. On thenorth Gallic gold emissions during this war, cf. Scheers 1977,60-5. See also Castelin 1973, 64-6, concerning the disappear-ance of the Gallic gold into Roman hands during the GallicWar.224 See chapter IV, no. VII.

211


tably Nijmegen) indicates that they were issued beforec. 30 BC.Finally, there is the Bochum group. Here the decline inthe quality of the metal and weight reaches its lowestebb; copper is by far the most important component,and the weight varies between 4.5 gr. and 5.9 gr. Sub-sidiary markings now occur on nearly all the coins, albeitin different shapes and positions from those in the Lithgroup. In some cases the types themselves also show adistinct stylistic decline. Unlike the gold and silver tri-quetrum staters, the copper pieces of the Bochum groupare also found in historically datable settlements: coinsof this type have been encountered in virtually all theearly Augustan army stations along the Rhine and theLippe. From this we may conclude that they remainedin circulation until well into the Augustan period. For-rer's assumption is that there were several emissions ofthese coins, slightly spaced in time. He concludes: dassdie Zeitdifferenz zwischen den dltesten und den jungstenStucken des Bochumer Fundes keine sehr grosse sein (...)kann, that is, that it must have spanned a few decadesat the most. He dates the earliest emission to about 30BC, and the latest to c. 10 BC, or possibly slightlylater.225

The foregoing classification and chronological orderingof the triquetrum coins must necessarily be taken as pro-visional at this early stage of research. Further studiesmust be undertaken before the relative chronology canbe perfected and new links established for the absolutedating. A first step would be the collection of exhaustive

data concerning metrology and especially metallic com-position; then perhaps it would be possible to establisha more exact chronological position of those triquetrumcoins of silver, gold, or electrum, which cannot be attri-buted to the Mardorf or Lith groups.226

The (provisional) conclusion that may be drawn fromthe absolute chronology proposed above is that the tri-quetrum coins of the Lith group were probably issuedbetween c. 50 and 30 BC. These dates correspond withthe period in which the Batavians moved into the Dutchriver area. Indeed, it is probable that this group of coinsis connected with the Batavians, the more so since thedistribution area of these staters is restricted to the terri-tory inhabited by this tribe. In our opinion, it is justifiedto consider these coins as having been struck by theBatavians fairly soon after they settled in the easternpart of the river area. This coinage may in that case beseen as a logical sequel to the emission of the triquetrumcoins of high gold content which started some time earli-er in Hesse and the adjacent Rhineland. As far as weightand alloy are concerned, the Lith pieces come closest tothe Mardorf coins, which derive from north Hesse.227

Remarkably enough, this is roughly the same area inwhich the Chatti are assumed to have lived - a tribefrom which, according to Tacitus, the Bataviansseceded.228

While there are sufficient grounds to regard the coins ofthe Lith group as an early Batavian emission, we are byno means certain about who or which institution wasresponsible for the emission.229 In other words, we do

225 Forrer 1910, 457, 461, 470-1.226 It is particularly important to investigate whether thehigh silver-content coins of Bochum, Cologne, Lausanne, andAndernach (all without subsidiary markings and weighing c.5.5-6 gr.) can be treated as a separate subgroup. See also thetable of weights in this connection.227 See the table of weights and fig. 12. It is also remarkablethat the triquetrum piece with the inv. no. WLM Stuttgart-S.U. 502, most probably from the Mardorf hoard (Kappel1976, 82), bears a strong resemblance to the staters of the Lithgroup as regards weight (6.94 gr.) and silver content (52 %).228 Tacitus, Germ. 29; Hist. IV 12 and 14. In Tacitus' daythe Chatti inhabited Hesse and the adjacent Rhineland (Taci-tus, Ann. I 56). They must already have been in this area inthe early Augustan time, because they are mentioned in I I B Cas the neighbours of the Sugambri (Dio Cassius LIV 33).However, it is uncertain whether they were already in the areain the pre-Augustan period. The fact that Caesar does not

mention the Chatti in his Commentaries could mean that theydid not yet inhabit the area along the right bank of the Rhineat that time. Presumably their habitat was situsted further inthe interior of Germany, in north Hesse along the upperreaches of the Weser. In that case the Chatti, possibly with thetacit permission of the Romans, moved further west to theright bank of the Rhine at some time between Caesar's depar-ture from Gaul (51 BC) and the appearence of Drusus (12BC).Cf. Der Kleine Pauly I, 1964, s.v. Chatti (H. Cuppers); Hach-mann/Kossack/Kuhn 1962, 51-2 (who assume that the Chattioriginally populated the area to the north of the Lippe). In-deed, only the earliest triquetrum coins have been found inHesse, i.e., pieces of gold or electrum. The subsequent deve-lopment of this coin type seems to have taken place elsewhere,namely, in the Rhineland. At 3ny rate copper and silver speci-mens do not occur in Hesse.229 Cf. in this connection the more general discussion inCollis 19713, 74-6.

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not know whether they represent a central tribal emis-sion (at the behest of a king230 or the civitas govern-ment),231 or a private emission of a member or membersof the Batavian aristocracy.232 On the basis of our pre-sent knowledge of the distribution, we can only con-clude that the coins seem to have circulated in a limitedsection of the Batavian territory. By far most of thepieces (22 out of a total of 26) were drawn from the Ros-sum/Lith area (fig. 5). Perhaps the centre of the emis-sion was located in that area.It is interesting at this point to discuss what the signifi-cance of this area may have been in the pre-Augustanand Early Roman periods. It is remarkable that 32 Celticcoins have been found here up to now, some of whichmust have been in circulation in Augustan times (that is,from c. 15 BC) while a considerable proportion wasalready in use in the immediately preceding period.233

This comparatively large number of coins is indicativeof the presence of a settlement (or settlements?) withmore than local importance, most probably situated onthe northern levee of the Meuse.233 We think it may wellhave been an important Batavian centre, which alreadyfunctioned as such in the pre-Augustan period. Thishypothesis appears to be confirmed by the presencethere of rich archaeological finds dating from the LateLa Tene and Early Roman periods: notably a number ofLate La Tene swords, a Nauheim fibula, several spoon-bow fibulae, and numerous Early Roman coins.233

The importance of this (early) centre in the Batavian ter-ritory may be explained first and foremost by its favour-able strategic position (on a narrow strip of landenclosed by two rivers), and accessibility. The Rossum/Lith area in the Roman period may be characterized as

a junction of traffic routes.234 The shipping routes fromthe German Rhineland via the Waal to the North Sea,and from the entire hinterland of the Meuse to theNetherlands delta area meet at Rossum/Lith, as well asthe east-west road running through the southern part ofthe Batavian territory and the north-south route linkingthe Insula Batavorum and Atuatuca Tungrorum (Ton-geren) in Belgium. It is quite possible therefore that thetwo river-crossings at Rossum/Lith were used intensi-vely.The importance of the Rossum/Lith area as an intersec-tion of various traffic routes and as a Batavian centremay well also be the explanation for the presence thereof the Roman army. In the nineteenth century sometraces of a Roman military settlement were found on thesouth bank of the Waal at Rossum (fig. 5-1).23S Mostprobably these were traces of a castellum known asGrinnes and indicated as such on the Peutinger map.This fort is assumed to have been established after theBatavian rebellion (AD 69-70), although the coinsencountered on the site indicate that it may possiblyhave originated in the Early Roman period.236 ThisRoman fortress could well have been intended to controlthe roads and waterways as well as the Batavian centrenearby. That the Batavians themselves attached muchimportance to the possession of the Rossum/Lith area isfurther shown by Tacitus' account of the Batavian re-bellion. In September 70, when the a'dvancing Romanlegions threatened to overrun the Batavian territory,Julius Civilis launched a last (unsuccessful) attack on thepro-Roman troops stationed at Grinnes and Vada on thesouth bank of the Waal.237 Furtheron, it is not impossi-ble that there was also a military settlement along the

230 It is likely that the Batsvians had kings at one time. Taci-tus, Hist. IV 13, mentions that Julius Civilis and ClaudiusPaulus - the most prominent Batavian chiefs in the days ofNero - were of royal blood. Cf. also Wenskus 1961, 409-28;Bogaers 1955, 189-91.231 What is meant here is the native civitas organization be-fore being influenced by Romanization processes. Its exactform as far as the Batavisns sre concerned is virtusllyunknown. The only indicstion derives from the famous altarpiece from Ruimel (North Brabant), which dates from the firsthalf of the first century AD, and is dedicated to the deity Magu-sanus Hercules. The inscription mentions a summus magistra-tus of the civitas Batavorum. Perhaps this single leadership ofthe civitas is still a relic of the pre-Roman Batsvian form ofgovernment. Cf. Van Es 1981, 218-20; Bogaers 1955, 189-91.

232 Tacitus, Hist. IV and V, mentions the names of variousBatavian noblemen in his account of the Batavisn rebellion (AD69-70). These noblemen were still in command of the Bata-vian army units in Roman service in the Early Roman period.Concerning the Batavisn aristocracy in the Early Roman peri-od: Van Es 1981, 218-20; Bogaers 1955, 189-91.233 See chapter II.234 See Bogaers 1962-3, 40-1; Van Es 1981, no.235 Leemans 1842.236 Concerning the coins found at Rossum, see Leemans1842, 131 ff. and Haslebos 1976, 203-4, fig- 3- Concerning theterra sigillsta, see Glasbergen 1946. Cf. also Bogaers/Ruger1974, 74.237 Tacitus, Hist. V 20-21. Byvanck 1944, I, 275-6 en II,383, also locates Vada at the river junction at Rossum/Lith,notably at Heerewaarden. See also Riiger 1968, 92.

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Meuse in the Rossum/Lith area in the Early Roman pe-riod, as is suggested by some of the numerous EarlyRoman finds that have been dredged up there. More re-search, however, is necessary before definitive conclu-sions can be reached.The above hypothetical statements concerning the exis-tence of an early Batavian centre on the Meuse near Ros-sum/Lith make it all the more interesting to compare theLate La Tene finds from this centre with those of theBatavian capital at Nijmegen. Unfortunately, a compre-hensive survey of the Late La Tene archaeologicalmaterial encountered at Nijmegen is not available.238

This means that once again only provisional statementscan be made. Nevertheless, it is possible at this stage toestablish that certain find categories represented amongthe find material of Rossum/Lith do not occur in Nijme-gen. Cases in point are the silver triquetrum coins of theLith group and the Late La Tene iron swords. Fromthis archaeological material the impression arises thatthe Batavian centre at Rossum/Lith originated in thepre-Augustan period, and is therefore somewhat olderthan the centre at Nijmegen, where habitation did notcommence until about 15 BC (this is inferred from theRoman imports found on the site).239 The hypothesiscould be put forward that a possibly pre-Augustan na-tive Batavian centre was not located at Nijmegen butrather at Rossum/Lith. This is supported by the follo-wing considerations:1 There is virtually no Late La Tene material atNijmegen, particularly swords and silver triquetrumcoins, while the Rossum/Lith area has produced suchfinds.2 In spite of more than sixty years of archaeological in-vestigations at Nijmegen no traces have yet been foundthat clearly attest to the existence of a native Bataviancentre in the pre-Roman period. Holwerda's 'Batavianvillage' on the Kops Plateau and the adjacent 'Batavianfortress' to the north appear to be the products of over-simplification and incorrect interpretation.240 Recent re-search has shown that the earliest habitation of the KopsPlateau may well have been of a Roman military nature,and started about 10 BC. This original habitation phaselasted for some twenty years, after which the settlement

probably assumed a more native character. There is inany case no reason to suppose that a Batavian centreexisted on the Kops Plateau in pre-Augustan times. Thesame applies to the large settlement on the Valkhof andenvirons, which was called Batavodurum and functionedas the main centre of the civitas Batavorum until the year70. Up to now no evidence has been found that thisBatavian centre originated in the pre-Roman period. Itseems probable that this centre did not originate untilthe Roman military station was established at Nijmegenin about 15 BC.3 Nijmegen/Batavodorum occupies a peripheral posi-tion within the Batavian territory; Rossum/Lith, how-ever, is more centrally located and at least as favourablysituated with respect to the traffic routes. The locationof a pre-Roman Batavian centre at Nijmegen in thenortheastern corner of the civitas Batavorum is thereforedifficult to understand from a Batavian point of view be-fore the establishment there in c. 15 BC of a Roman mili-tary centre.Consequently, the large-scale military base which wascreated at Nijmegen was originally not intended for thecontrol of the Batavian population.241 Indeed, such a'fortress of coercion' would have been superfluous be-cause the Romans had already made a treaty with theBatavians under Drusus. The terms of the treaty were de-cidedly favourable to the Batavians:242 they were exemptfrom taxes, and were committed only to supply auxiliarytroops. The Romans for their part had the right to usethe Batavian territory as a home-base for their militarycampaigns in Free Germany, that is, the area betweenRhine and Elbe. The reasons for the establishment of aRoman army base in the northeastern corner of theBatavian lands are easy to understand in the light ofstrong Roman expansionist policy. Nijmegen was si-tuated on the border of the area controlled by theRomans at that time, and very near to several importantaccess routes to the interior of Germany: the rivers Gel-derse IJssel, Vecht, and Lippe. In short, then, the evi-dence seems to suggest that the Batavian centre shiftedfrom Rossum/Lith to Nijmegen, where the settlementon the Valkhof and surroundings (probably Batavo-dorum) did not start to develop until after 15 BC, The

238 The only survey available is of the Nijmegen fibulae(Van Buchum 1941), which comprises some fibulae of theNauheim and Middle La Tene type. Both types may still havebeen in use in the Early Roman period. However, it is not al-ways certain that the pieces derive from Nijmegen.

239 Cf. Bloemers, in Noviomagus 1979, 27.240 Bogaers, in Noviomagus 1979, 18-23.241 For this theory, see Van Es, 1981, 93.242 Concerning this treaty, see Tacitus, Hist. IV 12 andBogaers 1960-1, 263-4; Byvanck 1945, I, 203.

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question remains, however, whether this transition wasa spontaneous development or one intentionally encour-aged by the Romans.

IV CATALOGUE OF CELTIC COINS FOUND IN THENETHERLANDS

The present catalogue contains a survey of all Celticcoins so far found in the Netherlands (January 1981).For obvious reasons we have not included coins whichhave been determined as Celtic or Gallic in the litera-ture, but which have since been proved to have a differ-ent origin. An example is the 'un-determined autono-mous-Gallic coin' from the G.M. Kam collection inNijmegen mentioned by Daniels, which proved to be aMacedonian large copper coin of Antigonos Gonatas(277-239 Be);243 other examples are the finds from thelatter half of the nineteenth century in Domburg (pro-vince of Zeeland) described by Rethaan Macare as'ancient Gallic or Nordic', but which are now known todate from the Middle Ages.244 Finally, also the so-callednative imitations of Republican denarii published by J.Sprenger have been omitted, because in our opinionthey are normal Roman coins.245 For completeness'sake, we have included a number of coins concerningwhich the information regarding Dutch provenance isnot conclusive (I-i, III-i, XIV-56), or whose supposedDutch provenance is highly doubtful in our opinion(XVII-i, XVIII-i); none of these five coins, however,figure in the discussions.The coins listed here are divided into three groups: i)Gallic coins, 2) coins from the Rhineland (that is, exclu-sively the triquetrum coins whose origin is traceable tothe area across the Rhine, outside Gaul), and 3) coinsfrom central Europe. The coins in each group are dis-cussed in chronological order wherever possible. For allcoins, denoted by a Roman numeral (I-XVIII), refer-ence is made to the plates in the De la Tour atlas (1892),and for the Gallo-Belgic coins to the recent handbook byScheers (1977).The treatment of each group of coins falls into two sec-

tions. The first gives general information concerning thegroup of coins in question; coin types, weight, distribu-tion pattern, metallic composition, date, and geographi-cal location. The second concerns the specimens of thatparticular group found in the Netherlands. Specific dataconcerning individual coins are given in the followingform:a find spot, province; reference to illustrations in thispublicationb description of find spot, with coordinates of thetopographical map of the Netherlands wherever possi-ble, find circumstances, finderc date of find (sometimes date of acquisition)d collection, inventory numbere specific information on coin types, die positionf weightg diameterh metallic compositioni previous references to the coins and/or illustrationsin the literature.The metallic composition (h), which was analysed pri-marily of the triquetrum coins, was established bymeans of spectral analysis, with the aid of the X-rayfluorescence method. The analyses were conducted atthe Natuurkundig Laboratorium of N.V. Philips inWaalre. The X-ray fluorescence method is based ongenerating a secondary radiation (fluorescence) bymeans of primary X-ray radiation, and comparing theresulting measurements with standards.246 With regardto the quantitative results, in weight percentages, it isnecessary to bear in mind that only the outside layer (of-ten no more than 10-20 u), was penetrated by radiation.In some cases the surface layer is of a different metalliccomposition from that of the interior, as in the case ofplated coins. It is also possible that, as a result of sur-face-enrichment, the outer layer is not representative ofthe entire coin.247 To gain more insight into this prob-lem, two triquetrum coins were also analysed by meansof the neutron activating method (XVIa-2 and XVIb-5), which yields a more representative picture of the me-tallic composition. The findings of the latter tests arementioned with the coins they concern.

243 Cf. Daniels 1950, 24; J.P. van der Vin, KMP, kindlydetermined this coin for us.244 Rethaan Macare 1838, 8; cf. Boersma 1967, 90. TheZeeuws Museum at Middelburg has no Celtic coins in its col-lection (written information from A. A. van der Poel, 27 Oct.1976).

245 Sprenger 1957, 6-7.246 For more detailed information, see Hall 1960, Witrrier1972.247 Concerning surface enrichment, see Hall 1961.

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GALLIC COINS

I Gold Treveri staters with winged manikin(LT pi. XXXII, 6818; XXXVIII, 9296; Scheers 16)The obverse shows a head to the right; a striking characteristicis the trefoil instead of an ear. The reserve shows an androce-phalous horse to the left; above the horse a horseman holdingwhat looks like a flag; behind the horse an oval configurationof circles; below the horse a winged personage. The seriescomprises staters and quarter staters, and exhibits a develop-ment from gold to high silver-content and even bronze speci-mens, with weights diminishing from nearly 8 gr. to little morethan 5 gr.24a

These coins have been found mostly in Luxemburg and theGerman Saarland.249 The 'winged manikin' series was attri-buted, along with several other series, to Armoricani Emigrati,on the basis of typological similarities with coins in northwest-ern France (Veneti, Aulerci Cenomani). In a recent study theBritish numismatist D. F. Allen suggests that the coins are theoldest gold pieces of the Treveri and that the production ofthese coins may possibly have started at the end of the secondcentury BC, continuing up to about the beginning of the GallicWsr, when the vsrious series were replaced by the series aFoeuil250 (see catalogue sub III). "

I-ia Nijmegen (Gld.) or Goch (Nordrhein-Westfalen, W. Ger-many). Find spot indications unreliabled Collection University of Leiden, present whereaboutsunknown251

i DAG II, 1919, 296252

II Gold quarter staters of the Pegasus type(Scheers 23)The obverse of the coins in this group, which consists exclusi-vely of quarter staters, shows a head to the right; the reversebears a pegasus facing right above a pseudo-legend consistingof dots. The weight of these coins varies between under i.5gr.and over 2gr., with the 1.90-1.99gr. interval predominating.

A small number of the specimens analysed for the metalliccomposition proved to have a high gold-content (64-85 %).253

The distribution pattern shows a distinct concentration in thecentral Rhine area (Cologne-Karlsruhe), on both banks of theriver,254 which does not appear to support A. Blanchet's attri-bution of the coins to the Mediomatrici. Scheers dates thesecoins, which have never been found in association with othergold coins in hoards, to the period preceding the Gallic Waron the grounds of metrological data, the high gold-content,and the fact that silver coins were already in circulation in thesame area before the year 52 BC.255

II-ia In the environs of Heerlen (L.); pi. Ic 1979d Private coll. in W. Germany256

e Die position 6f 1.89 gr.g 14.5 mm

11-2a Province of Limburg j pi. ic 1866 or earlierd KMP, 10889e Die position 4f i.84gr.g 15.9 mmh Au 84 %; Ag 14 %; Cu 2 %; traces Fe

III Gold Treveri staters a 1'oeuil(LT pi. XXXV, 8799; XXXVI, 8815-25; Scheers 30)The obverse shows an angular eye, with defined iris, turnedright; on the reverse a horse facing left. The legend (only inclasses I I-I 11 and V-VI) may occur on either side.Scheers distinguishes six classes within the series a 1'oeuil;within class I, five variants may be distinguished. Her order-ing of the classes is based on typological, stylistic, and metrolo-gical data. The younger classes IV up to and including VI are

248 For metrological data, see Scheers 1977, 317, fig. 58 (se-ries 16).249 Distribution maps in Allen 19713, 97, fig. 2 and Scheers1977, 321, fig. 59.250 Allen 19713, 102 ff.251 No information could be provided by the Prentenkabi-net/Kunsthistorisch Instituut of Leiden University: the coinscould not be found (written communication Mrs E. Tholen,3 Feb. 1978). Nothing is known about a possible transfer ofthe coins to the KMP (written communication J. P. van der Vin,10 March 1978).252 Dr J.-B. Colbert de Beaulieu kindly drew our attentionto this st3tement. The text in DAG reads, literally: 'Les mon-

naiesgravees dans Lelewel (II, 32; IV, 19; IX, 2j) ont ete trou-vees a Nimegue et a Gogh, non loin de cette ville [Coll. de I'Uni-versite de Ley del (Van der Chijs).' which does not, in ouropinion, permit definitive conclusions to be drawn aboutwhich coin was found where. Attribution on the basis of thisfind report, as in Colbert de Beaulieu 1973, 28, note 47,Scheers 1977, 420, no. 20 and 827, no. 21, is therefore unreli-able. Cf. also Chap. II, Introduction and note 75.253 Scheers 1977, 329-30; Castelin 19793, 64, nos. 491-6.254 Scheers 1977, 331.255 Scheers 1977, 59-60.256 We owe this information to A. G. van der Dussen, coin-dealer in Maastricht.

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Fig. 17 Distribution of gold Ambiani staters, type uniface(Scheers 24), and gold quarter staters of the Pegasus type(Scheers 23). Largely based on Scheers 1977, figs. 66 and 64.• gold Ambiani stater(s), type unifaceA gold quarter stater(s) of the Pegasus type

most frequent in the territory of the Treveri, while the olderclasses occur primarily outside this area.257

Scheers does not doubt that the coins date from the time ofthe Gallic War. For a more detailed chronology she finds indi-cations in Caesar's Commentarii. She concludes that the shiftin the distribution pattern which starts with class IV - con-centration of the coins in the territory of the Treveri and the

short-lived disappearance of the legend - is a reflection of animportant historic event among these people, notably the sei-zure of power in 54 BC by the anti-Roman Indutiomarus.258

Thus this date constitutes a terminus ante quem for the classesI-II, snd a terminus post quem for the younger classes. The ter-mination of the series d 1'oeuil should be dated to about50BC.259

III-i3 Nijmegen (Gld.) or Goch (Nordrhein-Westfalen, W. Ger-msny). Find spot indicstions unreliabled Collection University of Leiden, present whereaboutsunknown260

e Clsss Ii DAG II, 1919, 296; Scheers 1977, 420, no. 2O261

257 Cf. maps 81-86 in Scheers 1977.258 Caesar, De Bello Gallico V 3.259 Scheers 1977, 79-81.

260 See note 251.261 See note 252; the find spot Nijmegen is incorrectly pro-jected on fig. 81 in Scheers 1977.

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IV Gold staters of the Ambiani, uniface type(LT pi. XXXV, 8704, 8707, 8710, 8717; Scheers 24)The obverse bears no type. The reverse shows a highly sty-lized horse to the right; the forked neck is 3 characteristic fea-ture. Above the horse is a configuration of dots and crescents,behind the horse a dot set in an oval. Below the horse is a dot;below that a variable ornament. The weight ranges fromapproximately 6.35 to 5.55 gr. Initially these monnaies unifaces(the 'blank' obverse resulting from the use of very worn dies)were attributed to the Morini,362 but Scheers has recently sug-gested that these coins represent the youngest phase of the richcoin series (gold) of the Ambiani.263 Production of this seriesalready started in the second half of the third century BC, andwas initially inspired by the gold staters from Tarentum; later,in the second century BC, the influence of the gold stater ofPhilip II of Macedonia becomes discernible.Scheers distinguishes six classes within this youngest series ofgold Ambiani coins; she orders them chronologically on stylis-tic and metrological grounds; other data appear to confirm thisordering.264 Scheers sees no reason to doubt that they wereissued during the Gallic War: two coin hoards (Reims/Cha-lons-sur-Marne and Longueil-Ste-Marie), which she relatesto historical events, appear to prove that the series commencedbefore 57 BC and continued to be produced until at least51 BC.265

The distribution area comprises mainly northwestern France,Belgium, and southeast England; a small number of stray spe-cimens has been found in Luxemburg, Germany, and theNetherlands.266

IV-ia Blade!267 (N. Br.); pi. ib Surface find on field known as Kriekeschoor; top. map5iC, co: 144.960/375.040; N. Roymansc 1974d RMO, k 1981/6.1e Class IIIf 6.06 gr.g 17 mmh Au72.i%; Ag20.3%; Cu7.6%i Roymans/Van der Sanden 1975, figs, i and 2; Roymans1975, 4°, fig. 18; Scheers 1977, 352, no. 88

IV-2a Kessel (L.); pi. Ib Surface find on field in the hamlet of Donk; top. map 58E,co: 201.850/369.200; H. Hanssenc 1971d H. Hanssen, Kessele Class IIIf 6.i5gr.g 17 mmh Au74.6%; Ag22.i%; Cu3.3%i Bloemers 1973, 25, fig. 4; Roymans/Van der Sanden 1975,94; Scheers 1977, 352, no. 89

V Bronze Suessiones coins bearing the legendCRICIRV(LT pi. XXXII, 7941, 7945, 7946, 7949; Scheers 27)The obverse shows a man's head with cap facing left; the re-verse a winged horse facing left, below that the legend CRICIRVor (less frequently) CRICIRONIS. The weight ranges from 3.99to 1.95 gr., with most of the coins weighing between 3.50 and2.50 gr. The find spots of these coins have the greatest con-centration in the French departments of Aisne and Oise,268

from which it may be concluded that the coins are an emissionof the Suessiones. This is confirmed by the exceptionally largenumber of CRICIRV coins (over 900 specimens of bronze, sil-ver, and gold) found within the oppidum of Pommiers (Aisne);the mint was probably situated here. Only one bronze speci-men is known from Belgium, namely from Ellezelles, Hene-gouwen. The aforementioned gold coins with the legend CRI-CIRV are the oldest, and Scheers dates them to directly after57 BC, at which time the Suessiones were conquered by Cae-sar.269 The silver and bronze emissions are younger; Scheersassumes - on less convincing evidence - that these coins wereproduced before the end of the Gallic War, in 51 BC.270

V-ia Probably Nijmegen271 (Gld.); pi. id RMK, former private collection G.M. Kam, 1888e The legend on the reverse is incomplete, reading CRICIR[Vor-ONis] Traces of casting-protuberances visible. Diepositiongf 2.59gr.g 17/17.9 mmi Daniels 1950, 24

262 See e.g. De La Tour 1892, pi. XXXV and Forrer 1908,266, fig. 472.263 Scheers 1969, 413-4; id. 1977, 341, figs. 3, 4, and 7.264 Scheers 1977, 66 and 345.265 Scheers 1977, 67-8.266 Scheers 1977, figs. 66 and 67.267 The statement in Brongers/Woltering 1978, 119, note42, to the effect that a gold Ambiani coin was also found inHapert, is erroneous.

268 Cf. Scheers 1977, fig. 74. The find spots of the gold andsilver CRICIRV coins are also indicated on this map. The major-ity of the find spot indications, however, concern bronzepieces.269 Scheers 1977, 71-3.270 Scheers 1977, 71. Her argument is based on the presenceof an embleme militaire on the head-covering of the male figure,which could mean that the war had not yet come to an end.271 Cf. observations in Chap. II, p. 187, including note 89.

218

NICO EOYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlands and their Archaeological Context

1 1 - 1 11-2

IV-1 !V-2

V-1 VI -1

V I I - 1

PLATE IAll coin plates are scale 2:1.Numbers under coins refer to the catalogue.

219

NICO ROYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlands snd their Archaeological Context

VI Bronze Nervii coins bearing the legendVIROS/VIROS(LT pi. XXXV, 8772-8773; Scheers 293)The obverse shows a man's head facing right, with the legendVIROS; behind the head a branch. The reverse shows a horse-man facing right, with a javelin (?) in his right hand; in addi-tion to several rings the legend viR-o-a occurs. Such coinshave been found msinly in the French department Nord 3ndthe Belgian province of Henegouwen, which suggests that thiswss an emission of the Nervii.272 The weight is highly variable,ranging from 5.45 to 3.95 gr. In view of the fact that the nameVIROS still occurs on the youngest gold coins of the Nervii(according to Scheers struck in 54-53 BC or immediately pre-ceding that date), the bronze coins with the same legend areof a later date (according to Scheers about 50 BC).273 It is cer-tain, however, that they were still in circulation in the Augus-tan period.274

VI-ia Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. ib Found in Batavierenweg near Beatrixstraatc Acquired 27-4-1936d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, 1000e Legend on both sides illegible. Die position 6f 4.94 gr.g 15.9/16.4 mmi Daniels 1950, 24; id. 1955, 69

VII Bronze triquetrum coins of the Eburones(LT pi. XXXV, 8859; Scheers 31)The main motif on the obverse is a triquetrum; the reverseshows a horse facing left, surrounded by secondary ornamentsin the shape of rings 3nd dots. This group of coins still con-fronts us with many problems. Apart from the specimen des-cribed below, only one bronze triquetrum coin is known - asurface find from the vicus Bons-Villers at Liberchies, Hene-gouwen.275 Similar coins in gold have been found on sevensites in the present-day Belgian area between the rivers Meuseand Scheldt, but none of the sites produced more than onespecimen.276 According to Scheers, the emission may be attri-buted to the Eburones.277 She relates the emission of the goldstaters with the rebellion of Ambiorix in 54 BC, in which alsothe Treveri led by Indutiomarus and Germans from across theRhine participated. Production of the coins probably came to

a halt in 53, but certainly in 51 BC, when the Eburones wereannihilsted. It seems likely therefore that the same terminusante quem applies to the bronze coins. The weight of the goldstaters of the Eburones is very low, varying between 5.59 to5.30 gr. The bronze specimen from Liberchies weighs consi-derably less: 3.22 gr. Furthermore it is remarkable that the tri-quetrum motif on the obverse is clearly derived from the goldrainbow cups of the triquetrum type, which belong in the aresacross the Rhine (cf. no XVI). The motif of the reverse couldbe derived from the gold staters of the Treveri, class IV.278

VII-i3 Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. ib Excavation H. Brunsting in the castra on the Hunerberg,trench Via, behind the present-day pedagogic academy DeKlokkenberg; found in sssociation with younger finds in theremains of a firec 1960d ROB, c. 1960/290; recently stolen from RMKe Class If 4.40 gr.g 17.8/18.7 mmh Cu 84 %, Sn 14 %, Zn 2 %. Traces of Ag, Pb, Sb, Sr

VIII Bronze Nervii coins bearing the legendVERCIO/VERCIO(LT pi. XXXV, 8780; Scheers 145)The obverse shows a lion facing right and, starting from thebelly, the legend VE-RC-IO. The motif on the reverse consistsof a horse facing right, above which a wheel; the legend VE-R-3-10 also occurs on this side. The weight varies considerably,with extremes of 5.78 and 3.12 gr. Most of the find spots ofthis type of coin are located in the French department Nord3nd the Belgi3n province of Henegouwen. At least 28 speci-mens are known from Bavai. On the basis of this distributionpattern, the coins have been attributed to the Nervii.279

Scheers assumes that they derive from the same mint 3S thebronze coins with the legend VIROS/VIROS, a name which stilloccurs on the latest gold Nervii coins at the time of the GallicWar. Scheers dates these bronze VIROS coins to approximately50 BC and assumes that the coins with the legend VERCIO areyounger.280 However, it is certain that both types of coin werestill in circulation in the Augustan period.281

272 Scheers 1977, 138, 406-7 and fig. 78.273 Scheers 1977, 77, 138-9.274 This is attested to by the occurrence of bronze VIROScoins in the vicus Bons-Villers at Liberchies (4 pieces), Ton-geren (i piece) and also Nijmegen. Cf. Chap. II.275 Graff 1972, 22, 29; Scheers 1977, 442.276 Scheers 1977, 441-3 and fig. 90.277 Scheers 1977, 441.

278 Scheers 1977, 82-3, 440.279 Scheers 1977; for distribution see 623-5 and fig. 172.280 Scheers 1977, 138-9.281 This is suggested by the occurrence of VERCIO coins atNeuss (i piece), Liberchies (3 pieces), and also Nijmegen. Cf.on this subject Chap. II. Concerning the VIROS coins, see note274.

22O


Fig. 18 Distribution of bronze Nervii coins with legend VER-CIO (Scheers 145). Partially based on Scheers 1977, fig. 172.

VIII-ia Alem2S2 (Mun. Maasdriel, Gld.); pi. 2b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Marensche Waarden,south of the former Meuse meanderc Purchased in 1962 from dredge-workers through H. A. deKokd KMP, 1962/141

e Legend on both sides virtually illegible; die position 11f 4.45 gr.g 16.8/17.6 mmh Cu loo %; traces Sb, Pb, Ag, Fe

282 In the KMP files the find spot is incorrectly indicated as'from the Waal at Rossum.'283 Cf. remarks in Chap. II, p. 187 and note 89.

vm-2a Presumably Nijmegen283 (Gld.); pi. 2d RMK, residue former private collection G. M. Kam, with-out inv. no.e Legend on both sides illegible; die position if 4.20 gr.g 15 mmi Daniels 1950, 24

IX Bronze Nervii coins au rameau(LT pi. XXXV, 8642; Scheers 190, class I)The obverse motif is a symmetrical ornament, which isreferred to in the literature as a rameau (a branch). The reverseshows a horse f3cing right, above which a wheel (variant a) orthe legend MIE (variant b). The weight varies between 2.92 3nd

221


V I I I - 1 V I I I - 2

IX -1 IX-2

IX -3 X - 1

XI-1

PLATE 2

222

NICO ROYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlands 3nd their Archaeological Context

3.31 gr. The coins in this class are struck. The distributionpattern shows that the majority of the specimens of class I de-rive from the French department Nord and Henegouwen inBelgium. Scheers assumes, following the conclusion of Thir-ion, that they are attributable to the Nervii.284 The rameaucoins are younger than the gold Nervii staters, which meansthat they may be dated to the period following the Gallic War.Especially the horse and the wheel on the reverse are stillstrongly reminiscent of certain gold Nervii coins and thebronze coins with the legend VERCIO.28S

IX-1a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 2b 'Find spot not exactly known'c Acquired January 1938d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, 1468e Class I, presumably variant bf 3.03 gr.g 16.4/17.9 mmi Daniels 1950, 24

IX-2

a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 2b Excavation H. Brunsting in the castra on the Hunerberg,west of the Stephanus Church. From a small pitc 1963d ROB, Ca 1963/1255e Class I; very wornf 2.26 gr.g 13.2/14.2 mm

IX-3a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 2b Excavation H. Brunsting in the castra on the Hunerberg,trench IV, lowered playing-field behind the nursery school onthe Ubbergse Veldweg. From pit containing also later finds,including a tile with LXG stampc 1963d ROB, Ca 1963/1294. Recently stolen from RMKe Class I, variant af 2.72 gr.g 14/15-5 mm

X Bronze coins bearing the legend ACVTIOS(LT pi. XX, 6388)The obverse shows a head facing right, in a beaded circle, with

the legend ACVTIOS. The reverse shows a standing, wingedmale figure, holding a staff in the left hand and a standard inthe right; a bird is to be seen to the right of the standard.Little is known as yet about this type of coin. A small numberof specimens derives from the French departments Indre-et-Loire, Vienne, and Finistere. The reading of the legend asACVTIOS is not entirely certain in the opinion of Colbert deBeaulieu, nor is the traditional attribution to the Carnutes.These coins, which may have been issued in the central Loirearea, should probably be dated to the period following theGallic War.286

X-iadef

Presumably Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 2RMK, former private collection G.M. Kam, 1889Obverse type off-centre; die position 73.26 gr.15.8/16.9 mmDaniels 1950, 24

XI Potin coins of the Remi(LT pi. XXXII, 8124; Scheers 191)On the obverse a man walking towards the right, holding aspear in one hand and a torques or neck-ring in the other. Thechief motif of the reverse is an animal facing right, which ap-pears to be eating or trampling a snake-shaped object; abovethis a motif which is impossible to determine. The weight canrange from less than 3 to over 6 gr.287

The prototype of the reverse may be a denarius of Julius Cae-sar, with on the reverse an elephant trampling a snake; thistype of denarius was struck between 58 and 49/48 BC.288 Theabsence of these coins among the finds from the ditches ofGresigny-Ste-Reine appears to indicate a date after the GallicWar. Six specimens were contained in the coin hoard of Hus-signy-Godbrsnge, which was presumably buried in theAugustan period.The coins have a large distribution area, comprising northernFrance, southeast Belgium, Luxemburg, and the GermanRheinland-Pfalz. Scheers has no doubts about an attributionto the Remi.289

XI-ia Lith (N. Br.); pi. 2b Dredge-find from the Meusec Purchased in 1936 from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik, Zalt-bommel

284 For the distribution and attribution of the rameau coins,class I, see Scheers 1977, 169 and fig. 204.285 Concerning dates of class I coins, see Scheers 1977,169-70.286 J.-B. Colbert de Beaulieu kindly supplied data on coingroup BN 6388 (written communication, 3 Aug. 1979).

287 Scheers 1977, 208.288 Scheers 1969, 73-4.289 Scheers 1977, fig. 207. These coins have been attributedby different authors to, successively, the Viromandui, theCatalauni, and the Remi.

223


d NM, 8595e Die position 6f 4-43 gr.g 19.4 mmh Cu 49 %; Sn 25 %; Fe 13 %; Pb 13 %290

i Roymans/Vsn der Ssnden 1976, 64, figs. I and 2

XII Potin coins of the Suessiones(LT pi. XXXI, 7873; Scheers 197)On the obverse a swastika motif in a beaded circle; the reverseshows a horse facing left, surrounded by secondary ornamentsin the shape of rings with a dot in the centre. The weight vsriesbetween 3.24 and 5.15 gr., but most frequently it is between3.5 and 4.5 gr. The distribution of this group of coins is almostcompletely restricted to the southern part of the depsrtmentAisne and the esstern part of the department Oise in northernFrance. This area corresponds with the territory of the Sues-siones.291 The dating is uncertain, but in view of the generaldating of the potin coins in Gallia Belgica, the coins wereprobably issued towards the end of the Gallic War or, moreprobably, later.292

XII-ia Presumably Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 2d RMK, without inv. no.293

f 3-61 gr.g 19.5/21.9 mm

XIII Bronze coins bearing the legend GERMANVSINDVTILLI L(LT pi. XXXVII, 9248; Scheers 216)The obverse of these coins shows, within a beaded circle, abeardless head with a diadem facing right, the reverse a bullfacing left and the legend GERMANVS INDVTILLI L; thesenames are written in various ways. 294 The weight ranges fromover 3.5 gr. to under 2 gr.The quadrans RIC 358 is generally regsrded as the most likelyprototype for these coins, which provides a terminus post quemfor the native 'imitations' of about 10 BC.295 That productionof the GERMANVS INDVTILLI coins started soon after this dateis indicated by the recovery of one specimen in the army camp

of Oberaden. According to M. Todd the absence of these coinsin post-Augustan army camps means that they were no longerin circulation after c. AD io.296 The distribution area is fairlyextensive, and comprises France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Ger-msny, Switzerland, and Britain.297 D.F. Allen considered anattribution of the GERMANVS INDVTILLI coins to the Remi jus-tifiable.298 Todd considers the more easterly territory of theTreveri as the likely place of origin, bssing his views on thecompsrstively large number of these coins found on the Titel-berg, Mohn, and Pommeren.299 Scheers holds the opinion thatthere is insufficient evidence for attribution to the Treveri,and leaves the attribution open to question.300

XIII-ia Lith (N. Br.); pi. 3b Dredge-find from the Meusec 1936d NM, 8536e Reverse legend [GER]MANVS I[NDVTILLI L]; die position 7f 2.34 gr.g 15 mm

XIII-2

a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 3b Hunerbergc 1883/84d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, xvc1

e Reverse legend [GE]RMANVS INDVTILLI L; die position 7f 2.74 gr.g 17.9 mmi Verslagen van het Gemeentemuseum 1884, 30; id. 1921,17; Daniels 1950, 24

XIV Bronze AVAVCIA coins with and without legend(LT pi. XXXVI, 8868, 8881-8885; Scheers 217)The obverse bears a swastika motif, consisting of four armsissuing from a central ring; the areas between the arm areeither blank or decorated with one or three circlets. The re-verse shows a horse fscing left or (more rarely) facing right,with or without a base-line; above the horse the legend AVAV-

290 Scheers 1977, 209 lists the analysis of another coin of theS3me type by C. Virchow: Cu 68.96; Sn 14.35; Sb 0.15; Pb16.14; Ni 0.15; Fe 0.25; traces As.291 Scheers 1977, 173, 776-8 and fig. 212.292 Scheers 1977, 163 and 187.293 The coin was recently found by J.R.A.M. Thijssen(Nijmegen) in a cigar-box, without any information what-soever. The fact that Daniels does not mention the coin at allcould mean that the piece was acquired by the museum laterthan 1950, and subsequently escaped notice.

294 Concerning the different scripts, see Scheers 1977, 810;various interpretations are given in Reding 1972, 74.295 Dates according to Mattingly 1965, 93.296 Todd 1965, 6.297 The most recent distribution map is to be found inScheers 1977, fig. 229.298 Allen 19613, 120-1.299 Todd 1965, 6. Todd does not exclude the possibility thatthere were several production centres.300 Scheers 1977, 181.

224


Fig. 19 Distribution of bronze coins with legend GERMANVSINDVTILLI L (Scheers 216). Largely based on Scheers 1977,fig. 229.

CIA or plain.301 The weight of these coins ranges from under1.5 gr. to over 3.5 gr.302

Outside the Netherlands the coins occur in Belgium, Luxem-burg, France, and Switzerland. The greatest concentration,however, is to be found in the German Rhineland, where theyhave been recovered chiefly in the Early Roman (Augustan-Tiberian) army stations, such as Xanten, Neuss, Bonn, Hal-

tern among others.303 These Roman army stations provide aclue to the chronology. Of particular importance for the estab-lishment of the commencement of the AVAVCIA series are thespecimens from Oberaden and Dangstetten, which yield a ter-minus ante quem of approximately 9 BC.304 The absence of thesecoins in the castellum of Hofheim appears to indicate that cir-culation ended in the Tiberian period.

301 Scheers 1977, 822-3 distinguishes between three classes.I: with legend AVAVCIA; II: without legend, horse to left; III:id., horse to right.302 E. Nuber calculsted the average weight of 68 specimens,i.e., 2.9ogr. She believes that the AVAVCIA coins do fit in theRoman system of weights, and that they represent the value ofa quadrans. This raises the question of who was responsible

for the introduction of these coins. See for different opinions,Christ 1957, 16 and Nuber 1974, 63.303 Recent distribution maps are to be found in Nuber 1974,52 and Scheers 1977, 825.304 Nuber 1974, 58; she dates the beginning of coin produc-tion to 12/10 BC.

225


Fig. 20 Distribution of bronze AVAVCIA coins (Scheers 217).Largely after Scheers 1977, fig. 230, and Nuber 1974.

The problem of localising the centre of coin production, viz.the attribution to a specific people, has prompted lengthy dis-cussions in the past. F. de Saulcy was the first scholar to attri-bute the AVAVCIA coins to the Aduatuci, on the basis of therelation he saw between the name of the tribe and the coin leg-end.305 This attribution was generally accepted until 1909,when V. Tourneur put forward historicsl arguments to opposethis hypothesis; he opted for attribution to the Tungri on thegrounds of the large numbers of these coins encountered inTongeren and surroundings.306 In more recent years ElisabethNuber proposed a number of arguments in favour of attribu-

tion to the Ubii in her study on the Early Roman coin circula-tion in Cologne.307

XIV-ia Alem (Mun. Maasdriel, N. Br.); pi. 3b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Marensche Wasrden,south of the former Meuse mesnderc 1962d RMO, e. 1981/2.3. Purchased from H. A. de Koke Class IIf 3-14 gr-

305 De Saulcy 1858, 440.306 Tourneur 1909, 474. Tourneur still dated the coinsbetween Caesar and Augustus.

307 Nuber 1974, 62, points to the density of finds in the ter-ritory of the Ubii, and to the parallel between the legend AVAV-CIA and two names (AVVACA and AVVACO) in L. Weisgerber'slist of Germanic Ubii names.

226


X I I I - 1 X I I I - 2

XIV -1 X / V - 2

XIV-3 XIV -4

r- fW* ' A;* "O W ~'i ¥-•*• s. _A^^^ _ «^^^^

XIV-6 XIV-7

PLATE 3

227


gi Roymans/Van der Sanden 1976, 142

XIV-2

a Alphen (Mun. Appeltern, Gld); pi. 3b Found in the Meusec Purchased in 1936 from sntique-dealer A.J. Sprik, Zalt-bommeld RMO, e. 1936/10.5e Obverse type off-centref 2.90 gr.

XIV-3a Alphen (Mun. Appeltern, Gld.); pi. 3b Found in the Meusec Purchased in 1936 from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik, Zalt-bommeld RMO, e. 1936/10.5f 2.27 gr.g 14/15 mm

XIV-4a Near Grave (N. Br.); pi. 3b Found between Gassel and Grave,308 probably in theMeusec Purchased in 1939 from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik, Zalt-bommeld RMO, k. 1939/12.3e Obverse type off-centre; id. reverse typef 3.05 gr.g i3.8/i4.5rnmi Boersms 1963, 42; Roymsns/Vsn der Sanden 1976, 141,figs. 5 snd 6

XIV-5a Near Grave (N.Br.)b 'Pres de Grave, dans le pays de Cuyck'd Former collection of A. de Schodt309

e Class IIi De Schodt 1883, 453; id. 1885, 458; Tourneur 1909, 463;Nuber 1974, 53, no. io;310 Roymans/Vsn der Ssnden 1976,142; Scheers 1977, 827, no. 20311

XIV-63 Heerlen (L.); pi. 3

b Excavation Gemeent. Oudheidk. Dienst; corner Corioval-lumstrsst snd Kruisstraat, area of Kolenburg, from lowest lay-erc 17 March 1966d GOM, 2886e Class If 4-23 gr.g 16.8/17. 8 mmi Gielen 1966, 17, fig. 2; Roymans/Van der Sanden 1976,142

XIV-7a Heerlen (L.); pi. 3b Kap. Berixstrast, near Groene Kruisc 1917d GOM, 3069f 2.76 gr.g ii. 6/13. 8mm

XIV-83 Heerlen (L.); pi. 4b Excavstion A.E. van Giffen; Thermenterrein, near foun-dations along Coriovallumstraatc 1940/41d GOM, 3068e Hardly legiblef 2.38 gr.g I

XIV-9a Heerlen (L.); pi. 4c Purchased in 1975, from the Crijns collectiond GOM, 7923e Class IIf 3-42 gr.g 14. 4/16.9 mm

XIV-ioa Heerlen (L.); pi. 4b Excavation ROB, site of former theatre (Zwarte Veldje),trench E, find no. I431. From pit with fire tracesc 1952d GOM, 9347e Class IIf 2.52 gr.g 14/15 mm

308 We have used the earliest report (1939: record of acqui-sitions RMO). The indication '200 m below the bridge at Grave,from the Msas' in Boersma 1963, 42, is incorrect.309 The whereabouts of the De Schodt collection areunknown (written communication M. Thirion 25 April 1977).

310 Nuber 1974, 53 and 55, assumes that the coins fromGrave are one and the same specimen.311 The distribution map in Scheers 1977, fig. 230 gives thefind spot Grave as situated in the middle of the Peel district(North Brabant)!

228


XIV-8 XIV-9

XIV-10 X IV -12

XIV-13 X1V-14

XIV 15 XIV-16

XIV-17 XIV- 18

PLATE 4

229


XIV-na Horn/Beegden (L.)b 'Trouve entre Horn et Beegden, a la necropole Romaine'c 1854d Former Guillon collectioni Catalogues Guillon, 117, no. 1469.312

XIV-I2

a Presumably Province of Limburg; pi. 4d Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, 2301/0.002e Class IIf 2.86gr.g I4.2mrni Sprenger 1957, 6-7; Roymans/Van der Sanden 1976,I42313

XIV-I3a Lith (N. Br.); pi. 4b Dredge-find from the Meusec Purchased in 1936 from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik, Zalt-bomme!d NM, 8541e Class IIf 3.04gr.g 12.7/13.5mmh Cu 91.7 %; Pb 2.3 %; Sn 5 %; Fe i %i Roymans/Van der Sanden 1976, 142, figs, i and 2

XIV-I4a Lith (N. Br.); pi. 4b Dredge-find from the Meusec Purchased in 1936 from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik, Zalt-bommeld NM, 8556e Class IIf 3.i2gr.g 13.5/14.5 mmh Cu 94.i %; Pb 2 %; As 2.5 %; Fe 0.8 %; Ag 0.6 %i Roymans/Van der Sanden 1976, 142, figs. 3 and 4

XIV-I5a Lith (N. Br.); pi. 4b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the foreland De Bergenbetween Kessel and Lith; top. map 39D, co: 156.50/425.05

d NM, 11283e Reverse same type as obverse (swastika with circlets),although in mirror-image; appsrently the previously struckcoin was stuck to the reverse die when this piece was minted.f 3.48 gr.g 14/16 mm

XIV-I6a Lith (N. Br.); pi. 4b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the foreland De Bergenbetween Kessel and Lith; top. map 39D, co: 156.50/425.05c 1981d NM, 11283e Class IIf 3.66gr.g 13/15 mm

XIV-I7a Lith (N. Br.); pi. 4b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the foreland De Bergenbetween Kessel and Lith; top. map 456, co: 155.87/424.83c 1979d NM, 11246e Class I; legend AVA[VCIA]f 3-13 gr-g i4/i6mm

XIV-iSa Lith (N. Br.); pi. 4b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the foreland De Bergenbetween Kessei and Lith; top. map 39D, co: 156.50/425.05c 1981d NM, 11283e Class IIf 3.06 gr.g i3/i5rnm

XlV-iga Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 5b Kops Plateau, from sand-pit behind former inn 't Zwasntjec Acquired in 1937d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, 1223f 2.81 gr.g ii.9/13.2mmi Holwerda 1943, 56, no. 14; Daniels 1950, 23; id. 1955, no,no. 14; Roymans/Van der Sanden 1976, 142

312 Professor J.E. Bogaers kindly brought the 'CataloguesGuillon' to our attention. This catalogue merely states: 'petitbronze, medaille Gauloise, cf. Lelewel PI. IX'. Althoughseveral specimens of small bronze coins are depicted on PL IX,it seems likely that the 'petit bronze' refers to a AVAVCIA coin,since such coins have quite often been found in graves datingfrom the Roman period.

313 The exact find spot of this coin is not known, butSprenger (1957, 5) assumes that it must have been found in theprovince of Limburg. The statement in Roymans and Van derSanden 1976, 142 that the coin was found in Maastricht iserroneous.

230


XIV-19 XIV-20

XIV-21 XIV-22

XIV-23 XIV-24

XIV - 25 XIV-26

XIV-27 XIV-28

PLATE 5

231

NICO ROYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlands and their Archaeologies! Context

XIV-20

3 Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 5b Kops Plateau, from sand-pit behind former inn 't Zwsantjec Acquired in 1934d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, 1224f 2.59 gr.g 14.9/15.9mmi Holwerda 1943, 56, no. 13; Dsniels 1950, 23; id. 1955, no,no. 13

XIV-2I

a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 5b Excavation J.H. Holwerda; Kops Plateau, on the northside of the Ubbergse Veldweg near the former inn 't Zwasntjec 1937d RMO, without inv. no.e Completely illegible314

f 2.55 gr.g 13.9/14.3 mm

XIV-22

a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 5b Excavstion J.H. Holwerds; Kops Plsteau, on the northside of the Ubbergse Veldweg near the former inn 't Zwaantjec 1937d RMO, without inv. no.e Completely illegible; burnt314

f i.63gr.g 12.7/13.i mm

XIV-23a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 5b Excavation J.H. Holwerda; Kops Platesu, on the northside of the Ubbergse Veldweg near the former inn 't Zwasntjec 1937d RMO, without inv. no.f i.90gr.g i3.7/i4.8mm

XIV-243 Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 5b Excsvation J.H. Holwerda; Kops Plateau, on the southside of the Ubbergse Veldweg near the former inn 't Zwaantjec 1937d RMO, without inv. no.f 2.10 gr.g i

XIV-25a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 5b Excavation J.H. Holwerda; Kops Platesu, 'in the Batavianfort'c 1915 et seq.d RMO, e. 1931/3. 848e Class IIf 2.73 gr.g 14/14.9 mmi Breuer 1931, 94, no. i; Daniels 1950, 23

XIV-26a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 5b Excavstion J.H. Holwerda; Kops Platesu, 'in the Bstsvisnfort'c 1915 et seq.d RMO, e. 1931/3.849f 1.87 gr.g 14.3/15.smmi Breuer 1931, 94, no. 2; Dsniels 1950, 24

XIV-273 Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 5b Excavation J.H. Holwerda; Kops Plateau, 'in the Batavianfort'c 1915 et seq.d RMO, e. 1931/3.850e Completely illegible314

f 2.45 gr.g 15.3 mmi Breuer 1931, 94, no. 3; Daniels 1950, 24

XIV-28a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 5b Kops Plateau

1964RMK, 8.1964.3

Completely illegible314

2-34 gr-n.6/14.3mm

XIV-29a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 6b Excavation ROB315; Kops Plateau, trench 25, no. 38c 1973d ROBe Class I; legend [AVA]VC[IA]f 4.29 gr.g 15.5/18.3 mm

314 Although the coin types of this piece are no longer leg-ible, it seems highly likely that it is indeed an AVAVCIA coin:i) apart from one rainbow cup the Kops Plateau has producedexclusively AVAVCIA coins; and 2) it is unlikely that this piece

is Late Roman, because habitation on the Plateau was res-tricted to the Early Roman period.315 Professor J.H.F. Bloemers kindly supplied the as yetunpublished information on nos. 29-32.

232

NICO ROYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlsnds and their Archaeological Context

XIV-29 X1V-30

XIV-31

XIV-33

XIV-35

XIV-32

XIV-34

XIV-36

XIV-37 XIV-38

PLATE 6

233


XIV-30a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 6b Excavation ROB; Kops Plateau, trench 25, no. 39c 1973d ROB

f 3-i9gr.g 15/18 mm

XIV-3Ia Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 6b Excavation ROB; Kops Platesu, trench 25, no. 52c 1973d ROBf 1.62 gr.g 13/13.8mm

XIV-32a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 6b Excavation ROB; Kops Plateau, trench 91, no. 7, fromAugustan pitc 1975d ROBe Completely illegible314

f 2.59 gr.g i3-5/i5-9mm

XIV-33a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 6b Excavation H. Brunsting; castra area, along Huygensweg;from Augustan pitc 1967d ROB, Ca 1967/1872e Clsss I; reverse type slightly off-centre; legend [A]VAVCI[A]f 3-50 gr.g 16.1/17.2mm

XIV-34a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 6b Excavation H. Brunsting; castra srea, along Huygenswegc 1967d ROB, Ca i967/i89ia

e Completely illegible316

f 2.21 gr.g n.9/13.2mm

XIV-35a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 6b Hunerbergc 1883/84d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, XVGz1

e Class II; coin types obverse and reverse off-centref 2.32 gr.g i3.7/i5mmi Verslagen van het Gemeentemuseum 1884, 30; id. 1921,17; Daniels 1950, 23

XIV-36a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 6b Hunerbergc Nov.-Dec. 1882d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, XVC22

f 2.39 gr.g 13.4/14.9 mmi Verslagen van het Gemeentemuseum 1883, n.p.; id. 1921,17 no. 2; Daniels 1950, 23

XIV-37a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 6b Hunerbergc Before 1885d Former collection De Schodt309

e Class IIi De Schodt 1885, 458, pi. XVbis, no. 7

XIV-38a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 6b Excavation J.E. Bogaers and J. K. Haalebos; castra terrain,trench XIII, 5; under bank from period 4c 1974d RMK, 6.1978.1

e Class I; reverse with legend [AVAV]CIAf 2.95 gr.g 15/15.5mmh Cu 93.3 %; Sb 3.4%; Ag 2.4%; Pb 0.4%; Fe 0.5 %i Bogaers/Haalebos 1977, 142, no. 7 and pi. 17, no. I

XIV-39a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 7b Found during digging operations at Huygenswegc 1916d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, 1266e Completely illegible316

f 1.95 gr.g ii.8/i4.immi Verslagen van het Gemeentemuseum 1916, 6; Daniels1950, 23

XIV-40a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 7b Found in former Hunerpark during digging operations

316 Although the coin types are completely illegible, we haveincluded this coin in our list because the find spot, i.e. the cas-

tra terrain, makes it very likely that it is a coin of the AVAVCIAgroup.

234


XIV-39 XIV-40

s.

XIV-41

X1V-43

X1V-46

XIV-42

XIV-45

XIV-47 XIV-48

PLATE 7

235

NICO ROYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlsnds 3nd their Archaeological Context

c Acquired in 1936d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, 1002f i.77gr.g 15 mmi Daniels 1950, 23; id. 1955, 68

XIV-4Ia Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 7b Found during digging operations in the former Hunerparknear Graadt van Roggenstrastc Acquired 1936

RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, 1001Class II; obverse and reverse types off-centre3.i7gr.

Daniels 1950, 23; id. 1955, 69

XIV-42a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 7b Found in former Hunerparkc 1923d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, XVGza

f 3.62 gr.g 13. 5/14. 9mmi Verslagen van het Gemeentemuseum 1923, 20; Daniels1950, 23

XIV-43a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 7b Excavstion H. Brunsting, south of Kelfkensbos; trenchIII, eastern half, on sandc 1952d ROB, Ke I952/-f 3.08 gr.g 14.6/16. i mm

XIV-44a Nijmegen (Gld.)b Marienburgpleinc 1909d Losti Verslagen van het Gemeentemuseum 1909, 10, no. 543;Daniels 1950, 23; id. 1955, 244

XIV-45a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 7b Clearance St Stevens cemeteryc 1882d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, 1239e Burnt

f 2.26 gr.g I5mmi Daniels 1950, 23; id. 1955, 269

XIV-46a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 7c Purchased in 1884 from Th. M. Roestd RMO, 6.1887.121e Class IIf 2.55 gr.g 14.5 mm

XIV-47a Presumably Nijmegen3" (Gld.); pi. 7d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, 1467e Class I; legend AV[AVCIA]f 3.41 gr.g 16.4/18.5mmi Daniels 1950, 23

XIV-48a Presumably Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 7d RMK, Collection Municipality of Nijmegen, 1466e Incorrectly struck reverse (?)f 2.52 gr.g i5.9/i8mmi Daniels 1950, 23

XIV-49a Presumably Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 8c Before 1921d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, XVC23

f 2.61 gr.g 14.3/16.5 mmi Verslagen van het Gemeentemuseum 1921, 17; Daniels1950, 23

XIV-50a Presumably Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 8d RMK, residue former private collection G.M. Kam; with-out inv. no.f 2.26 gr.g i3.4/i4.4mmi Daniels 1950, 23

XIV-5Ia Presumably Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 8d RMK, residue former private collection G. M. Kam; with-out inv. no.

317 The exact find spot of nos. 47-54 is not known, butthere seems no reason to doubt that they derive from Nijme-

gen. One piece, which Daniels described as uncertain, is notincluded in this catalogue.

236


XIV-49 XIV-50

XIV-51 XIV-52

XIV-53 XIV-54

XIV-55 XIV-57

XW-58

PLATE 8

237


f 2.85 gr.g 13/14.7 mmi Daniels 1950, 23

XIV-52a Presumably Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 8d RMK, residue former private collection G.M. Kam; with-out inv. no.f 2.25 gr.g 11.9/13 mmi Daniels 1950, 23

XIV-53a Presumably Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 8d RMK, residue former private collection G.M. Kam; with-out inv. no.f 2.58 gr.g i2.3/i3.4mmi Daniels 1950, 23

XIV-54a Presumably Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 8d RMK, residue former private collection G.M. Kam; with-out inv. no.f 2.76 gr.g 13.2/14.6mmi Daniels 1950, 23

XIV-55a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 8b Found in the Ooipolder in ssnd extracted from the lowerpart of the city of Nijmegen; H. Jansenc 1981d H. Jansen, Wijchene Class IIf 3-2 gr.g 14.1/15.7mm

XIV-56a Nijmegen (Gld.) or Goch (Nordrhein-Westfalen, W. Ger-many); find-spot indications unreliable318

d Collection University of Leiden, missinge Class IIi DAG II, 1919, 296; Scheers 1977, 827, no. 21

XIV-57& Teeffelen (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi. 8b Surface find on field known as De Honig; top. map 45E,co: 162.51/423.50; P.J. Haanec 1979d NM, 11082f 2,78 gr.g 15 mm

XIV-58a Velsen (N. H.); pi. 8b Velsen I; AWN working-group Velsenc 1976d AWN working-group Velsene Class IIf 2.20 gr.g 13.2/14.5 mmi Vons 1977, 144, no. 6i319

XV Undetermined or undeterminable bronze coins

XV-iIn the first volume of his Geschiedkundig Mengelwerk C.R.Hermans mentions, on p. 132, 'an ancient Gallo-Belgic coin,'which was reportedly found at Veghel in 1821. This informa-tion is drawn from a statement by Van der Noordaa.320 'I owna similar copper coin, found in 1821 at Veghel in North Bra-bant. The obverse shows a misshapen head in a beaded circle,without any inscription; the reverse shows, within a similarcircle, an unbridled horse; in the field some strange signs ofwriting. This coin is hollow on the obverse, and hence convexon the reverse; the piece is rough and coarsely worked.' Thisparticular coin was mentioned again later. The Van der Noor-daa collection was auctioned in 1856, after which the coin'swhereabouts could not be traced. No illustration of the lostoriginal is known; nor do we have any indication as to the findcircumstances, weight, and diameter. Due also to the fact thatthe combination of head and horse occurs quite frequently inCeltic coinage, it is not possible to determine the coin fromVeghel.a Veghel (N.-Br.)c 1821i Van der Noordaa 1838, vol. I, 664 (no. 2); Hermans 1840,vol. I, 132; Reuvens/Leemans/Janssen 1845, 86; Stolte 1961,12; Boersma 1963, 59; Roymans/Van der Sanden 1976, 65.

318 Cf. note 252. It is by no means certain that the coin isfrom Nijmegen. However, Scheers lists the coin under Nijme-gen, without further comment. See also the Introduction andChap. II.

319 This coin is (incorrectly) determined in Vons 1977 as anEnglish Celtic coin.320 Van der Noordaa 1838, 664 (note 2).

238


RHENISH COINS

X Via Silver rainbow cups of the triquetrum type(LT pi. XXXIX, 9439, 9440The convex obverse of these coins shows a triquetrum in a sortof laurel wreath; the concave reverse shows a number of cir-clets arranged in pyramid-form, within a torques which hastaken the form of a zigzag wreath. The staters of the trique-trum type developed considerably in the course of the firstcentury BC. The oldest coins of this series are of gold or elec-trum, and weigh between 7 and 7.5 gr.321; however, somelighter specimens are also known.322 Then there are pieceswhich appear to consist mainly of silver - these weigh between5.5 and 6 gr.323 The end of the development is represented bythe coins with a high copper content, weighing between 6 and4.5 gr.324 The distribution area of the triquetrum staters com-prises Bavaria, Hesse, and the German Lower Rhine area,downstream from Koblenz. It is interesting to note that thegold coins occur mainly in the former regions, while the speci-mens of baser composition predominate in the latter.325

An absolute chronology has not yet been drawn up for the tri-quetrum coins. We still do not know exactly when the seriesstarted. The rainbow cups of the south German Vindelici,which typologically precede the coins discussed here, are datedby Castelin to the first century BC, and not even to its very ear-ly years.326 Furthermore, the emission of the triquetrumstaters of the Eburones (typologically clearly inspired by thegold German triquetrum pieces and therefore younger thanthese coins) is associated with the Gallic War.327 On the basisof these factors it seems justifiable to date the first rainbowcups of the triquetrum type to some time in the first half ofthe first century BC. The regular occurrence of specimens witha high copper content in Augustan army stations (Haltern,Oberaden, Neuss, Nijmegen) suggests that they were certainlystill in circulation in the Early Roman period. The pieces con-sisting mainly of silver should therefore be dated somewherebetween these two extremes.328

XVIa-ia Alem (Mun. Massdriel, Gld.); pi. 9b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Marensche Waarden onthe south side of the former Meuse meander

c Purchased in 1962 from dredge-workers through H. A. deKokd KMP, I962/I40329

e Variant bf 6,50 gr.g 17/17.6mmh Au 20 %, Ag 56 %, Cu 23 %, Fe i %, traces Sb, Pbi Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-2a Kessel (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi. 9b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Kesselsche Waardenc Purchased in 1973 by H.J.E. van Beuningen, Neerlang-broek, from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik, Zaltbommeld J.K. Haalebos, Nijmegene Variant bf 6.58 gr.g i8/i8.4mmh Au 6 %, Ag 44%, Cu 33 %, Fe 17 %. Neutron activatingamlysis yielded the following results: Au 10.2 %, Ag 44.2 %,Cu 45.6%. These discrepancies may be explained in part bythe exclusion of the element Fe in this latter method of analysisi Royrnans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-3a Kessel (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi. 9b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Kesselsche Waardenc Purchased in 1973 from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik, Zalt-bommeld H.J.E. van Beuningen, Neerlangbroeke Variant af 6.93 gr.g 18.1/18.5 mmh Au 12.5%, Ag 44%, Cu 30.5%, Fe ii %, As 2%i Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-4a Kessel (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi. 9b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Kesselsche Waardenc Purchased in 1973 from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik, Zalt-bommeld H.J.E. van Beuningen, Neerlangbroek

321 Notably the coins of the Mardorf group (see belowChap. III).322 A survey of the triquetrum staters of gold and electrumis given in Chap. III.323 The pieces concerned are from the hoard of Bochum andspecimens from Cologne, Andernach, and Lausanne. SeeChap. III.324 Cf. no. XVIb in catalogue, and Chap. III.

325 A distribution map of the triquetrum coins is given inChap. III.326 Castelin 1973, 72-5 and table 2.327 Scheers 1977, 82-3, 440.328 The chronological position of the triquetrum coins ingeneral and of the high silver-content pieces of the Lith groupin particular are discussed in Chap. III.329 Find spot incorrectly stated in the KMP files as 'Meusefind Rossum'.

239

NICO ROYMANS AND WIJNAND VAN DER SANDEN / Celtic Coins from the Netherlands and their Archaeologicsl Context

f Jt

XVIa-1

XVIa-3

V

XVIa-2

XVIa-4

XVIa-5 XVIa-6

PLATE 9

24O

XVIa-7 XVIa-8


e Variant cf 5.97 gr.g 18.6 mmh Ag 55 %, Cu 33 %, Fe 12 %, traces As, Sb, Sn, Pb, Tii Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-5a Kessel (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi. 9b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Kesselsche Waardenc Purchased in 1973 from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik, Zalt-bommeld H.J.E. van Beuningen, Neerlangbroeke Variant af 6.77 gr.g 17.4/18.5 mmh Au 4%, Ag 38%, Cu 44%, Fe 14%; traces As, Sb, Pb,Tii Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-9a Kessel (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi. 10b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Kesselsche Waardenc Purchased early 19705 from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik,Zaltbommeld L.J. van der Bijl, Voorschotene Variant bf 6.80 gr.g 18/18.7 mmi Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVI3-IO

a Kessel (Mun. Lith, N. Br.)b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Kesselsche Waardenc Purchased by L.J. van der Bijl, Voorschoten, in early19705 from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik, Zaltbommel. Subse-quently sold to coin-dealer Jacques Schulman B.V.d Present owner unknowni Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-6a Kessel (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi. 9b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Kesselsche Wasrdenc Purchased early 19705 from antique-desler A.J. Sprik,Zsltbommeld L.J. van der Bijl, Voorschotene Vsriant cf 6.65 gr.g 16.9/18.2 mmi Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-7a Kessel (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi, 9b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Kesselsche Wasrdenc Purchased esrly 19705 from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik,Zaltbommeld L.J, van der Bijl, Voorschotene Variant bf 6.58 gr.g 17/18.3 mmi Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97, figs. 5-6

XVIa-8a Kessel (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi. 9b Dredge-find from ssnd-pit in the Kesselsche Wssrdenc Purchased early 19705 from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik,Zaltbommeld L.J. van der Bijl, Voorschotene Variant cf 6.66 gr.g 17.6 mmi Roymans/Vsn der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-na Kessel (Mun. Lith, N. Br.)b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Kesselsche Waardenc Purchased early 19705 by L.J. van der Bijl from antique-dealer A.J. Sprik, Zaltbommel. Sold since to coin-dealer Jac-ques Schulman B.V.d Present owner unknowni Roymans/Vsn der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-i2a Kessel (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi. 10b Dredge-find from sand-pit in the Kesselsche Waardenc Sold early 19705 by antique-desler A.J. Sprik, Zaltbom-mel, to L. Scholing, employee of coin-dealer Jaques SchulmsnB.V.d Present owner unknowne Variant ai Auction catalogue Schulman 256, May 1973, no. mo, pi.24; Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-i3a Lith (N. Br.); pi. 10b Dredge-find from sand-pit in foreland De Bergen betweenKessel and Lithc Purchased in 1973 from dredge-workers through H. A. deKokd KMP, 1973/1447e Vsriant bf 6.51 gr.g 16.2/18 mmh Au 14%, Ag 52%, Cu 25%, Fe 9%; traces Sb, Pbi Roymsns/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

241


XVIa -9 XVIa-12

XVIa-13 XVIa-18

XVIa-19 XVIa-20

XVIa-21 XVIa-22

PLATE 10

242


XVIa-i4a Lith (N. Br.)b Dredge-find from sand-pit in foreland De Bergen betweenKessel and Lith; dredge-personnelc C. 1965d Sold by finder to antique-de3ler; present owner unknown

XVIs-isa Lith (N. Br.)b Dredge-find from sand-pit in foreland De Bergen betweenKessel and Lith; dredge-personnelc C. 1965d Sold by finder to antique-de3ler; present owner unknown

XV Is-16s Lith (N. Br.)b Dredge-find from sand-pit in foreland De Bergen betweenKessel and Lith; dredge-personnelc C. 1965d Sold by finder to antique-desler; present owner unknown

XVIa-i7a Lith (N. Br.)b Dredge-find from sand-pit in foreland De Bergen betweenKessel and Lith; dredge-personnelc C. 1965d Sold by finder to antique-desler; present owner unknown

XVIa-i8a Lith (N. Br.); pi. 10b Dredge-find from sand-pit in foreland De Bergen betweenKessel and Lithc 1981d F. G. van Dinter, Dreumele Variant af 6.1 gr.; obverse wholly erodedg 18/18.6 mm

XVIa-20a Maren (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi. 10b Dredge-find from Meuse opposite Marenc Purchased in 1935, presumably from sntique-desler A.J.Sprik, Zsltbommeld NM, 8465e Variant bf 6.62 gr.g 18 mmh Au 24.45 %, Ag 47.35 %, Cu 24.1 %, Fe 2 %, Pb 2 %i Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-2ia Maren (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi. 10b Dredge-find from Meuse opposite Msrenc Purchssed in 1935, presumably from antique-dealer A.J.Sprik, Zaltbommeld NM, 8466e Variant bf 6.20 gr.g 17.6 mmh Au 27.85 %, Ag 43.4%, Cu 24.75 %> Fe 2%, Pb 2 %i Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-22a Megen (N. Br.); pi. 10b Dredge-find from sand-pit in foreland De MegenscheHam south of the former Meuse meanderc Purchased in 1971 from dredge-personnel via H. A. de Kokd RMO, k. 1971/1.1e Variant af 6.50gr.g 16.3/17.2 mmh Au 19 %, Ag 53 %, Cu 24%, Fe 4%; traces Pbi Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97, figs. i-2330

XVIa-i9a Maren (Mun. Lith, N. Br.); pi. 10b Dredge-find from Meuse opposite Marenc Purchased 1935, presumably from antique-desler A.J.Sprik, Zsltbommeld NM, 8464

e Vsriant af 6.71 gr.g 18.3 mmh Au 25.05 %, Ag 45,75 %, Cu 25.2 %, Fe 2 %, Pb 2 %i Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97, figs. 3-4

XVIa-23a Megen (N. Br.); pi. nb Dredge-find from sand-pit in foreland De MegenscheHam south of the former Meuse meanderc Purchased from dredge-personnel in 1971 via H. A. de Kokd RMO, k. 1971/1.2e Variant af 6.51 gr.g 17.2/18.1 mmh Au 9.5 %, Ag 50.5 %, Cu 31 %, Fe 9 %; traces Pbi Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97331

330 A misunderstanding has led to the incorrect mention ofLith as the find spot.

331 See note 330.

243


X V I I - 1 XVI I I - 1

PLATE II

244


XVIa-24a Orthen (Mun. 's-Hertogenbosch, N. Br.); pi. nb Dredge-find 'during extension and dredging of marina at's-Hertogenbosch'c Purchased in 1955 from A. J. Sprik, antique-desler at Zalt-bommeld RMO, k. 1955/12.3; coin since mislaide Variant a; obverse almost completely erodedh 'Silver'

XVIa-25a Rossum (Gld.); pi. iib Dredge-find from Meuse near Rossumc Purchssed in 1935 from A.J. Sprik, sntique-dealer at Zalt-bommeld RMO, e. 1935/2.1e Variant af 6.85 gr.g 17/17.5 mmh Au 18 %, Ag 48 %, Cu 26 %, Fe 8 %; traces Pb, Sbi Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIa-26a IJzendoorn (Mun. Echteld, Gld.)b Dredge-find from sand-pit in foreland south of IJzendoornc Offered for sale in 1963 by H. A. de Kok at the KMPd Sold by H.A. de Kok to coin-dealer Jscques SchulmanB.V.; present owner unknown

XVIb Copper rainbow cups of the triquetrum typeThe types on both sides of the coins sre identical to those ofthe gold and silver triquetrum pieces. There is, however, somedeterioration of style, which is especially manifest in the laurelwreath on the obverse. This group of coins is further chsrac-terized by the occurrence of smsll extra marks on the vastmajority. These additionsl msrks occur in vsrious forms: asmall circle crossed by a line, an A, a V, an X, and a circletwith a dot in the centre are the most common, in that order.332

A number of variants within this group may therefore be dis-tinguished.The weight of these pieces is lower than that of the triquetrumcoins of superior metallic composition, and varies from 4.5 tonesrly 6 gr.333 The copper content is high, although some sil-ver is sdded in most cases, while some coins are plated with

silver.334 There is also one gilded specimen among the coinsfrom Nijmegen.Forrer dates the beginning of production of the triquetrumcoins with high copper content to c. 30 BC, basing his assump-tion largely on the weight. In view of the variety in both typeand weight, production may have taken place over severaldecsdes until some time in the Isst decsde BC.335 This (relsti-vely late) date is confirmed by the regular occurrence of thesepieces in the Augustan army stations in the Lower Rhine area,such as Haltern, Oberaden, Neuss, and Nijmegen.336 Forrerfavours attribution of the coins to the Germanic tribes on theright bank of the Rhine, notably the Sugsmbri and theMarsi.337 This is suggested by the distribution pattern, inwhich a concentration is to be seen in the German LowerRhine area and notably the region between Ruhr, Lippe, andRhine. It is also in this ares that all three hoards containingthis kind of rainbow cups were found: Bochum (538 speci-mens), Bettenkamp (at least 20), and Mulheim (at least 12).338

XVIb-ia Megen (N. Br.); pi. nb Dredge-find from sand-pit in w-m De Megensche Ham tothe south of the former Meuse meanderc Purchased from dredge-personnel via H. A. de Kok in 1971d RMO, k. 1971/4.1f 5-35 gr.g 16.5/17.9 mmh Ag 17 %, Cu 81 %, Fe 2 %; traces Sb, Pb, Aui Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97339

XVIb-2a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. iib Kops Plateau, in sand-pit behind the former inn 'tZwaantjec Acquired 23-7-1936 through C.Th. Kokke, jr.d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, 1225e Extra mark on reverse: circlef 5-25 gr.g 16.4 mmh Au 4 %, Ag 7 %, Cu 89 %; traces Sb, Pb, Fei Holwerda 1943, 56, no. 12; Daniels 1950, 24; id. 1955, no;Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

332 Cf. Forrer 1910, 454-6. See 3lso Chsp. III.333 Forrer 1910, 456-9.334 Forrer 1910, 452-4 and Chap. III.335 Forrer 1910, 461, 470-1.336 Concerning Haltern, see Sonnenburg 1943, 79, nos.461-62; concerning Oberaden, cf. Albrecht 1938, 29, no. 165and concerning Neuss, see Chsp. II, p. 190

337 Forrer 1910, 463-70.338 Concerning Bochum, cf. Forrer 1910; concerning Bet-tenksmp, id. 1910, 468-70, and concerning Mulheim, seeMeier-Ahrend, 1974, 26-7 and fig. 61.339 See note 330.

245


XVIb-3a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. iib Hunerberg, in the vicinity of the Canisius Collegec 1926d RMK, collection Municipality of Nijmegen, 1208; recentlystolene Extra mark on reverse: small circle crossed by a linef 5.71 gr.g 16.5/17.8 mmh Au 8 %, Ag 7 %, Cu 83 %, Fe 2 %; traces Sb, Pbi Daniels 1950, 24; Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIb-4a Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 11b Excavation H. Brunsting, south of the Kelfkensbos; strayfindc 1952d ROB, Ke I952/-f 5.08 gr.g 16.3/17 mmh Ag 11 %, Cu 89 %; traces Sbi Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

XVIb-5a Presumably from Nijmegen (Gld.); pi. 11d RMK, residue former private collection G.M. Ksm, with-out inv. nof 4.80 gr.g 15.9 mmh Au 43 %, Ag 13 %, Cu 44%; the coin is gilded, which dis-torts the result of the X-ray fluoresence analysis; in fact copperpredominates, as confirmed by neutron activation analysis340:Au 12.9%, Ag 10%, Cu 77.1 %i Daniels 1950, 24; Roymans/Van der Sanden 1977, 97

CENTRAL EUROPEAN COINS

XVII-XVIII The so-called Menapii staters(LT pi. XXXV, 8743 and 8744)XVII (BN 8743): the obverse type may best be described asan irregular pattern of lines; the reverse shows a shell motifwith dots.XVIII (BN 8744): the obverse type shows a dot from whichthree rays issue, each ending in another dot. The reverse bearsa shell (Muschel) and crescent; between these two ornaments

is a roughly rectangulsr shape containing two dots; anotherthree dots further left.

Both coins were in the collection of the French numismatistF. de Saulcy until 1872. Find spot and type - the reverse typewas interpreted as a ship - led nineteenth-century scholars tobelieve that these coins were issued by the Menapii,341 butsome doubt has been cast on this attribution since then.342

In recent years the Czech numismatist K. Castelin has recon-sidered the problem of the so-called Menapii coins, and hasreached the conclusion that both coins must derive from some-where in central Europe.343 BN 8743 is, in his opinion,presumably a late Bohemian Muschel-stater.3*4

Castelin has succeeded in tracing an additional small numberof specimens of the type BN 8744, including one which wasfound in Krakow. Several considerations have convinced himthat this type of coin (which he has named Krakower type)derived from the Bohemisn Muschel staters and must haveoriginated in southern Poland, notably in the area of Krakow.Castelin further dates the inception of the series, which devel-ops from gold to silver, to his C period, that is, to the secondhalf of the first century BC.345

The Polish archaeologist Z. Wozniak has recently establisheda direct link between the Krakower type and the moulds forblanks which were unearthed some years ago during rescueexcavations in Krakow-Mogila (Nowa-Huta). Wozniak datesthe moulds to the middle or third quarter of the first centuryBC.346

XVII-ia Utrecht (Utr.); pi. ii; find spot indication unreliable347

d Cabinet des Medailles de la Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris;BN 8743f 4-92 gr.g 16.6 mmi Robert 1868, pi. facing p. 424, no. i; De la Tour 1892, pi.XXXV, 8743

XVIII-ia Netherlands; pi. ii; find spot indication unreliable347

d Csbinet des Medailles de la Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris;BN 8744f 5-92 gr.g 17.5 mmi Robert 1868, pi. facing p. 424, no. 2; De la Tour 1892, pi.XXXV, 8744; Blanchet 1905, 475, fig. 537; Forrer 1969, pi.13, no. 4; Castelin 1970, 93-4; id. 1976, 264, no. 36-2

340 For information on both methods of spectral analysis,see Chap. IV, Introduction, and notes 246-7.341 Robert 1868, 425; De La Tour 1892, pi. XXXV.342 Blsnchet 1905, 475, leaves the attribution open to ques-tion; cf. also Duval 1949, 91-2.343 Csstelin 1970; id. 1976, 260 ff.

344 Castelin does not exclude the possibility that it is a non-Bohemian Nachprdgung (written communication 21 July 1979).345 Cf. Kellner/Castelin 1973, 112-3.346 For 3 description of the moulds, context etc., see Woz-niak 1977; the hypothesis is given in Wozniak 1978, 111-2.347 Cf. introduction to Chap. II.

246


SUMMARY

The main purpose of this article is to present a surveyof all Celtic coins found in the Netherlands to date. Thenecessary inventorization was carried out in the period1975-80; a basis was thus provided for a catalogue com-prising a list and description of over one hundred Celticcoins. The material presented here, which is hardlyknown as yet in Dutch archaeology, has considerablerelevance to the study of the Late Iron Age and EarlyRoman period.Viewed from a European perspective, the Netherlandsoccupies a peripheral position within the overall distri-bution area of Celtic coins; the Dutch area constitutespart of the most northerly border zone, which is re-flected by the comparatively modest number of coinsthat has been retrieved in this region. One of the chiefcharacteristics of the circulation of Celtic coins in theNetherlands is the mingling of western European (thatis, Gallic) and central European coin traditions. The lat-ter are represented by the so-called rainbow cups of thetriquetrum type - that is, coins derived from centralEuropean prototypes.Three phases may be distinguished in the circulation ofCeltic coins in the Netherlands. Until the end of theGallic War (51 BC), the coins in circulation in northernGaul were almost exclusively pieces of high value, thatis, of gold. In the Netherlands, however, such coinsplayed a minor role: only four gold pieces datable to thisperiod have been recovered, and all of them derive fromthe southern Netherlands sand and loss areas. It seemslikely that this area (the eastern part of the province ofNorth Brabant and Limburg) constituted part of the ter-ritory of the Eburones at the time. These high-valuecoins, which have been found dispersed over rural areas,circulated in fairly primitive tribal societies which hadno or little contact with the Mediterranean world. Theirfunction was not exclusively economic, but social andpolitical also.In the eastern part of the Dutch river area, a homoge-neous group of triquetrum staters of high silver contentwas in circulation between c. 50 and 15 BC. In the pre-sent article they are referred to as 'silver triquetrumcoins of the Lith group,' in order to distinguish themfrom other groups of triquetrum pieces mainly occur-ring in western Germany. There are chronological andgeographical considerations in favour of associating theLith group of triquetrum coins with the Batavians. Inthat case, the Batavian people, who entered the Dutch

river area between 50 and 12 BC, were responsible forthe introduction of a type of coin already current else-where in the Rhineland and notably in Hesse. If thishypothesis is correct, it means that the Batavians wereresponsible for the sole emission of Celtic coins to havetaken place on Dutch soil. Most of the silver triquetrumpieces were retrieved from the river junction at Rossum/Lith, an area which has produced numerous other findsfrom the Late La Tene period as well as from EarlyRoman times.The Celtic coins circulating in the Netherlands duringthe Augustan-Tiberian period (from c. 15 BC) werepieces of bronze or potin. AVAVCIA coins and piecesbearing the legend GERMANVS INDVTILLI L - bothgroups being minted under Augustus - are especiallynumerous, and characteristic of that period. In additionmany bronze and potin coins, which were produced inthe pre-Augustan period, were still in circulation afterc. 15 BC. Virtually all these coins were drawn from themajor Early Roman centres in this area: Heerlen, Vel-sen, the river junction at Rossum/Lith, and particularlyNijmegen. In these Early Roman (and notably Augus-tan) settlements the coins appear to have functionedwithin the Roman monetary system; most probably theycompensated for the shortage of Roman low-value coins.Considerable attention is paid to the numerous dredge-finds from the Meuse area of Rossum/Lith, and to theproblem of their interpretation. It appears that the richcomplex of dredge-finds from this area has not receivedthe attention it undoubtedly deserves. It is hoped thatthis article will arouse more interest in the great impor-tance that the river junction at Rossum/Lith must havehad in the Late La Tene and Early Roman periods.Although the situation is far from clear as yet, the distri-bution and nature of the Late La Tene and Early Romanarchaeological material seems to point to the existence ofa major Batavian centre in this area, a centre which mustalready have functioned in the pre-Augustan period,hence predating the Batavian capital at Nijmegen.Unfortunately, this important archaeological find com-plex of Rossum/Lith was completely washed down bythe meandering course of the river Meuse during thelater Middle Ages.

PostscriptThe inventorization basic to the present article was con-cluded at the end of January 1981. Since that date, in theperiod February-December 1981, no fewer than 43 newCeltic coins - gold, silver, and bronze - have been reco-

247


vered from various sites in the Netherlands. It is ourintention to publish this additional material in a subse-quent article in the near future.

Acknowledgements illustrations

F. Gijbels, IPP: XIII-i; XIV-i, 15, 16, 17, 18, 55, 58; XVIa-2,3, 4, 5, 18.N. Roymans: XVIa-6, 7, 8, 9.P. Bersch, Audio-visuele dienst Katholieke Universiteit

Nijmegen: IV-i, 2; V-i; VI-i; VIII-i; IX-i, 2; X-i; XI-i;XII-i; XIII-2; XIV-6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 28, 35, 36,38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54; XVIs-19,20, 21; XVIb-2, 3, 5.RMO: XIV-2, 3, 4, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 46; XVI3-22, 23,25;XVIb-i.KMP: II-i, 2; VIII-2; XVIa-i, 12, 13; XIV-57.F. Colly, BAI: VII-i; IX-3; XIV-io, 43; XVIb-4; XVII-i;XVIII-i.Audio-visueel centrum Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: XIV-29, 30, 3i; 32, 33, 34-

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Documents

Celtic coins from The Netherlands and their archaeological context / Nico Roymans and Wijnand van der Sanden