Recent Discoveries of Tetrarchic Hoards from Roman Britain and their Wider Context

Abstract

• This volume was prompted by the recent discovery in Britain of two large coin hoards dating from the first decade of the fourth century AD – Wold Newton and Rauceby. Coins of this early Tetrarchic period are relatively uncommon finds in Britain and elsewhere, due mainly to the brevity of their periods of issue followed by successive reductions in the weight of the coinage. The book also republishes the 1944 Fyfield hoard within the context of these more recent finds and contains preliminary reports on two very large hoards of coins of the same period that have been found in recent years in France (Juillac) and Spain (Tomares). The transition from the third to fourth century AD is a pivotal phase in the history of Roman Britain, with Britain reintegrated into the Empire following periods of turbulence and usurper rule between AD 260−296. The Roman Emperor Diocletian instigated the Tetrarchic system of rule in AD 293 to create stability, with the rule of the western and eastern Empire being split between two senior emperors and their two junior colleagues. During this transitional period, the Empire was subjected to extensive monetary reforms, which saw the introduction of the denomination now referred to as the nummus, and a Roman Imperial mint was established in Britain for the first time, in London. The volume therefore covers not just the hoards themselves, but also considers the wider significance of these hoards for Britain and the early fourth century monetary economy, particularly in the western Empire.