Catalog
Bronze Unit Hengistbury Mini Dots
| Issuer | Durotriges tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 10-45 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.0 g |
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| Obverse description | Plain field bearing a diagonal spike or stem element extending across the flan, flanked by a small number of raised pellets — typically none to three — distributed to either side of the central motif. The design is highly schematic and abstract, characteristic of the late Durotrigan casting tradition, with the pellets varying in number and placement across the series. No legend or inscription is present. The surfaces exhibit the rough, granular texture typical of cast Celtic bronze coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain field bearing multiple rows of raised, dome-headed pellets arranged in an informal grid pattern, typically comprising two or three rows with a combined total of four to seven pellets across the type series. The pellets are boldly rendered and slightly irregular in size and spacing, consistent with the casting technique employed. The design is entirely aniconic and uninscribed, representative of the most degenerate and abstracted phase of Durotrigan bronze coinage. No legend, exergual line, or border is present. |
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| Additional information |
The Durotriges occupied what is now Dorset and parts of Somerset and Wiltshire, and their coinage tells a story of progressive debasement — earlier issues in gold gave way to silver, then to a debased billon, and finally to uninscribed bronze struck in the decades immediately before and during the Roman conquest of 43 AD. By the time pieces like this were being produced, Maiden Castle and other major hillforts were still functioning tribal centers, some of which the Second Legion Augusta under Vespasian would assault in a documented campaign through at least twenty oppida.
Hengistbury Head served as a major pre-conquest trading port for the tribe, giving this type its name.