Coins and Power in Late Iron Age Britain

This book examines the background to the first individuals in British history.

John Creighton (Author)

9780521772075, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 July 2000

266 pages, 45 b/w illus. 6 maps 2 tables
24.4 x 17 x 1.6 cm, 0.63 kg

'This book represents a major shift in interpretation away from the traditional picture … this is a book which will merit much picking over and debate … it is one which could fundamentally change our view of the Late Iron Age and the beginning of Roman Britain.' Cambridge Archaeological Journal

Cunobelin, Shakespeare's Cymbeline, ruled much of south-east Britain in the years before Claudius' legions arrived, creating the Roman province of Britannia. But what do we know of him and his rule, and that of competing dynasties in south-east Britain? This book examines the background to these, the first individuals in British history. It explores the way in which rulers bolstered their power through the use of imagery on coins, myths, language and material culture. After the visit of Caesar in 55 and 54 BC, the shadow of Rome played a fundamental role in this process. Combining the archaeological, literary and numismatic evidence, John Creighton paints a vivid picture of how people in late Iron Age Britain reacted to the changing world around them.

Introduction
1. The Middle to Late Iron Age transition
2. Coin and the representation of individual authority
3. The Southern and Eastern Kingdoms
4. Classical imagery and ideology in Britain
5. The location of Britain in the Roman world
6. Legends and language
7. Dynasties and identities
8. Conclusion and epilogue: from Britain to Britannia.

Subject Areas: Archaeology by period / region [HDD]