The Colkirk Hoard of Roman Silver Siliqua

These finds indicate that the hoard was most likely buried close to areas of contemporary human habitation, its traces preserved only by a dense scatter of lost or discarded finds. While the latter objects were located close to the hoard’s nucleus, numerous other metal small-finds of Roman date including finger rings and brooches have been recorded from the wider area via the Norfolk Historic Environment Record. Such objects are characteristic of concentrated rural occupation, perhaps unsurprising given Colkirk’s location close to the Roman road running between the major settlements known at Toftrees and Billingford.

Despite the evident focus of activity during the Roman period, other finds signify that occupation of the area evidently did not end after burial of the hoard in the early 5th century. This is attested to by the discovery of numerous copper alloy cruciform brooches, girdle hangers and wrist-clasps representing the grave goods from Early Anglo-Saxon inhumation burials in close proximity to the hoard site. These culturally distinctive items indicate the continuity of human activity at the site during the later 5th and 6th centuries, though certainly do not directly relate to the hoard or its burial.

DENOMINATIONS AND IMITATIONS

The Colkirk hoard contained three denominations of late Roman silver coin, although virtually the entire hoard comprised of siliquae (sing. siliqua).

This is not an ancient name for the coin, but rather one which has been ascribed in the modern era based on information in ancient writings. The 6th and early 7th century scholar Isidore of Seville tells us that the siliqua was a unit of measurement used in the late Roman Empire, weighing approximately 2g and being equivalent in value to 1/24 of a gold solidus. This name was thus applied to the small silver coins struck across the late Empire from the early decades of the 4th century.

While perhaps not as commonly found in Britain as denarii of the 1st and 2nd centuries, siliquae are still relatively plentiful as site finds. To give a measure of scale, the PAS has almost 2500 records on their database relating to single finds, these primarily distributed in Wiltshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire. Though aesthetically quite beautiful, many siliquae possess striking cracks. This feature which reveals their overly fast production through insufficient annealing of blanks prior to striking.

In addition to this, many of those that made their way to Britain circulated for very long periods of time and were frequently clipped down. Only a very few heavily clipped coins were present in the Colkirk deposit, with most being either slightly clipped or having full, unmodified flans.

This feature suggests deposition of the group early in the 5th century, before the practice could impact more severely on the body of money present in general circulation.

Dramatically less common than clipped siliquae in British contexts are contemporary copies, these often being of variable metal (some are even plated with base-metal cores) and questionable style. However, they can be very convincing to the untrained eye, perhaps even virtually indistinguishable to someone in the late 4th century.

Four such copies (imitating Valens, Gratian and Arcadius) were found within the Colkirk find, these having an average silver purity approximately 2% less than the official issues.

Such comparably high standard of metal, despite the generally poorer die-cutting style, suggests that these coins were made locally with silver clipped from official siliquae. Precisely when this occurred is uncertain, though some have promoted the idea that such coins were struck around the time the Roman administration and military left Britain – if not slightly later.

By contrast, miliarenses are a very different kettle of fish. Large and impressive pieces of around 24mm diameter, these represent the pinnacle of late Roman die-cutting, second in quality only to some of the extremely rare silver and gold medallions of special issue which are occasionally found.

By contrast, miliarenses are a very different kettle of fish. Large and impressive pieces of around 24mm diameter, these represent the pinnacle of late Roman die-cutting, Only one fragmentary miliarense was present in the Colkirk hoard, this paucity not being unusual in late Roman coin hoards of precious metal. Siliquae virtually always predominate within these finds, miliarenses usually comprising less than 1% of the overall assemblages. Such a pattern is visible in most British finds, including the large hoards from Hoxne and Bishop’s Cannings. in quality only to some of the extremely rare silver and gold medallions of special issue which are occasionally found.

Typically weighing in between c. 4.3 and 4.9g, one could make the argument that miliarenses represented a sort of ‘double siliqua’ – though the impressive artistry and reverse designs has led some to theorise that these were probably intended as presentation pieces for members of the military rather than general circulation. Indeed, many miliarenses display an image of the Emperor in military dress – accompanied by the inscription VIRTVS EXERCITVS – ‘to the courage of the army’ How better to ensure the motivation and continued loyalty of soldiers than by the distribution of silver bonuses and rewards to supplement their monthly salaries at impressive, lavish ceremonies? Certainly, in light of this fact it is undoubtedly tempting to consider whether many of the British late Roman hoards which contain these coins were deposits made by members of the military or those affiliated with its administration.

However, their employment as an artistic motif became increasingly common in the 4th century, especially on bronze coinage struck in the second half of the century (e.g. the ‘FEL TEMP REPARATIO’ nummi of Constans and Constantius II, which depict a phoenix upon a rocky mound or globe) . Such designs clearly herald a desire to emphasise the rejuvenation of the empire, perhaps with the intent to draw attention away from socio-political developments which were already beginning to significantly undermine its overall stability.

Employment of the ‘phoenix on globe’ reverse for the solitary 1/3 miliarense within the Colkirk hoard therefore fits within the above framework very well. The phoenix, a legendary firebird which will forever be reborn from ashes, clearly is intended to represent the eternal constancy of the empire, while its standing upon a globe is an obvious nod to the wide-ranging territories it controlled even at this time of flux and uncertainty.

The inscription surrounding this design only reinforces the latter – ‘PERPETVETAS’ – everlasting, perpetual. With benefit of hindsight the type is somewhat ironic, given that over the next century the Western Roman empire would effectively cease to exist as a formal polity, its territories largely coming under the control of various incoming Germanic groups during the 5th century despite a degree of cultural and administrative continuation.