Celtic Treasure

Our opening exhibition for May 2021 showcases the beautiful Celtic treasure, the Kimbolton Hoard of Iron Age coins, found at Kimbolton in 2010. Hidden in the ground for 2,000 years, our exhibition will uncover the story of their burial and their significance to the Celtic people that buried them.

Also on display are items found during the archaeological excavations at Loves Farm, St Neots, including offerings made at a probable Romano-British shrine on the site, as well as items from a Romano-British site in Eynesbury.

The exhibition includes information about the Iron Age including; everyday life, local tribes, religion and the Roman invasion in 43AD.

A booklet linked to the exhibition will also be available to purchase. You can also watch our dedicated video on the coins HERE.

Map of Europe by Ortelius, 1584

The British Iron Age began around 700BCE and ended in 43CE with the Roman conquest of Britain. Research suggests that the Celtic tribes that were spread across Western Europe were linked by a common language, religion and artistic culture, of which Britain and Ireland were a part.

A burial from around 50BCE with 5 wine amphora and other luxury goods.

By the time of the Iron Age, Britain had a long history of trade with Europe, and by the later Iron Age, trade between Rome and Britain was expanding. The Iron Age burial of a wealthy chieftain found at Welwyn Garden City reveals that luxury goods such as wine, pottery and jewellery were being imported.

The Romans attacking the Druid stronghold at Anglesey, imagined by a Victorian artist.

The Greek and Roman writers who wrote of the Celts described a society ruled by Kings, or sometimes Queens, and also by influential Celtic priests called Druids. Druids were described as very important members of society who's influence was highly sought after. During the Roman invasion, Roman generals sought first to supress Druid leaders in order to better assert their authority.

The Witham Shield, an Iron Age decorative bronze shield now housed in the British Museum

During the later Iron Age, Britain was divided by tribal areas, ruled by kings or warrior elites. The Kimbolton and St Neots areas were close to the border of four waring tribes.
The Kimbolton Hoard

The Kimbolton Hoard

The hoard contains 68 gold coins, 67 identified as Iron Age ‘stater’ coins and 1 identified as a quarter stater.
Iron Age stater coins with quarter stater of Cunobelin

Iron Age stater coins with quarter stater of Cunobelin

We say ‘gold’ coins, but in fact they’re really a mix of copper, gold and silver, with many containing less than 50% gold. You can tell from looking at the coins which have a higher percentage of silver due to the tarnish.

Artist impression of Iron Age life

The coins were mostly minted in the Lincolnshire area by the Corieltauvi tribe, and seem to have been in quite wide circulation. The gold quarter stater of King Cunobelin, was struck in the Colchester region.
Quarter stater of Cunobelin

Quarter stater of Cunobelin

From 10BCE-40CE, Cunobelin was the powerful king of the Catuvellauni tribe, which occupied an area roughly covering parts of Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. His coin displays an image of a horse and the letters CUN for Cunobelin.
Quarter stater of Cunobelin

Quarter stater of Cunobelin

On the other side of the stater is an ear of wheat and the letters CAMU, which is how we know it was struck in Colchester, or Camulodunum as it was known in Roman Britain. His presence on a coin struck in Colchester suggests Cunobelin also held a great deal of sway over the Trinovantes tribe, who held Colchester as their capital.
Depiction on the Gundestrup cauldron, believe to be that of the sky god Taranis

Depiction on the Gundestrup cauldron, believe to be that of the sky god Taranis

Gold staters are thought to be the first type of coins ever to circulate in Britain. It’s unlikely though that they were ever actually used as currency (due to the value of the metal) and instead may have been used as religious offerings to the gods.

Image thought to show the horned god Cernunnos from the Gundestrup Cauldron (c.100BCE) found in Denmark

The ancient Celts were deeply religious, with beliefs focused around fertility and the natural world. The gods and goddesses they worshiped had nature based attributes, like Cernunnos a stag headed god of the woodland.
Animal bones found deposited in a well during Loves Farm excavations in 2005, possibly as religious offerings

Animal bones found deposited in a well during Loves Farm excavations in 2005, possibly as religious offerings

Offerings made in to the earth or into watery places were ways in which Celtic people believed they could communicate with the gods.
Stone head, possibly of a local deity known as Abandinus

Stone head, possibly of a local deity known as Abandinus

Many Celtic gods seem to have been specific to a single place. Locally at Godmanchester we know of one local deity known as Abandinus, who may have been a water god. This sculpted head found at Godmanchester is believed to represent him.
Hengistbury Head in Dorset was a busy port town long before Caesar's arrival in 55BCE

Hengistbury Head in Dorset was a busy port town long before Caesar’s arrival in 55BCE

The design on the coins is evidence of the long-standing trade links in existence between Britain and Europe.
Philip II of Macedon as the god Apollo, with chariot on the reverse of the coin

Philip II of Macedon as the god Apollo, with chariot on the reverse of the coin

Imagery on the Kimbolton coins appears to be closely based on stater coins issued by the Ancient Greek King Phillip II of Macedon, who ruled from 359 – 336BCE. These coins depict the Greek sun god Apollo and realistic portrayals of chariots and horses.

Archaeological drawing of a Kimbolton coin, drawn by Jo Richardson of Oxford Archaeology East

The designs on the Kimbolton coins are fantastically abstract by comparison, but they retain elements of the original Greek designs.

Kimbolton coin depicting a horse and chariot

Of the two sides of the coins, the horses and chariots are perhaps the easiest to visualise. The horses are constructed by a series of crescent shapes and triangular head, whilst the chariot often only remains in the form of a singular spoked or rosetted wheel.

Detail of abstract horse design on Kimbolton coins

The Celts worshipped the sun and often used the symbol of a wheel to represent the sun gods or solar calendar in their art. This deeper meaning attached to the wheel could be why it survives as the only original part of the Greek chariot.

Kimbolton coin with abstract design derived from the god Apollo

On the other side of the coins, all that remains of Apollo is a pattern of abstract dots and shapes representing his hair locks and laurel wreath. On some of the coins, the laurel wreath elements look like stylised ears of wheat, and may have been intended to represent the grain grown by local Celtic tribes and traded with the Roman world.

Artist impression of the burial of the coins

The hoard provides more evidence of a wealthy Iron Age community flourishing in our area during the time of the Roman conquest. The coins may have been collected by a single wealthy family or perhaps belonged to an extended family who had pooled together their savings. Perhaps they were buried for safe keeping during the unsettled times, or as a religious offering to local deities. Sadly we'll never know...

About the coins

The Kimbolton Coin Hoard contains 68 gold coins, dated to about 100BCE-40CE. The coins were found close to the village of Kimbolton by a metal detectorist in late 2010, and subsequently identified as Iron Age ‘stater’ coins by the British Museum. They were declared Celtic treasure under the Treasure Act of 1996.

67 of the coins are uninscribed Iron Age gold coins, of a type known as ‘South Ferriby’ staters. The coins were mostly minted in the Lincolnshire area by the Corieltauvi tribe, and seem to have been in quite wide circulation, with examples commonly found in East Anglia and around the Fen Edge.

The 68th coin in the hoard is a gold quarter stater of Cunobelin, who was the powerful king of the Catuvellauni tribe. You can read more about the collection here and the quarter stater here.