Sheshen-Eceni: Catuvellauni info

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The Catuvellauni of Gaul:

The Catuvellauni were a group of Belgae peoples who are believed to have previously inhabited an area to the north-west of the river Seine. Eventually they were broken up into smaller groups by resurgent tribes and forced to become clients of the Senones.

The history of the Catuvellauni of Verlamion & Wheathampstead (now St Albans, Hertfordshire)

Founded around 15 BC Verlamion became the new tribal capital and royal seat of the Ancient British Iron Age tribe known as the Catuvellauni. The name Verlamion is British Celtic in origin and means ‘the settlement above the marshland”. It is unclear why the Catuvellaunian dynasty chose Verlamion as their new tribal centre, preferring this site to the already established trading centre slightly further north-east at Welwyn. The tribal name 'Catuvellauni' is a British Celtic name and roughly translates as; 'expert warriors or 'battle superiors'

Verlamion soon became a thriving industrial centre; the trade brought the nobility much wealth and status and became an important power base for the warlike tribe whose leaders began to expand their borders into neighbouring tribal territories to the east. Like the Catuvellauni the people of the Trinovantes tribe were also Gallo-Belgic in their origins and shared similar customs, lifestyles, and beliefs which were virtually identical to their close and more aggressive neighbours to the west.

Almost inevitably warfare broke out among the two rival kingdoms and in 54/55 BC after the Catuvellauni king Cassivellaunus had killed the Trinovantes king (whose name is lost to history) his son Mandubracius appealed to Rome to intervene and Julius Caesar duly obliged subsequently invading Britain on two occasions before finally overcoming the forces of Cassivellaunus in 54 BC. Caesar successfully negotiated a peace treaty with Cassivellaunus then hurriedly left for Rome.

Tasciovanus grandson of Cassivellaunus and ruler of the Catuvellauni from c.25 BC – c.5 BC continued the war against his neighbours eventually conquering Camulodonun, and briefly ruled over both kingdoms until he was finally defeated by the forces of the Trinovantes king Addedomarus.

Cunobelinus king of the Catuvellauni (AD 5 – AD 40) and son of Tasciovanus was the most successful and the most powerful of all the rulers of Iron Age Britain. During the early years of his reign he conquered Camulodunum the tribal centre of the Trinovantes, expelling the king Dubnovellaunus. Shortly after Cunobelin established his new tribal capital at Camulodunun – thus preferring this to the old Catuvellauni seat of Verlamion, The Roman historian Suetonius bestowed the title of Rex Britannorum (king of Britain) upon him after he had further extended his rule over much of south eastern Britain.

The Welwyn Garden City Burial:

The wealthiest Iron Age burial to be found in Britain is at Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. This discovery was made in 1965 during trench cutting work to lay a new gas main. Unfortunately many artefacts were damaged by the digging work before workers realised the find.

The three bronze Celtic male heads found in the Welwyn grave

In a deep vault, surrounded by other graves, was that of a very rich, important man. His body had been covered with a bear skin and cremated. After cremation his remaining bones had been collected and placed on the floor of the grave together with a remarkable array of possessions and offerings, including 3 unique miniature bronze heads of Celtic males. All three had neatly trimmed hair and the traditional Celtic moustache . Some objects had been burnt with the body before being placed in the grave, including heat distorted metalwork, ornate, decorative items made from bone, and remnants of elaborate biers. Most of the artefacts though, had been placed in the grave as complete items which include five large wine amphorae, numerous pots (Belgic: wheel thrown type) and metal vessels, wooden buckets and various bowls, a mat/rug made from straw with other organic items which are no longer discernable, some bear’s claws, presumably from the cremation cloak, a silver cup, various platters, a large flagon and an amazing collection of unique, decorated, spherical glass game counters which could have been used to play a ‘Ludo’ type of board game.

The majority of the grave goods are of native origin but the wine amphorae and silver cup are from Italy and the platters and flagon from Gaul. It is interesting to note that wine amphorae are only found in burials to the north of the River Thames, perhaps by tribal ritual or tradition. The burial has been dated to late in the first century BC, approximately half way between Julius Caesar’s two military expeditions of 55 and 54 BC and the invasion by Claudius in 43 AD (c.6/5 BC). Perhaps, this is the grave of Tasciovanus - king of the Catuvellauni c.25 – 5 BC.

Other important Iron Age burials of the (Catuvellauni) ‘Welwyn type’ include graves found in Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Royston and Baldock in Hertfordshire; where further ‘bear claws’ were discovered amongst the cremated bone, perhaps the newly deceased kings (or chieftains) were traditionally dressed in ‘bearskin cloaks’ as part of the funerary ritual prior to their cremations.

The Folly Lane Burial Site.

At Folly Lane, St Albans (Verulamium), Hertfordshire, in 1992 an amazing burial site was discovered which confirms the theories that Verulamium (formerly Verlamion) was indeed a client kingdom rather than a Roman stronghold.

This exceptional barrow site is in a prominent position overlooking the town. The quality of the grave goods, the evidence of an elaborate funerary feast and ceremonial ritual, and the sheer size and character of the enclosed site, all show that the burial here was of immense importance to the local area’s community. Also the fact that in later years a Romano-Celtic temple was erected on the exact spot of the original funeral pyre shows an allegiance to a local leader or king.

The burial was made at the centre of a huge rectangular enclosed site of some 5 acres (2 ha.) with a deep perimeter ditch. At this central point a large pit was dug supported and lined with robust timbers. Then within the pit a strong wooden construction was erected which probably served as a chamber for a ceremonial ‘lying in state’, then feasting and ritual practice prior to the final burial of the ‘king’. Finds from the chamber include ten ‘place settings’ (platters, cups and bowls), which had been deliberately smashed into small pieces on the floor of the chamber together with small shards from several different wine amphorae known to be Italian. The dating of this pottery puts the burial to approximately AD55.

The late ‘king’ was cremated together with a hoard of valuable items, assumed to be some of his personal belongings, which included an ivory couch, a suit of iron nail armour, horse equipment with ornate enamelling work, about 15 pounds (7 kilos) of silver, and a chariot. Although many of these items were almost destroyed by the fire enough remains to show a very rich selection from a wealthy lifestyle.

After the cremation and ceremonies the whole of the feasting chamber was deliberately demolished and together with the remains of the fire, was covered by a huge mound of earth (barrow) following the burial of three adult females on the south–east side of the entrance.

Essendon Hoards, Hertfordshire:

The remains of two large British coin hoards were discovered in a field in Essendon, Hertfordshire along with fragments of a gold tubular torc with globular terminals and several triangular gold alloy ingots. The ingots are exactly the same in size and shape as crucibles used for casting metals which were in widespread use throughout Iron Age Britain. A fragment of gold torc was discovered with ten coins which had either been wrapped inside the piece, or recovered separately. Unfortunately, it would appear that at least two or more gold hoards have been significantly disturbed by ploughing.

In total 257 coins were found buried in the same field. Hoard one dates to the mid first century BC and contained some of earliest types of coins circulated in Britain. Hoard two mainly consisted of coins minted for the British kings Tasciovanus and Cunobelin, rulers of the Catuvellauni from c. 25 BC – AD 40.

British (Iron Age) coin production:

The site of a Belgic mint was discovered during excavations at Bluehouse Hill, St Albans, which was most probably the royal mint of Tasciovanus (c. 25 BC - 5 BC) the first Catuvellauni ruler to issue coins marked with his name. During his reign several issues of gold, silver and bronze coins were minted with the legends inscribed:, TASC, TASCIO, TASCIAV, RICON, VERI, VERO, VER, & VERLAMIO a good indication that Verlamion had become the king's new tribal capital.

Accurate, regular sized clippings of metal were placed in each hollow of a ‘honeycomb’ type baked clay mould. The mould was then heated until all the pellets of metal had melted. When cooled, the pellets were removed from the mould and hammered flat to form coin blanks (or flans). Each blank was struck between engraved dies to form the final product. The dies were pairs – a concave base die with a matched convex ‘striker’ die. The blank would be placed on the concave base die, the striker lined up on top and then a single sharp hammer blow would ‘squeeze’ the blank to shape while assuming the engraved design on both sides. This method explains why Iron Age coins were not flat and why the design is often not perfectly central on the disc.

Verulamium; Verlamion (St Albans):

The first part of the name may have been based on a Celtic root element “Uero” meaning “broad”. Who, or what this refers to, is not known, though it may have been a reference to the broad river valley of the Ver. The second half of the name was derived from a tribe; which were known as the “Waeclings”, they also gave their name to Watling Street, the road that runs from London to St Albans.

The Catuvellauni War God

In the pre-Roman period the Catuvellauni of modern day Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, south west Cambridgeshire and parts of Essex, worshipped a Celtic warrior god, or god of victory. The deity is depicted on coins and brooches as a mounted warrior carrying either a carnyx (Celtic warhorn) or bearing a shield, or wearing armour. The tribal name of this local deity is unknown, but he may well have been Camulos the Celtic god of war - who was also the Trinovantes war god.

Kings of the Catuvellauni: Suggested Timeline.

Cassivellaunus (c. ? – 54 BC)

The Catuvellauni king Cassivellaunus was elected leader of the British resistance by the war council during the two invasions of the Roman emperor Julius Caesar in 54/55 BC.

Despite being driven back on the first occasion Caesar triumphed at the second attempt and successfully negotiated a peace treaty on behalf of the exiled Trinovantes Prince Mandubracius, reuniting him with his kingdom.

Tasciovanus (c. 25 BC – c. 5 BC)

Tasciovanus king of the Catuvellauni and grandson of Cassivellaunus, continued the war against his Trinovantes neighbours temporarily establishing himself as ruler of both tribes until he was finally defeated and pushed back inside his tribal borders.

Andoco (c. 5 BC – AD 5)

Very little is known of Andoco king of the Catuvellauni c. 5 BC – AD 5 even though several coins issues in gold, silver and bronze have been found that bear his name.

Sego (c. AD 5?) Gold, silver and bronze coins have been found bearing names such as Sego, Dias and Rues. Presumably they are all personal names - though nothing is known of these rulers. It has been suggested that they were perhaps subordinates to Tasciovanus controlling different parts of the Catuvellaunian kingdom.

Dias (c ?) Silver and bronze coins were minted bearing the name Dias.

Rues (c ?) Several bronze coin issues were found that bear the name Rues.

Cunobelin (c. AD 5 – AD 40)

Cunobelin king of the Catuvellauni and son of Tasciovanus was the most successful and the most powerful of all the rulers of Britain. During the early years of his reign he conquered Camulodunum the tribal centre of the Trinovantes, expelling the king Dubnovellaunus. After establishing his new tribal capital at Camulodunum - he eventually extended his rule over much of south eastern Britain.

Epaticcus (c. AD 5 – AD 25)

Catuvellaunian Prince and brother of Cunobelinus and a second son of Tasciovanus, extended the Catuvellauni kingdom further by gaining control of land in central southern Britain and the upper Thames valley regions.

Adminius (c. AD 9 – AD 41)

Adminius, eldest son of Cunobelinus was given Kent to govern but internal conflicts arose as a result of his greed and in AD 40 after a heated argument, Adminius fled across the water to plead with Emperor Caligula for Rome to intervene.

Togodumnus (c. AD 40 – AD 43)

When Cunobelinus died he was succeeded by his sons Togodumnus and Caratacus. Between them they successfully ruled the kingdom of their father – and later elected as joint leaders of the British resistance (by the tribal war council) against the Roman invading forces in AD 43. During a battle with the Romans Togodumnus was fatally wounded and later died of his injuries.

Caratacus (c. AD 40 – AD 51/52)

With Togodumnus dead Caratacus fled the battle scene and managed to escape to the Silures (of Wales) and with the help and support of the local British tribes he continued the resistance campaign against the Romans for a further eight years. Until AD 51 when the Romans finally broke through, although members of his family were captured Caratacus escaped fleeing north to the Brigantes tribe seeking sanctuary under queen Cartimandua but she betrayed him to his enemies. After his capture he was taken in chains to Rome to appear before the emperor Claudius to answer for his actions – whereupon he delivered such an impressive speech that he won his freedom.

The Pre-Roman earthworks of The Catuvellauni tribe:

Pre-Roman Verlamion was protected by an extensive system of earthworks, mainly consisting of a series of linear banks and ditches some of which were enormous. Although there were many more giant earthworks which were built in the Ver Valley and Lea Valley areas - the two largest of these works are Devil’s Dyke and Beech Bottom Dyke. Between them these massive earthworks serve as an impressive reminder as to the power of the tribal kings and the huge reserves of labour under their control.

Devil’s Dyke on the western side of Wheathampstead (7 miles (11.2 km), north of St Albans) is the earliest of the surviving earthworks, covering an area of 60 acres (24 hectares). It dates from about 100 – 1 BC. This extensive earthwork built in the Lea Valley seems to have been the original power base and former royal seat and capital of the Catuvellauni rulers. Archaeological evaluations of the site have revealed that this enclosure was never permanently occupied. No evidence has been found to suggest that this was the battle-site where Cassivellaunus (the Catuvellaunian Warlord) was defeated by Caesar’s forces in 54 BC.

Beech Bottom Dyke 2.5 miles (2 km) to the north-east of the city of St Albans once connected two natural valleys and is related to Verlamion and dates to a much later period than Devil’s Dyke. It was probably constructed at some time during the reign of Cunobelin, and is thought to be more of a territorial boundary than a defensive enclosure. There is only one stretch of this original giant earthwork surviving today, which runs for approx 3 miles (4.8km). Over the centuries from about AD 100 the ditch began to silt up but even today it is still an impressive 33ft (10m) deep in places. During its heyday nearly two thousand years ago this enormous earthwork must have looked a pretty awesome sight - dominating the landscape above the two valleys.

Hillforts of the Catuvellauni and the Trinovantes:
It is believed by some that the two great fortresses of Verlamion (St Albans, Hertfordshire) and Camulodunun (Colchester, Essex) had both previously belonged to the Trinovantes before they both came under control of the Catuvellauni.