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Tribe: Coritani/Corieltavi/Corieltauvi
Capital: RATAE CORIELTAVORVM Location: Leicester. Extent: Leics., Notts., Lincs. & part of S. Yorks. Notes: Coinage was usually struck by 2 or 3 rulers at once. The Coritani were not a unified tribe, but a collection of like-minded peoples sharing the same outlook and social practices. Based in Leicester & Old Sleaford. |
RATAE CORIELTAVORVM (Leicester, Leicestershire) - The site of a possible vexillation fortress or at least an auxiliary fort.
"Next to these [the Cornovii]; are the Coritani, among whom are the towns: Lindum 18*40 56°30 ¹ Ratae 18*00 55°30 ² ..."
A mild and agricultural people who were receptive to Roman rule, perhaps because the presence of the Romans on their territory deterred the raids by their neighbours, the aggressive and warlike Brigantes. Ostorius Scapula established the frontier zone delineated by the Fosse Way through the middle of the Coritani territory.
Ratae was built on the site of a native settlement, and another major Iron-age site existed by the side of the river Witham at Lincoln. The great Oppida of southern Britain are not emulated here, and large hillforts are very rare, there being only three or four in the whole of the canton, and these limited to the area of the Soar Valley. The major settlements in the canton in the late iron-age appear to be large, open settlements, usually sited on low ground and having no discernible organization in their internal structures. Most known sites of this stature occur in Lincolnshire, and were succeeded by later Roman developments on the same locations. The most studied site of this type is at Dragonby near the Humber estuary, at the confluence of the river Trent.
Dragonby was occupied from c.500 BC to late Roman times, with a marked period of rapid growth and expansion of the settlement occurring in the late iron-age (c. late 2nd c. BC) connected with more intensive exploitation of the surrounding natural resources.
Several of these large, scattered sites exist, at Ancaster, Owmby, Ludford and possibly Horncastle and Spilsby, all in Lincolnshire. Further south in Northamptonshire are others at Duston, Irchester and Kettering.
| Probable Extent of the Civitas Coritanorum |
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| Image taken from The Coritani, by Malcolm Todd (Fig.1, pp.2). |
None of these sites can be positively identified as being the centre of Coritani government, and it is possible that there was no centralized government as such. What is reasonably certain however, is that the Coritani maintained a number of septs, each with their own independent local government structure, with groups of settlements being ruled by a small number of leaders who minted and issued coin collectively.
The most prolific type of dwelling in the Coritanian canton, and one which has cultural connections with the Belgic tribes in the south, are small groups of round huts, often surrounded by banks and ditches, probably housing a single family and its dependents.
The most completely examined example of this type of farmstead being the one located at Colsterworth in south Lincolnshire. Here, a small group of five or six round huts with a central hut somewhat larger than the others, lay within an irregular enclosure of around half a hectare with a surrounding bank and ditch. The ditch in this particular example is surprisingly large, being 6 metres wide and up to 2.5 metres deep, enclosing a roughly elliptical area measuring 80 by 100 metres. This steading was occupied around the middle of the first century AD, probably by a single family group.
A large number of single farmsteads surrounded by enclosing ditches and field systems can be found throughout the canton in the river valleys, particularly in the south, the style of which have close cultural affiliation with those built by the southern Belgic tribes. It is postulated that a high percentage of the Coritani population lived in these humble farms, though cultural, economic and religious activities brought these communities together from time to time.
The region of south Lincolnshire and Leicestershire is rich with surface deposits of ironstone, and, as would be expected, a large number of small steadings are to be found in the area, making use of this natural resource. Another source of industry for the Coritani was the production of salt by the evaporation of sea water, along the coast in the region of Ingoldmells and Skegness.
The coin finds of the Coritani were at first, erroneously attributed to the Brigantes, but later studies of the distribution pattern clearly showed that these coins should be assigned to the Coritani. The two hoards of coins, found in S. Yorkshire that were the basis of this assumption are now thought to be the deposits of merchants or localised mintage's of a Coritanian leader who moved north in the face of the Roman advance.
The earliest iron-age coins are based on earlier Gallo-Belgic gold staters, with equestrian designs on the obverse but no inscriptions and were first produced between 80-50 BC. The first issue of minted silver coins occurred around 50BC, which were also uniscribed, having horses on the reverse, but with the image of a Boar, perhaps a totemic device, on the obverse.
Throughout the region, especially in the south, large numbers of alien coins from southern Britain can be found, indicating strong commercial links with the Belgic tribes.
Around the turn of the first century, gold and silver coins bearing inscriptions started to appear. These contain a high proportion of paired names, and at least one issue with three names, showing that the Coritani were possessed of more than one tribal leader.
The recorded inscriptions are listed below, arranged in the order they were produced:
| Coritanian Rulers |
|---|
| AVN COST |
| ESVP ASV |
| VEP OCI.]ES |
| VEP CORF |
| VEP |
| DVMNO TIGIR SENO |
| VOLISIOS DVMNOCOVEROS |
| VOLISIOS DVMNOVELLAV |
| VOLISIOS CARTIVEL |
It is assumed that the Coritani were at first ruled by two rulers, and the corresponding coin issues are inscribed with the names of both of these magistrates. Later, the Coritani came to be ruled by a single, paramount leader, who issued coin inscribed with his name first, followed by the name of a subservient leader, who ruled over a part of the tribe. It can be surmised that Volisios, for instance was one of these paramount chieftains who issued coin around the time of the Roman invasion, under whom were at least three lieutenants; Dumnocoveros, Dumnovellau[nus] and Cartivel[ios]*. A large number of the coins of Volisios were found in the two hoards at Lightcliffe and Honley in south Yorkshire, and it is possible that Volisios and his lieutenants decided to move north to this area when the Romans began to occupy Coritanian territory in the south.
The production of coinage in small denominations is suggestive of a prospering economy, and a number of bronze coins of this type were found around the area of South Ferriby on the banks of the Humber estuary. The existence of another iron-age site at North Ferriby, on the directly opposite bank suggests that some form of water-borne communication link existed between these two settlements, and this was in all likelihood the site of a major commercial link between the Coritani and its northern neighbours the Parisii (and possibly the Brigantes). This is borne out by the existence of Roman pottery and trade goods in North Ferriby in the time before the occupation of the north bank of the Humber by the Romans.
[* My own suppositions.
]
There also exists considerable uncertainty as to the actual name of the tribe, as Ptolemy lists the name both in the form Coritani and Coritavi. According to Dr. Tomlin, re-reading a graffito found on a tile found at Churchover as Civitatis Corieltauvorum, suggests a tribal name of Corieltauvi. This is backed up, he says, by the entry for Leicester in the Ravenna Cosmology which appears as Rate Corion, followed by the word Eltavori. Dr. Tomlin Suggests that the three words refer to a single entry, not two, the last word having previously been attributed to another place, perhaps Eltavori[um], or even the name of a river Fl. Tavori. The revised reading of the Ravenna Cosmography entry for Leicester now reads Rate Corioneltavori.
| Holme, nr. Newark | Large Marching Camp. |
| Newton-on-Trent, Lincs. | Large Marching Camp. |
| Newton-on-Trent, Lincs. | Legionary Campaign Fort. |
| Ancaster, Lincs. | Small Temporary Camp. |
| Ancaster, Lincs. | Garrison Fort on Ermine St. |
| Longthorpe | Legionary Campaign Fort, 11 Ha., E of Peterborough. |
| Marton | Auxiliary Fort, nr. Newton-on-Trent. |
| Water Newton, Northants. | Garrison Fort on Ermine St. nr. crossing of R. Nene. |
| Great Casterton, Leics. | Garrison Fort on Ermine St. nr. crossing of R. Gwash. |
| Lincoln | Fort ? Marching Camp ? On low ground to south of R. Witham. |
| Lincoln | Legionary Fortress, c.AD60. |
| Owmby | Claudian Fort ? N. of Lincoln. |
| Old Witheringham | Claudian Supply Base ? On S. shore of Humber. |
| Kirmington | Auxiliary Fort, 8.5 acres, 3.5 Ha., double-ditched encampment. |
| Leicester | Claudian base of some nature ? |
| Thorpe-by-Newark, Notts. | Small 0.8 Ha. fort at confluence of Greet with Trent. |
| Newark | At conf. of R. Devon, occupation evidence but nothing military. |
| Brough, Notts. | Find-place of military helmet cheek-piece of c. 1st c. |
| East Bridgford, Notts. | MARGIDUNUM |
| Strutts Park | Large Fort, c.AD50, 2km N. of Derby town centre. |
| Broxtowe | Three Forts on same site, largest c.5Ha., earliest c.AD55. |
| Osmanthorpe | Fort above R. Greet, nr. Southwell, c.8ha., probably >1 phase. |
| Farnsfield | Marching Camp, 3km W. of Osmanthorpe. |
| Warsop | Campaign Fort, c.AD55, 10km N. Osmanthorpe, 8km NW R.Trent. |
| Rossington Bridge | Campaign Fort, 9.3ha. |
| Chesterfield | Series of forts, first in c.AD55. |
| Templeborough | Fort, c.AD55, nr. Rotherham. |
| Pentrich | Neronian site, between Little Chester and Chesterfield. |
| AD44 | Ratae captured. Garrison fort of Legio IX at Ratae. Ermine St. Auxiliary Fort at Water Newton. Newark captured |
| AD45 | Ancaster Marching Camp. Ermine St. Auxiliary Fort at Great Casterton. Marching Camp at Holme. Marching Camp at Newton-on-Trent. Lindum captured. |
| AD46 | Newton-on-Trent Legionary Campaign Fort. Ermine St. Auxiliary Fort at Ancaster. |
| AD47 | Auxiliary Fort at Lindum. Longthorpe Legionary Campaign Fort built to counter Icenian revolt. |
| AD48 | Possibly spent consolidating the territory gained south of the Humber and east of the Trent, and also policing the Iceni. During this period, Legio IX may have been split between the Campaign Forts at Newton-on-Trent and Longthorpe. |
| AD49 | A few tentative forays over the Trent may have been undertaken at this time. Marton Auxiliary Fort built, guarding new bridge over Trent. |
| AD50 | Strutts Park Fort built to north of Derby. |
| AD59 | Longthorpe reduced to Vexillation size. |
| AD60 | Legionary Fortress built at Lindum; Newton-on-Trent and Longthorpe dismantled. |
| Ast[...] | Vide Aun[...]. |
|---|---|
| Asu[...] | Vide Esup[...]. |
| Aun[...] | The coins inscribed AVN COST / AVN AST probably denote the first of the dual magistracies of the Coreltauvi following those issued by Vep[...]. They were issued around AD20 and are found throughout the canton. The next issue of coins after Aun[...]/Cost[...] were those of Esup[...]/Rasu[...]. |
| Cartivel[...] | The name Cartivel[ios] or Cartivel[launus] appears in conjunction with that of Volisios, on issues apparently contemporary with others bearing the names of two more Corieltauvian nobles, Dumnocoveros and Dumnovellau[nos]. All of these coins wese issued as late as c.AD45 and appear to have circulated in an area to the north of the canton and on the north bank of the Humber, in what is usually taken to be the territory of the Parisi. |
| Cost[...] | Vide Aun[...]. |
| Dumno[...] | The name of this noble appears on the famous issue inscribed DVMNO • TIGIR • SENO, and its prominence feasibly denoted that he was the most senior of the three magistrates seemingly ruling over the Corieltauvi c.AD40, the other nobles mentioned, Tigir[...] and Seno[...] were in all likelyhood subservient. It is possible that the name of this king also appears on one of two later coin issues in association with the overlord Volisios, as either Dumnocoveros or Dumnovellau[nos]. |
| Dumnocoveros | Vide Dumno[...] and Volisios. |
| Dumnovellau[nos] | Vide Dumno[...] and Volisios. |
| Esup[...] | The coins inscribed ESVP ASV / ESVP RASV were issued by the dual magistrates of the Corieltauvi around AD30. These issues were possibly preceeded by those of Aun[...] Cost[..] and Aun[...] Ast[...], and followed by the triple issue of Dumno[...] Tigir[...] Seno[...]. |
| Rasu[...] | Vide Esup[...]. |
| Seno[...] | Vide Dumno[...]. |
| Tigir[os] | Vide Dumno[...]. |
| Vep[...] | This ruler was possibly the first of the Corieltauvi to issue coins bearing inscriptions, notably; VEP, VEP • CORF (possibly meaning Vep[...] the son of Cor[...]) and VEP OCI[.]ES. These coins appear at the beginning of the first century AD, and are found throughout the tribal territory. The latter of these three issues may bear the name of a subservient or co-ruler, Oci[.]es, and it should be noted that with the exception of the issues inscribed Vep[...] only, all of the Corieltauvian coinage bears at least two inscribed names. Whether Vep[...] first started this trend of dual - or in some cases, triple - magistracies is not known. |
| Volisios | The name of this ruler appears in conjunction with that of three other nobles, Dumnocoveros, Dumnovellau[nos] and Cartivel[ios], each on separate coinage issues minted around AD45. This is unprecedented within the tribe, who usually minted coins bearing the names of two - or in one case, three - magistrates. It appears that Volisios became the overlord of the Corieltauvi possibly just prior to the Roman invasion, and issued coin bearing the names of his three lieutenants who were to govern separate quarters of the tribal territory. In the face of the Roman advance it would appear that Volisios moved his court northwards into the land of the Parisi, and that his people continued to prosper in this region for several more years. |
