So, I've finally reached coin 400 and am a little under half way to finishing mapping Cornwall's coins! I'm somewhat behind, thanks to a rather tumultuous 2nd and 3rd term at university (involving things such as staff strikes, sports competitions and, sadly, COVID-19), however now my first year of university is finished, I can devote my Summer to this project! I aim to finish mapping all of the coins this month and wish to start writing up my first County Report by July, so do bear with me! Regarding the data, there are three significant trends I've noticed:
1) The overwhelming majority of coins logged so far are relatively coastal. Only a small portion of those being recorded are much further inland, which is indicating that the majority of Roman-British trade in Cornwall is occurring via the ports and harbours. Whilst this isn't necessarily surprising on its own, what's significant is that the data's potentially demonstrating the key centres of commerce in Cornwall and likely demonstrating areas where the valuable Cornish tin and copper are being exported.
Taking this further, very few coins are being recorded in Northern Cornwall so far. Given Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) was the Civitas for the Roman administered Dumnonii (who were broadly speaking peoples from today's Devon and Cornwall), one might've expected to see trade occurring further North in Cornwall and up towards the administrative capital, but such is seemingly not the case. So perhaps the local shipping routes are preferred for the tansport of goods, especially tin and copper, rather than using land routes. This may also go some way as to explaining why evidence for Roman roads in Cornwall is lacking, as beyond the three forts they weren't deemed as necessary.
2) Of the coins in Cornwall I've recorded so far, 53.4% are from the West Penwith region (broadly known by the Romans as Bolerium). This demonstrates significant activity on that coast, which isn't too surprising given that the peninsula is directly inbetween the Roman mainland + Southern Britain and Wales, Ireland, and the North West of England. This data is showing that as a result of this vital trading route, large quantities of coins, by Cornwall's standards, are arriving. This could be a mixture of trade and shipwrecks, especially given both the stormy coasts of the English Channel and the Celtic Sea plus the abundance of tin and copper being traded. It's also notable that a sizeable chunk of these coins occur from the area around Marazion and St. Michael's Mount, one of the two most likely positions of the Roman 'Port Ictis'. This trend was somewhat visible upon the last milestone and in the last 200 coins has only become more pronounced.
3) I have been recording huge amounts of hoards since the last milestone. 35 of the total 55 occur from the Mid. 3rd Century to the 5th Century and, broadly speaking, occur in similar places to the single coins which are quite possibly settlements and local centres of trade. This data is demonstrating the effect that the hugely instable and troublesome 3rd-5th Centuries had on the people of Roman Cornwall, who were likely creating these hoards during tumultuous periods so as to protect their wealth. This is further evidenced by the fact that only a small amount of these recorded hoards appear to relate to mortuary purposes. Hoards such as these are great markers for periods of local and national instability and certainly the hoards' dates align with what we know about those periods of the Roman Empire.
Finally, it must be stated that, of course, this is not a report of the final data, but just discussion on what I'm seeing thus far. Neither is it discussing other forms of archaeological and historical evidence, just what I'm seeing eith my data right now, whereas the final report will contain such things. Also, the final data will not be concrete proof for or against anything, but rather as evidence aiding an argument for or against something. This is because I am examining only one type of find, and one that relies largely on the public going out and discovering, then reporting, them and doing so as accurately as possible. The most important point I can make thus far is that everything has to be taken with a pinch of salt, a lack of data isn't conclusive in any way and equally comparitively large amounts of data aren't, either! This is especially true when I haven't yet combed over all the data, nor started on Devon, the other part of Roman 'Cornwall'.
Overall there are still many more coins to go and much for me to do and consider, but these trends discussed are notable and give one something to think about. Most importantly, they seem to demonstrate that Cornwall was heavily involved with and affected by the Empire and seemingly indicate the importance Cornwall's natural resources had on the local economies.
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