Le Câtillon Hoard

Fifty years ago a hoard of over 2,500 Celtic coins representingtribes in Armorica and Gaul, as well as southern Britain,unearthed on farmland at Le Câtillon, Grouville, became one ofJersey’s most important archaeological finds.The Le Câtillon Hoard was discovered on 22 January 1957 by

17-year old Peter Langlois while he was removing a boulder thathad clipped his plough in a field in Grouville. The hoard consist-ed of over 2,500 coins and pieces of jewellery dating from theLate Iron Age (1st century BC).The coins are of Armorican (modern-day Brittany and

Normandy), Belgic and British origin, the majority being from theCoriosolitae tribe, who were based around Rance in the area ofmodern-day St Malo and Dinan. Other Gallic tribes were also rep-resented, including the Osismii, Aulerci Cenomani, Abrincatui,Baiocasses and Redones, along with British tribes such as theDurotriges of Dorset.Such a variety and geographical range of coins provides us with

striking evidence of expanding trade networks between France andEngland at this time. The Channel Islands would have been con-venient stopping places for ships along the route from Alet (StMalo) to Hengisbury (Dorset). This was a much-used trade routealong which Mediterranean commodities such as wine werebrought to the north in return for metals, corn, slaves and huntingdogs. The Channel Islands would certainly have benefited fromthis trade and enjoyed a share of some of the luxuries.Few Iron Age sites have been discovered in Jersey, but we

know that at this time the armies of Julius Caesar were advancingnorth-westwards through France, driving the tribal communitiestowards the coast. Some of them would have crossed the sea toJersey, making it an offshore haven for refugees from Caesar’scampaigns. The only safe way to store their wealth was to buryit in a secret place. If the owner died before recovering it, or if thelandmark marking its position was destroyed, hoards like the LeCâtillon would have remained hidden, only to be discoveredmany centuries later.The coins were hand-minted and would have required a con-

siderable degree of technical and artistic skill to produce. A blankmetal disc was placed on a concave obverse (front) die and struckwith the convex reverse die. The die tended to be much biggerthan the area of the blank, so that often only a part of the designshows on the resulting coin.

Olga Finch relates how a slight mishap while a ploughman was working

in a Grouville field 50 years ago led to the discovery of one of the

Island’s most important archaeological treasures.

2

Billon quarter staters of the Coriosolites tribe Billon staters of the XN Series

The designs of most Celtic coinswere derived from the Greek coinageof Philip II of Macedon, the father ofAlexander the Great. These showedthe head of Apollo on one side and ahorse, chariot and a rider on the other,and are believed to have reached Gaulas payment for mercenaries. The coinsin the Le Câtillon Hoard bear abstractversions of these and exhibit a highexpression of the Celtic art of the time.The most common symbols on thecoins are the head, the horse (oftendepicted with a human head), theboar, the lyre (a stringed musicalinstrument associated with Apollo, theGreek god of music), the hampe, a ver-tical pole with a ring or torc at the top,a ‘banner’ symbol or vexillum (warstandard) extending on a leash to thefront of the horse, the chariot wheel,the sun and stars. All these symbolsoccupy prominent positions in Celticiconography.The hoard also contained pieces of

jewellery, including fragments of a goldtorque or arm-ring, silver and bronzefibulae (a brooch like a safety pin), oneof which may have been an importfrom northern Italy or the Alpine area,a plaited silver chain and bronze rings,possibly from a belt.The Le Câtillon Hoard is not only a

major discovery for Jersey, but isexceptionally important in terms ofEuropean prehistory. The presence ofabout 20 coins minted by tribes fromthe south coast of England is unique inJersey or French hoards and has madeit possible for leading European Celticcoin experts to date the earliest Britishcoins.Unfortunately, after its discovery in

1957 the hoard was dispersed andmost of it was sold on the internation-al coin market. Over the years, howev-er, the Société Jersiaise has managed toacquire parts of it, which are currentlyon display at La Hougue Bie Museum.

CoriosolitaeOf the estimated 2,500 coins in the

hoard, 2,279 were a type known as astater, made from billon (an alloy of silverwith a base metal). There were also 43quarter-staters. These were produced bythe Coriosolitae tribe. Apart from the sev-eral hoards found in Jersey, the distribu-tion of Coriosolite coins tends to be con-centrated around the gulf of St Malo, andcontinues further north through modern-day Normandy. This pattern has tradi-tionally been interpreted as reflecting theretreat of the Coriosolitae after the defeatof the Armorican tribes by Caesar.Coriosolite coinage can be divided into

six classes, all closely related in style, withthe head distinguished by elaborate hair-styles (rolls and curls) and differing facialfeatures on the obverse. The reverse fea-tures a horse with either a boar or lyremotif beneath. The earlier coins featureda hampe above the horse, replaced in latercoins by a vexillum in front of the horse’shead on pearled cords, leading back to thecharioteer.

The Armorican Coins In addition to the tribes listed below, theLe Câtillon Hoard also contained coins from the Redones, Unelli, Veneti,Ambiani, Bituriges Cubi, Aedui and Volcae Arecomici.

XN SeriesThese billon (base silver) coins were tra-

ditionally linked to the Abrincatui tribe,who lived in the Avranches region, but theyare also referred to as the XN series. Theirdistribution is limited to occasional singlefinds in Brittany as well as the Jersey coinhoards, including 53 staters and nine quar-ter-staters in the Le Câtillon Hoard. Theyare known to some collectors as the ‘JerseyMoon stater’, as the Island has been thesource of the majority of these coins.The obverse is characterised by a head

in a distinct half-moon shape, and the fourdifferent classes of coin are differentiated byhairstyle and the triple-circle tattoo on thecheek. The reverse shows little variation, ahuman-headed horse, beneath which is avertical lyre and usually two circles or stars.Above the horse is a hampe similar to thatof the early Coriosolite coins and on somea boar standard in front.

obverse = headsreverse = tails

Gold quarter stater of the Osismii ‘Winged figure type’ A silver stater of the Osismii ‘Boar type’ Stater of the Osismii ‘wheel type’.

OsismiiThe Osismii tribe inhabited the

Finistère area of western Brittany and pro-duced an abundance of different types ofcoinage in the 1st century BC.‘Winged figure type’The obverse has a typically stylised

head to the right surrounded by beadedcordons, ending in small heads. The hairis formed of large horizontal rolls with across above. The reverse has a human-headed horse with a circle or beaded four-spoked wheel above the saddle. Below thehorse is a winged figure holding a torqueor closed ring.

‘Wheel type’Originally attributed to the Redones

tribe, who lived in the region around mod-ern-day Rennes, its attribution remainsuncertain, as only four of this type of coinhave been recorded.The obverse of this silver alloy coin

shows a stylised human head facing leftwith a small head hanging in front onpearled cords and fancy scrollwork comingfrom the mouth. The reverse has a human-headed horse facing left with plume andlarge 8-spoked wheel below.

‘Boar type’The obverse of this coin shows a

stylised head facing right with a boar in thehair. There are small human heads onpearled cords in front of the boar and infront and behind the main head. Behindthe cheek is a plain triangle. The reversehas a human-headed horse galloping, witha boar standard below and a small humanhead on a pearled cord (the whip) in frontof the horse.

Aulerci CenomaniThe Aulerci were a large tribe living

between the lower Seine and lower Loire.They were divided into three sub-groupscalled Aulerci-Cenomani, Aulerci-Diablintes and Aulerci-Eburovices. TheAulerci-Cenomani lived in the Sarthearound Le Mans.These gold coins are among the oldest

in the hoard, dating from the late 2nd orearly 1st century BC.In this example the coin is struck off-

centre, with some of the features of theface lost at the edge of the coin. Theobverse shows the head facing right, alarge eye and earring of two L-shapes backto back. The reverse shows a winged, gal-loping, human-headed horse, with awheel behind. The charioteer and vexil-lum are partly visible above. Beneath thehorse is a figure holding a curved sword orstick in the left hand.

BaiocassesThe Baiocasses lived in the Calvados

area of Northern Normandy around themodern-day town of Bayeux.The obverse of this beautifully clear

and well-struck coin shows a head facingright with hair of stylised locks. Above thehead is a boar surrounded by beaded cor-dons. The reverse depicts a gallopinghuman-headed horse facing right, drivenby a stylised figure holding a long rein,which ends in a vexillum, and a boarbelow the horse.

Gallo-BelgicAn influential coin imported in large

numbers into Britain. This particular coinwas made with a die linked to coins foundin Dover, Whitstable (Kent) and Digeon(Somme).These coins were the direct precursors

of the English quarter staters.The design of the obverse has been

interpreted as a boat with two or threeoccupants and the reverse as a tree.

Gold stater of the Aulerci Cenomani,late second or early first century BC

Gold stater of the Baiocasses tribe

Gallo-Belgic D quarter stater

DurotrigesThe hoard included six staters and six

quarter-staters of the Durotriges, a confed-eracy of sea-faring peoples who occupiedthe area of modern day Dorset, Somersetand Wiltshire. The Durotriges controlledtwo important harbours at Poole andChristchurch and traded with Armorica.The obverse of these coins shows a

stylised and abstracted head, broken intocomponent shapes with the laurel wreathpattern the most recognisable part. Facialfeatures are represented by small half-moonshapes. The reverse features an equallyabstract/disjointed horse consisting ofblobs and pellet shapes.

HampshireApart from the three in the Câtillon

Hoard, the distribution of this coin is lim-ited to the Solent area of Hampshire.The obverse ultimately derives from a

stylised helmeted head of Pallas Athena,but by the time this is produced it is notmuch more than a pattern. The reversedepicts a horse with a ring below.The Hampshire Thin Flan silver (c.50-

30BC), was possibly issued by migrantBelgae recorded as settling in this area byCaesar.

DurotrigesThis coin is heavily influenced by the

Gallo Belgic D quarter-stater in design,featuring what has been interpreted as aboat on the obverse and a tree on thereverse.

The British coins:Of the twelve Iron Age coin hoards found in Jersey, the Le Câtillon Hoard is the onlyone to include coins originating from the south coast of Britain.

Durotriges silver stater

Durotriges base gold quater-stater

Hampshire Thin Flan silver

Southern BritishThis Southern British silver unit, also

known as the Sussex lyre, was attributed tothe Regini and probably produced in theChichester area. Apart from this coin inthe Câtillon Hoard, their distribution islimited to West Sussex.The obverse is modelled on an issue of

the Aedui tribe from central Gaul, C50-30BC. It shows the head facing right withlarge curls of hair and a large nose. Thereverse has a horse facing right with a longcurly tail, a wheel above and lyre below.

Wiltshire/DorsetAlso called the British ‘B’ stater, this

coin is struck from the same die as a coinfound in a hoard at Chute, Wiltshire, in1927 that gave the coin its modern name.It is traditionally attributed to theDurotriges.The obverse of the coin shows a

stylised and abstracted head, broken intocomponent shapes with the laurel wreathpattern the most recognisable part. Facialfeatures are represented by small half-moon shapes. The reverse features anequally abstract/disjointed horse consist-ing of blobs and pellet shapes.

I am indebted to Dr Philip de Jersey andPeter Roberts for their excellent research inthe preparation of this article.To mark the anniversary, the Jersey

Heritage Trust has planned a programme ofevents throughout the year, including anexpanded and updated display of thehoard, a talk by Celtic coin expert Dr Philipde Jersey, a project with Grouville Schooland a ‘Money, Money, Money’ Flash Day.

Olga Finch is the Curator of Archaeology atJersey HeritageTel: 01534 859857E-mail: Olga.Finch@jerseyheritage.org

Sussex Lyre Chute type stater, gold