Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (158 page)

A school of archaeological thinking that combines a broad processual approach with the integration of cognitive and symbolic factors and the recognition that ideology is an active organizational force in any society.

 
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A unit of the Roman army. A legionary cohort usually consisted of 480 men, although the First Cohort was of double strength. Auxiliary cohorts were units 500 or 1000 strong which were either wholly infantry (
cohors peditata
) or consisted of both infantry and some mounted troops (
cohors equitata
).

 
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A type of ceramic vessel made using a technique whereby the pot is formed gradually by adding to a spiral of thin, sausage-like coils of clay, which are smoothed out afterwards to form the walls of the pot.

 
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A metal token, usually a disc, with specific weight and value, usually stamped with designs and inscriptions. The earliest known coins in the world were minted by the kingdom of
LYDIA
in the Near East in the 7th century
bc
. The coins, made of electrum, were simply pieces of metal of standardized weight stamped with designs and later inscriptions to identify the issuing authority. It is not exactly certain how they were initially used, but it was probably for high-level ceremonial exchange rather than everyday trade. After Cyrus the Great gained control of Lydia in the 6th century
bc
the
ACHAEMENID
Persians adopted a gold coinage that typically had a portrait of their king on one side and a punch mark on the other. The Greek cities of Asia Minor also copied the Lydian idea for coins in the 7th century, after which the idea spread widely throughout Greece. The first Roman coins were struck in the early 3rd century
bc
, initially in precious metals but by the later 3rd century in bronze as the
as
and the
denarius
in silver. The 4th-century
bc
staters of Phillip II and Alexander III of Macedon provided the prototypes for coins in Europe which developed their own sequence based on the use of
CELTIC ART
and local designs.
In the Far East, coinage developed in India in the 5th century
bc
through contacts with Persian/Achaemenid coinage by Mauryans and Kushans. In China shells and other small items were used as money down to the Zhou Dynasty and beyond, but from the 3rd century
bc
onwards round coins with a central square hole began to circulate.

 
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Small lightweight scales used by merchants for checking the weight of coins offered in exchange. This was important because the value of a coin was in part determined by its metal content. Because precious metals such as gold and silver were used in making coins in order to retain their value, a good trade could be made by clipping off small amounts of metal from many coins to produce forged coins or other items.

 
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The Roman city was established as the first
colonia
in Britain in ad 49. Situated beside the River Colne in southern Essex, the site has been investigated through many excavations by Mortimer Wheeler , Christopher Hakes , Philip Crummy , and others since the 1920s. It is now known that the site lies adjacent to and partly overlapping the extensive late Iron Age tribal
oppidum
of the
CATUVELLAUNI
, known as Camulodunum, who occupied the region down to the Roman conquest. A military fortress was built adjacent to Camulodunum in ad 44, probably occupied by the 20th Legion. In ad 49 the emperor Claudius visited the newly conquered province and established the town of Colonia Claudia Victricensis, with a colossal temple dedicated to him. The city was modelled on classical lines and was the embodiment of Roman colonial power in the newly annexed province. The town was extensively damaged during the Boudiccan revolts of ad 60, but was rebuilt. Walls were added in the 2nd century
ad
, one of the most impressive gates being the Balkerne gate on the west side of the town.
[Sum.: P. Crummy , 1997,
City of victory
. Colchester: Colchester Archaeological Trust]