- The Catuvellauni were a powerful British Tribe with their capital at St. Albans.
- Their Armies opposed the invasions of both Julius Caesar in 54 BCE and Claudius in 43 CE.
The Kings of the Catuvellauni
- Cassivellaunus
- Opposed Julius Caesar with an army of 4,000 chariots, during his Second Invasion of Britannia (54 BCE) Cassivellaunus was eventually defeated, and gave Caesar Hostages and agreed to allow Mandubracious to return as King of the Trinovantes.
- This was after having exiled him earlier. However, the Catuvellauni did not join the Roman Client Kingdoms in Britannia until later under Cunobelin.
- Tasciovanus
- King of the Catuvellauni minted coins in the Capital St. Albans c. 20 BCE and also minted coins, 15-20 BCE in occupied Camulodunum, capital of the Trinovantes.
- Cunobelin (or Cunobelinus), son of Tasciovanus
- He is the legendary Cymbeline, in William Shakespeares’ Play ‘Cymbeline’.
- He was probably educated in Rome under Augustus, and possibly the Catuvellauni became a Roman Client Kingdom when he returned to Britain.
- c. 9 CE, he became King of the Catuvellauni and the Trinovantes, and he minted coins in the Catuvellauni Capital of St. Albans and in Trinovantes Capital, Camulodunum Colchester.
- Cunobelinus died before the Roman invasion of 43 CE.
- Caratacus, was the son of Cunobelin, according to Dio Cassius.
- Along with Togodumnus, his brother, Caratacus commanded the armies opposing the four Roman Legions during the Roman Conquest of Britannia in 43 CE. Caratacus was taken back to Rome as a prisoner.
Coins of the Catuvellauni
- Braughing and Puckeridge are the largest Iron Age mint sites to be found in Europe.
- The villages are located approximately 25 miles (40km) from the capital of the Catuvellauni at St. Albans.
- Large quantities of fragments of baked clay tray moulds for casting the coin pellets have been found in both villages. The clay moulds were only used once as they had to be broken to extract the baked metal pellets.
- The rectangular tray moulds produced either 25 pellets or 50 pellets. These would then be hammered flat and struck with a pair of engraved dies.
- Prior to the Roman Conquest of Britannia in 43 CE, the celtic coins carried no date, and can only be dated if the king is known, such as Cunobelin.
- Many coins of Tasciovanos, king of the Catuvellauni in c.20 BCE, have been found in the Braughing and Puckeridge area.
- Later coins of the Catuvellauni are inscribed either with VER (meaning Verulamium or St. Albans) or CAMV (meaning Camulodunon or Colchester).
St. Albans Roman Walls