2.17. ¶Of the Antiquities, or auncient Coines found in England. Cap. 17.

¶Of the Antiquities, or auncient Coines found in England. Cap. 17.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 3 HAuing take ſome occaſion to ſpeak here and there in thys treatize of Antiqui|ties, it ſhall not be amyſſe to deale yet more in this chapter, with ſome of them apart, & by themſelues, whereby the ſecure authori|rie of the Romaines ouer thys Iſland maye in ſome caſes more manifeſtly appéere. For ſuch was theyr poſſeſſion of this Iſlande on this ſide of the Tynethat they helde not one or two or a fewe places onely vnder there ſubiection, but all the whole countrey from the eaſt to weſt, from the Tyne to the Bri|tiſh Sea, ſo that there was no region voyd of theyr gouernaunce, notwythſtanding that vntil the death of Lucius & extinction of his iſſue, they did permit y^e ſucceſſors of Lud & Cimbaelyne to reigne & rule amongſt thẽ, though vnder a certeine tribute, as elſe where I haue declared. The chief cauſe that vrgeth me to ſpeake of Antiquities, is the paines that I haue taken to gather great numbers of them togither, entending if euer my Chronology ſhal happẽ to come abroad, to ſet downe the liuely protraitures of euery Emperour ingraued in the ſame: alſo the fa|ces of Pompey, Craſſus, the ſeauen kinges of the romaines, Cicero and diuers other which I haue prouided ready for the purpoſe, beſide the monuments & liuely Images of ſundrye Philoſophers, and Kinges of thys Iſlande, ſithens the time of Edwarde the confeſſor, whereof although preſently I want a fewe, yet I doe not doubt but to obtaine them all, if eyther friendeſhip or money ſhall be able to preuaile. But as it hath done hetherto, ſo the charges to be employed, vpon theſe bra|ſen or coper Images, will hereafter put by the impreſſion of my booke, whereby it maye come to paſſe, that long trauaile ſhall ſoone prooue to be ſpent in vaine, and much coſt come to very ſmall ſucceſſe, whereof yet I force not greatly, ſith by this meanes, I haue reaped ſome commoditie vnto my ſelfe, by ſearching of the hiſtories, which often my|niſter ſtore of examples, ready to be vſed as occaſion ſhall compell me. But to procéede with my purpoſe. Before the comming of the Romains, ther was a kind of copper money currant herein bryteine as Caeſar confeſſeth in y^e ſith booke of his comentaries, whervnto he addeth a report of certeine rings, of a pro|portionate weight, which they vſed in his time, in ſtéed likewiſe of money. But as he|therto it hath not béene my lucke to haue the certeine viewe of any of theſe, ſo after the cõ|ming of y^e Romaines, they inforced vs to a|bandon our owne and receiue ſuch imperiall coine, as for the payment of y^e Legions was daily brought ouer vnto vs. What coynes y^e romaines had it is eaſie to be knowne, & frõ time to time much of it is founde in manye places of this Iſlande, aſwell of Golde and Siluer, as of copper, braſſe, and other met|tall, much lyke ſtéele, almoſt of euery Empe|rour, ſo that I account it no rare thyng to haue of the Romaine coyne, albeit, that it ſtil repreſent an ymage of our captiuity, & maye be a good admonition for vs, to take heede howe we yéelde our ſelues to the regiment of ſtraungers. Of the ſtore of theſe monies, found vpon the Kentiſhe coaſt, I haue alrea|dy made mencion, in the deſcription of Rich|borowe, and chapiter of Iſles Adiacent vnto the Brittiſh Albion, and there ſhewed alſo howe ſimple fiſher men haue had plentye of them, and that the very conyes in makyng profers and holes to bréede in, haue ſcraped them out of the grounde in very great abun|dance. In ſpeaking alſo af S. Albanes, in the chapter of townes and villages, I haue not omitted to tell what plenty of theſe coynes haue béene gathered there, wherfore I ſhall not néede here to repeate the ſame againe: Howbeit this is certaine, that the moſt part of all theſe Antiquities, to be founde with in the lande, & diſtant from the ſhore, are to be gotten eyther in the ruines of auncient Ci|ties & Townes decayed, or in incloſed boro|wes, where their legions acuſtomed ſome|time to winter, as by experience is dailye confirmed. What ſtore hath béene ſéene of them in the citie of London, which they cal|led Auguſta, of the Legion that ſoiourned there, & likewiſe in Yorke named alſo Vic|trix, of the Legion, Victoria or (Altera Roma, becauſe of beautie and fine buylding of the ſame) I my ſelfe can partely witneſſe, that haue ſéene, and often had of them, if better teſtimony were wãting. The like I may af|firme of Colcheſter, where thoſe of Claudius Hadriane, Traiane, Veſpaſian and other, are EEBO page image 102 oftentymes plowed vp or founde, by other meanes: alſo of Cantorbury, Andreſcheſter, (now decayed) Rocheſter then called Duro|breuum, Wincheſter and diuers other be|yonde the Thames, which for breuities ſake I doe paſſe ouer in ſilence: onely the chiefe of all & where moſt are founde in deede is néere vnto Carleon & Cairgwent in Southwales, about Kencheſter, thrée myles aboue Here|forde, Aldborow, Ancaſter, Bramdon, Do|dington, Cirnecheſter, Bincheſter, Cama|let, Lacock vpõ Auon, Lincolne, Dorcheſter, Warwick, & Cheſter, where they are often had in verye great abundaunce. It ſéemeth that Ancaſter hath béen a great thing, for ma|ny ſquare & coloured pauemẽts, vaults, and arches are yet found, & of [...] layde open by ſuch as digge and plowe in the fieldes about the ſame, & amongſt theſe, one Vreſby or Roſe|by, a plowmã, did ere vp not lõg ſince a ſtone lyke a troughe couered wyth an other ſtone, wherein was great abundaunce of the afore|ſayde coynes: the lyke alſo was ſeene not yet fourtie yeare agone about Grantham: but in kyng Henryes the eyght hys dayes an huſ|bandman had far better lucke at Harieſtone, two miles from the aforeſaid place, where he founde not only great ſtore of this coyne, but alſo an huge braſſe pot, and therein a large helmet of pure golde, rychely fretted wyth pearle, & ſet with all kindes of coſtly ſtones: he tooke vppe alſo cheanes much lyke vnto beades of ſiluer, all which, as being (if a man might geſſe any certaintie by their beautie) not likely to be long hidden, he preſented to Quéene Catherine then lying at Peterbo|row, and therewithall a few auncient rowles of Parchment written long agone, though ſo defaced with mouldineſſe, and rotten for age, that no man coulde well holde them in hys hand without falling into péeces, much leſſe reade them by reaſon of their blindneſſe. In the beginning of the ſame kinges dayes alſo at Killey a man foũd as he eared, an arming girdle, harniſed wyth pure golde, & a great maſſy pomell with a croſſe hilt for a ſworde of the ſame mettalle, beſide ſtuddes and har|neſſe for ſpurres, and the huge long ſpurres alſo of lyke ſtuffe, wherof doctor Ruthall got part into his handes. The borowghes or bu|ries whereof, I ſpake before, were certaine plots of ground, wherein the Romaine ſoul|diours dyd vſe to lye when they kept in the open fieldes as choſen places, from whence they might haue eaſie acceſſe vnto their ad|uerſaries, yf any outrage were wrought or rebellion mooued againſt them. And as theſe were the vſuall abodes for thoſe able Legiõs that ſerued dayly in the warres, ſo had they other certaine habitations, for the olde an [...] forworne ſouldiours, whereby diuers cities grewe in time to be repleniſhed with Ro|maine colonie, as Cairleon, Colceſter, Che|ſter, and ſuch other, of which, Colceſter bare the name of Colonia long tyme, and wherin A Plautius builded a temple vnto the goddes of victorie (after the departure of Claudius) which Tacitus calleth Aram ſempiternae dominationis, a parpetuall monument of that our Brittiſh ſeruitude. But to returne vnto our borowes they were generally wal|led about wyth ſtone walles, and ſo large in cõpaſſe that ſome dyd contayne thirtie, four|tie, thrée ſcore, or eyghtie Acres of grounde within their limites: they had alſo diuers gates or portes vnto eache of them, and of theſe not a fewe remayne to be ſéene in our time, as one for example not far from great Cheſterforde in Eſſex, néere to the limites of Cambridgſhire, which I haue often viewed, and wherein the compaſſe of the very wall wyth the places where the gates ſtoode is eaſie to be diſcerned: the lyke alſo is to be ſéene within two miles ſouth of Burton, cal|led the borow hilles. In theſe therefore and ſuch lyke, is much of their coyne alſo to be founde, and ſome péeces or other are dayly taken vppe, which they call borowe pence, dwarfes mony, hegges pence, feiry groates, Iewes money, and by other fooliſhe names not woorthie to be remembred. At the com|ming of the Saxons the Britons vſed theſe holdes as reſcues for their cattell in the daye and night when their enemies were abrode, the lyke alſo dyd the Saxons agaynſt the Danes, by which occaſions (and nowe and then by carying of their ſtones to helpe for|warde other buyldings néere at hand) many of them were throwne downe and defaced, which otherwyſe myght haue continued for a longer time, and ſo your ſelues would ſay, yf you ſhoulde happen to pervſe the thicke|neſſe and maner of buylding of thoſe walles & borowes. It is not long ſince a ſiluer ſau|cer of verye auncient making, was founde néere to Saffron Walden, in the open field among the Stertbyry hilles, [...] and eared vp by a plough, but of ſuch maſſy greatneſſe, that it weighed better then twentie ounces, as I haue hearde reported, but yf I ſhoulde ſtand in theſe thinges vntill I had ſayde all that might be ſpoken of them, both by experience and teſtimonie of Lelande in his Commen|taries of Britayne, and the report of diuers yet liuing, I might make a greater chapter then woulde be eyther conuenient or profita|ble to the reader: wherefore theſe ſhall ſerue the turne for this time that I haue ſayde al|readie EEBO page image 93 of antiquities founde within our I|ſlande, eſpecially of coyne, whereof I pur|poſed chiefely to treate.