The Durotriges were more a tribal confederation than a tribe. They were one of the few groups that issued coinage before the Roman conquest. These coins were rather simple and had no inscriptions. They provide no useful evidence about monarchs or rulers. Nevertheless, the Durotriges presented an organized society, based in the farming of lands surrounded and controlled by strong hill forts that were still in use in 43 AD. Maiden Castle is a preserved example of one of these hill forts. Not surprisingly, the Durotriges resisted Roman invasion and the historian Suetonius records some fights between the tribe and the second legion Augusta, then commanded by Vespasian. By 70, the tribe was already Romanised and securely included in the Roman province of Britannia. In the tribe’s area, the Romans explored some quarries and had a pottery industry.
The Durotriges were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Islands prior to the Roman invasion of Britain.
Nevertheless, the Durotriges presented an organized society, based in the farming of lands surrounded and controlled by strong hill forts that were still in use in 43 AD.
Not surprisingly, the Durotriges resisted Roman invasion and the historian Suetonius records some fights between the tribe and the second legion Augusta, then commanded by Vespasian.
Honiton, Devon) - This town is mentioned in the Ravenna Cosmography, the Antonine Itinerary and the Peutinger Table, the latter two sources both place it 15 miles from Isca (Exeter), probably at Honiton, though apart from a probable Roman road junction, there is nothing to substantiate this.
It is unknown whether the town should be assigned to the Durotriges or their western neighbours, the Dumnonii.
The Durotriges were numbered among the few tribes of Celtic Britain which issued coinage, although unfortunately, none of the coins associated with the tribe bear inscriptions.
Feeds |
Contact