The Dobunni

Before Roman Corinium

The Dobunni are associated with the region around modern Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds. Bagendon, north of Cirencester, was an important late Iron Age centre with evidence for coin production and wider connections. It provides a starting point before the development of the Roman town.

Read a coin carefully

A gold coin in Corinium Museum shows a horse design and an incomplete ruler’s name caused by a misaligned die. Such an object can open questions about making money, displaying authority and using written names. It does not reveal every owner’s identity or draw an exact boundary around the community that used it.

A changing centre

Corinium developed at a road and river crossing, initially with a Roman military presence. It later became a major civilian town called Corinium Dobunnorum, an administrative centre associated with the Dobunni. Public buildings, houses and mosaics show changes in wealth and urban life under Roman rule.

Beyond a single label

Coins, settlements and later civic names need to be compared rather than treated as one unchanged political system. Not every household’s response to Rome survives in the written record. The region’s history includes production, travel, farming and community life as well as rulers and armies.