The Lost Emperor

Roman History from Oxfordshire Mud

The incredible discovery in 2004 of a coin of an unknown Roman Emperor captured the public’s attention nationwide and rewrote history. Found inside a hoard in an Oxfordshire field, the coin confirmed the existence of an Emperor Domitianus in about AD 271. The coin and the hoard have recently been acquired by the Ashmolean. The coin is one of the most interesting Roman objects ever found in Britain.

The coin is now on display in The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. The Ashmolean is delighted to be able to put it on display for the public so close to where it was found.

The Emperor Domitianus. This coin was found in Oxfordshire in 2003.

The front page of The Times. The discovery of the coins captured the public's attention nationwide.

Domitianus

In the turmoil of the third-century crisis, power in the Roman Empire was fragmented. Domitianus briefly laid claim to what we call the Gallic Empire, which included modern France, the Rhineland, Britain, and initially Spain. He clearly gained control of a mint. This was the ancient equivalent of staging a coup and seizing the television station.

Domitianus’ bid for power is unlikely to have lasted more than a few days. The coin portrays the emperor wearing a radiate crown suggestive of the rays of the Sun. The inscription names him as the Emperor Caesar Domitianus, the Pious, the Fortunate, the Augustus. The other side of the coin depicts a standing figure of Concord, described as Concord of the Troops. The figure personifies the claim that the army is united behind Domitianus. Not for long, if at all, one suspects.

A map showing the extent of the Gallic Empire ruled by Domitianus: it covered Gaul, Britain, Spain and part of modern Germany.

A figure of Concord on the reverse of the coin. This figure is a personification of harmony and unity.

A certain Domitianus is mentioned in sources written centuries later as a high-ranking army officer punished for treason, but they do not state that he claimed to be emperor.

A second, identical, coin of Domitianus was said to have been found in a hoard in central France a hundred years ago, but had been rejected by some as a hoax. The new coin, with its unimpeachable context, dispels any doubt about authenticity.