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Typical Roman glass bottles
© Colchester Museum
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The first shopkeepers: Commercial life in Roman Colchester |
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The local natives themselves were not averse to making a quick denarius off their new Roman neighbours. A smith called Cintusmus made bronze goods for the colony, and an industrial complex just west of the city was producing bulk items from bronze ingots, most likely for military 
Longinus gravestone in Colchester
© Colchester Museum |
consumption. The locals are also likely to have been engaged in the day-to-day supplying of the fortress and colony that succeeded it, if later evidence from Vindolanda near Hadrian’s Wall is anything to go by.
There, the letters of two locals named Octavius and Candidus show that they not only had the grain market sewn up, but were supplying the soldiers with animal hides, sinew and other leather goods, as well as locally grown vegetables like radishes.
Colchester must have had its own Del Boys and Rodneys, keen to exploit this new Roman market; but this was not without its dangers. As in Colchester, the soldiers at Vindolanda looked down on the civilians serving them, calling them Britunculi (Runty little Brits); and on at least one occasion a visiting merchant was beaten by a centurion who did not like his attitude.
However, the bad feeling engendered by the veterans did not deter the native British aristocracy from trying to cash in on the advantages of Roman rule. Roman policy was to encourage these upper classes to take part in Roman society and help govern their people. They were enrolled into the local magistracies, and in the case of Colchester, were inducted into the college of priests for the temple of Claudius. In order to pay for this, they were advanced loans by Rome’s ruling classes.
Words: Dr Mark Ibeji
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