Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Roman Coins| ▸ |Roman Mints| ▸ |Clausentum||View Options: | | | Clausentum (Bitterne, U.K. - 50°55'N, 1°21'W) was a port city founded about 70 AD on a promontory in the Itchen River at the head of the Southampton Water. The British usurper Carausius opened a mint there in 287 which continued operation under his successor, Allectus, until Constantius I regained the island in 296. About 370 Count Theodosius, the father of Theodosius I, was given the task of restoring order in Britain, which had fallen into chaos in 367 as a result of several simultaneous revolts probably invited by the weakness of the Roman garrison. The western Roman army had not fully recovered from the slaughter incurred at the Battle of Mursa in Gaul in 351 (54,000 Roman soldiers died in that battle). The city was considerably enlarged when the garrison at Portus Adurni (Portchester, England) was transferred to Clausentum and a naval base was added to the harbor facilities. Nothing remains standing from the Roman city except a fragment of a wall.Clausentum hosted a mint under the British Roman emperors Carausius and Allectus. Dates of operation: 287 - 296 A.D. Mintmarks: C, CL. |