Dobunni

The Dobunni were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Islands prior to the Roman invasion of Britain. The tribe lived in part of West Country and South West England, including the former Avon, north Somerset and Gloucestershire. Their capital acquired the Roman name of Corinium Dobunnorum, known today as Cirencester.

The Dobunni were a large group of farmers and craftsmen, living in small villages concentrated in fertile valleys. They were one of the few tribes known to issue coins before Roman arrival and the introduction and adoption of Roman currency. Unlike the Silures, their neighbours in south east Wales, they were not a warlike people and submitted to the Romans even before they reached their lands. Afterwards they readily adopted the Romano-British lifestyle.

Numismatic evidence suggests that the Dobunni kings subdivided their land between a north and south zone, sometimes becoming unified in a single ruler.

See also

List of Celtic tribes

External links

• Dobunni at Romans in Britain
• Dobunni at Roman-Britain.org
• Tom Moore and Richard Reece, Dobunni, Glevensis 34 (2001).