Postgraduate research
Contextualising Roman coinage from Camulodunum: an exploration of economy and identity in Britannia’s first capital
Qualification: PhD
Department: Archaeology and Ancient History
Application deadline: 30 May 2025
Start date: 1 October 2025
Overview
The University of Leicester and Colchester+Ipswich Museums Service are pleased to announce a fully-funded Collaborative Doctoral Studentship, from October 2025, under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme.
Supervisors:
- Dr Philippa Walton (University of Leicester)
- Glynn Davis (Colchester Museums)
- Professor Sarah Scott (University of Leicester)
- Dr Adrian Popescu (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge)
This project will be jointly supervised by Dr Philippa Walton (Lecturer in Roman Archaeology, University of Leicester) and Glynn Davis (Senior Curator, Colchester Museums). The student will undertake primary research at Colchester Museums’ Resource Centre, where the student will be part of the curatorial team. They will also become part of the wider cohort of CDP-funded students across the UK.
Project:
An important Iron Age centre, then a Roman military installation and subsequently a major town, Camulodunum was integral to the foundation and development of the Roman province of Britannia. Yet despite its significance, much of its material culture remains understudied. Thousands of coins (the most ubiquitous of Roman artefacts) have been recovered from the town and its hinterland, but they have never been analysed in any detail. This Collaborative Doctoral Partnership project will address this issue by exploring the function and use of coinage in Roman Colchester for the very first time. Using the 9,749 coins held by Colchester Museums in its core collection, alongside Portable Antiquities Scheme data, published site reports and commercial archaeological ‘grey literature’, it will ask what numismatic data can reveal about the identity and workings of Camulodunum as an early and emergent Roman provincial hub.
Interrelated research questions that will drive the project include:
- How might close study of the corpus of coinage from Camulodunum transform our understanding of the settlement’s function, economy and identity over 400 years of Roman rule?
- What does coinage from Camulodunum reveal about the ways in which different communities used and engaged with coinage there throughout the Roman period?
- How can an innovative analysis of coinage from Camulodunum contribute to broader understanding of coin use and identity throughout Roman Britain?
- How can the findings of this project influence the presentation of Colchester’s Roman coin collection to the public and enhance its relevance to those living in or visiting Colchester today?
The project will make innovative use of decolonial identity theory to explore engagement with coinage by a variety of users. It will reject the outdated application of the ‘Romanisation paradigm’, which persists in the field of Roman numismatics. Instead, it will apply the work of academics who have critically reassessed ‘colonial archaeologies’ in the Roman province of Britannia. The project will focus on comparing and contrasting experience amongst diverse communities both inside and outside the ancient city. Collaborating with the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, it will also explore resonances of money with some of Colchester’s modern inhabitants, through participatory practice.
- Start date: 1 October 2025
- Application Deadline: Friday 30 May 2025
- Information event at Colchester Castle: Friday 25 April 2025, 2.00pm-4.00pm
- Interviews will take place online week beginning Monday 3 June 2025
To apply. See sections below and the link to the online application.
Funding
Funding
AHRC Collections & Communities in the East of England Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) Studentship will provide:
- 4 years UK tuition fees#
- 4 years stipend at UKRI rates*.
#International students are welcome to apply but must be able to demonstrate they can fund the difference between UK and Overseas themselves for the duration of study. For 2025/6 the annual fee difference will be £12,554 and will be required to reside in the UK until completion of the PhD.
*The award pays full maintenance for all students both home and international students.
The UKRI National Minimum Doctoral Stipend for 2025/2026 is £20,780. This stipend is tax free, and is the equivalent of an annual salary, enabling the student to pay living costs.
The successful candidate will also have access to a Research Training and Support Grant (RTSG) of £750 per year. This can be used to support study visits, conference attendance, training and development opportunities which are necessary for the student’s primary research.
In addition, the award provides a CDP maintenance payment of £600 per year supporting any additional costs students incur whilst undertaking a collaborative award.
Further details can be found on the UKRI website.
The successful candidate is eligible to receive an additional travel and related expenses grant during the course of the project courtesy of Colchester + Ipswich Museums Service worth up to £2,000 per year for 4 years.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
Applicants are required to hold a UK Bachelor Degree 2:1 or better in a relevant subject or overseas equivalent.
Applicants should also ideally have or expect to receive a relevant Masters-level qualification, or be able to demonstrate equivalent experience in a professional setting. Suitable disciplines are flexible, but might include Archaeology, Anthropology, Art History, History, or Conservation Science, Environmental Social Science, Human Geography, Museology or Museum Studies, Curation, Oral History, or Heritage Management.
We are looking for applicants with passion, dedication and enthusiasm for the topic of the studentship, and potential and enthusiasm for developing skills in any of the areas of museums, archives, oral history, heritage sector, and/or environmental transition and sustainability.
Informal enquiries
Informal enquiries
Applicants are encouraged to contact the supervisory team with informal enquiries about the studentship:
Dr Philippa Walton, Lecturer in Roman Archaeology, School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester: pjw48@leicester.ac.uk
Glynn Davis, Senior Collections & Learning Curator, Colchester Museums: glynn.davis@colchester.gov.uk
General application enquiries to PGR Admissions pgrapply@leicester.ac.uk
How to apply
How to apply
To submit your application, please use the Apply button at the bottom of the page and select September 2025 from the dropdown menu.
With your application, please include:
- CV
- Your personal statement explaining your suitability for the project. We recommend uploading this as a Word or pdf file, but you can also type it directly on the form
- A 2 page proposal (A4 at 11 point) detailing how you would approach the project and address the research questions.
- Degree Certificates and Transcripts of study already completed and if possible transcript to date of study currently being undertaken
- Evidence of English language proficiency (if applicable)
- In the reference section please enter the contact details of your two academic referees in the boxes provided or upload letters of reference if already available (project supervisors cannot act as referees)
- In the funding section, please specify Dr Walton AHRC
- In the research proposal section, please provide the name of the project supervisor and project title in the space provided.
Notes
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview with the supervisory team, one representative from the Doctoral School and one from the Collections and Communities in the East of England Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Consortium. Interviews are expected to take place online week beginning Monday 3 June .
Interview questions will be shared in advance with shortlisted candidates.
Once an offer has been accepted, the successful student will be required to undergo a basic disclosure (criminal records check) check and a security check.
Eligibility
Eligibility
This studentship is open to both Home and International applicants. To be classed as a home student, candidates must meet the following criteria:
- Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements)
- or Have settled status
- Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements)
- or Have indefinite leave to remain or enter
*for applicants holding EU settled and pre-settled status we will require a share code so that we can verify your status (the share code we require starts with S) please email your share code together with your application ID to pgrapply@le.ac.uk once you have submitted your PhD application.
Questions regarding fee status should be directed to pgrapply@le.ac.uk
