Votadini

Origins

Ptolemy places the Votadini on the east coast between the Firth of Forth and the Tyne in the 2nd century. They descended from Iron Age communities of Lothian and the Borders, and their great hillfort at Traprain Law in East Lothian was a major centre from before the Roman arrival in the 80s.

Rule and society

Unlike neighbours such as the Selgovae, the Votadini show few signs of hostility to Rome, and many historians think they were a friendly buffer people beyond Hadrian's Wall. Roman goods reached Traprain Law in quantity, culminating in the Traprain Law Treasure, a hoard of cut Roman silver buried in the early 5th century, perhaps a payment or subsidy. Their economy rested on mixed farming.

Decline and legacy

After Roman rule ended, the Votadini developed into the Kingdom of Gododdin, centred on Din Eidyn, Edinburgh, whose warriors are celebrated in the Welsh poem Y Gododdin. Their name in its Welsh form, Guotodin, carried the people into the early medieval period.