Vindolanda
Vindolanda is an archaeological site located in Northumberland, England, that served as a Roman fort and settlement in northern Britannia. Founded around AD 80 by Cnaeus Julius Agricola, it was part of a defense system and later abandoned when the garrison was relocated to Hadrian's Wall. The site was reoccupied and reconstructed under various emperors, notably during the reign of Constantius I Chlorus in the early 300s, which led to the fort's significant architectural developments. Vindolanda is particularly renowned for its well-preserved wooden writing tablets, which provide invaluable insights into daily life, military operations, and personal correspondence from the late first and early second centuries, a time for which there is a scarcity of literary evidence. Additionally, the site features remains of a civilian settlement, including an inn and a bathhouse, highlighting the area's importance as a hub for both military and civilian activities. The exceptional preservation of organic materials, such as leather artifacts like shoes and tools, further enriches our understanding of Roman life in this region. Vindolanda continues to be a site of significant historical and archaeological interest, drawing attention for its contributions to our understanding of Roman Britain.
Vindolanda
(Chesterholm)
A fort in northern Britannia (Northumberland, England). Founded by Cnaeus Julius Agricola as part of his (Stanegate) defence system cAD 80, Vindolanda was abandoned when the garrison was moved up to Hadrian's new Wall (122–26), but reoccupied under Antoninus Pius (c 163). During the reign of Septimius Severus (193–211) a new fort was laid out, facing south. This was completely rebuilt, in the reigns of Diocletian and Maximian, by their deputy (Caesar) Constantius I Chlorus (c 300)—who turned the stronghold around, so that it faced toward the north; and there were extensive repairs c 369. The garrison in the late first century may have been a part-mounted Dalmatian cohort, but in the third century it was furnished by a Gallic unit, which probably remained at Vindolanda for most of the fourth century as well.
The visible remains, covering three and a half acres, date from Constantius' reconstruction. In his principia (administrative headquarters) the tribunal and stone screens have been uncovered, as well as a pit for the storage of the military pay chests. During the late fourth century these principia were adapted to provide living accommodation and storehouses. In a substantial civilian settlement that grew up outside the walls of the fort, an inn for travellers (mansio) and a large bathing establishment have been uncovered; the baths were supplied with water by a stone conduit.
But the most important discoveries at Vindolanda are portions of wooden writing tablets found in 1973 on the pre-Hadrianic floor of a large wooden building, perhaps the praetorium (commander's residence). When photographed under infrared light, these pieces of wood revealed traces of writing. Some were thin slices inscribed with a quill or reed pen, dipped into a carbon-based ink; but most of the tablets were evidently thicker, and hollowed out to take a wax surface, on which the texts were written with iron stylus pens. The texts include both military documents—records of stores ordered or issued—and private correspondence, between the years 90 and 110: thus providing historical information about a place and period for which no literary evidence exists.
The soil conditions of Vindolanda have also enabled large quantities of leather to survive, including marching boots, sandals, women's slippers, whips, purses, hats and fragments of aprons, laces, the sides of tents, and horse harnesses—as well as the tools of the leather workers.