Vindolanda - Treasure Trove of Northumbria
If you are interested in exploring the rich heritage of Roman Britain, you really must visit Vindolanda, a former military fort and settlement near Hadrian’s Wall. Vindolanda is not only a stunning archaeological site, but also a top class museum that displays some of the most remarkable finds from the Roman period, including the famous Vindolanda Writing Tablets. What I love about Vindolanda is that it never feels done - regular digs keep unveiling new treasures, and the Trust who run the site are constantly refreshing their interpretation. It’s a place I hold very dear, and have been visiting since attending as a child, both with school and with my parents. In fact, I credit these formative visits with creating a life long fascination with Roman and Iron Age Britain.
Vindolanda, under a moody Northumberland sky
Photo © Jeff Buck (cc-by-sa/2.0)
Vindolanda was founded around AD 85, a generation before the construction of Hadrian’s Wall, as a key outpost on the northern frontier of the Roman Empire. It was occupied by various units of the Roman army and their families, as well as civilians, traders and slaves, for a mind boggling 400 years. The site underwent several phases of demolition and reconstruction, reflecting the changing needs and circumstances of the frontier community.
Vindolanda was finally abandoned in the 9th century, but its legacy continued in the form of a number of Romano-British churches that were built on the site. The site was rediscovered in the 18th century and has been excavated since the 1930s by the Vindolanda Trust, a charitable organisation that aims to preserve and promote the site and its collection, with the Birley family spearheading the ongoing work.
So why is it so important? Well, because it offers a unique, detailed insight into the daily life of the people who lived and worked on the frontier. The site has yielded a vast and varied collection of artefacts, ranging from weapons and armour to jewellery and tools, from pottery and coins to textiles and leather. It takes us back 2,000 years in a way that few ruined sites can do.
The Vicus at Vindolanda
@tweedvalleyblogger
The biggest reason for that bold claim is the most extraordinary discovery at Vindolanda - a collection of wooden writing tablets, which are the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain. These thin slivers of wood, covered in ink writing, were used for various purposes, such as letters, reports, orders, accounts and invitations. They reveal the personal and professional details of the people at Vindolanda, such as their names, ranks, occupations, relationships, hobbies, opinions and emotions - it’s incredible to hear the words of these long dead people talking about shopping, birthdays and friendship as well as the expected military and supply commands. They also show the diversity and complexity of the frontier society, which included people from different regions, cultures and languages of the Roman Empire - Vindolanda was a cultural melting pot of nations.
The writing tablets are so well-preserved because they were buried in the oxygen-free layers of the site, along with other organic materials, such as wood, leather, cloth and plant remains. These materials normally decay in the ground, but at Vindolanda they have survived for nearly 2,000 years, thanks to the wet and anaerobic conditions. This makes Vindolanda a rare and valuable source of information for archaeologists, historians and linguists, as well as for the general public like you or I.
The Chesterholm Museum, Vindolanda
Photo © Jeff Buck (cc-by-sa/2.0)
Vindolanda is open to visitors throughout the year, and you can book your tickets online or at the site. You can explore the outdoor site, which includes the remains of the fort, the settlement (Vicus), the bathhouse and the temples, as well as the ongoing excavations that take place every year. You can also visit the superb indoor museum, which displays some of the most impressive and interesting artefacts from the site, including the writing tablets, in a state of the art exhibition. In here you will learn more about the history and archaeology of Vindolanda through interactive displays, audio-visual presentations and guided tours with some often incredibly humorous and always hugely enthusiastic volunteers. The latest finds are often displayed, with a particularly filthy bit of iron age graffiti being (discretely) showcased on my recent visit!
Vindolanda is located near the village of Bardon Mill, in Southern Northumberland. You can find more information about how to get there, what to expect and what to do on the Vindolanda Trust website. In August 2023 I took my first tour to Vindolanda & Hadrian’s Wall, and it was a highlight of the first year of TVB Tours, with welcome return visits also taking place in 2024. If you want to see the place in style, and with a knowledgeable and friendly guide at hand then please get in touch and book your tour today.
Vindolanda is a fascinating and rewarding place to visit, whether you are a fan of Roman history, a curious explorer or just in love with the wild landscape of Northumberland. It is a place where you can immerse yourself in the past, connect with the people who lived there and discover the secrets they left behind.
Vindolanda is a place where history comes alive.
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