Hadrian's Wall - Vindolanda Fort

Last time we visited Hadrian's Wall, which was way back in 1999 or 2000, we visited the forts at Corbridge and Chesters.  This time we stayed further to the west, and visited Vindolanda.

The cynical anti-Romanist in me would say that 'You've seen one Roman fort, you've seen 'em all,' which is true to a certain extent, because they're invariably laid out on a repetitive plan, with the principia, or Headquarter's building, at the heart of the complex, and the commander's house nearby.  Granaries and barrack blocks are arranged around these, the whole set-up enclosed within a playing-card shaped ditch and rampart which is easily recognised on aerial photographs.

But every monument has its own individual identity - even when the Romans are involved!- and Vindolanda is no exception.  On the surface, it looks pretty standard.  Rank upon rank of wall footings, representing a Roman fort and an external settlement populated by a bunch of long term 'camp followers' who have settled down outside the main fort complex.  This town would have housed service industries, and also the families of the soliders, marriage being illegal for all serving Roman soldiers (except the highest ranking officers):-

 

The structure in the foreground is a bath-house, identifiable as such by the stone pillars which represent the remains of the underfloor heating system or hypocaust, and it sits outside the actual fort complex.  It's slightly less well-preserved than the elaborate example from Pompeii that I featured previously!

Vindolanda is also home to some reconstructions, including two milecastles, one built of timber, and one of stone:-

 

The exposed footings you see on the site are the last of a succession of forts and temporary camps to have been built here, with archaeological excavations still taking place each summer season. The fort is of course famous for the wooden writing tablets that were recovered from a waterlogged part of the site - they lay at the base of a large pile of rubbish that was to be burnt when one of the units was leaving the fort and being transferred elsewhere.  The fire went out before the burning was complete, and so the tablets were preserved in waterlogged sediments.  Their translation has yielded insights into all sorts of Roman trivia ranging from birthday invites to complaints about the states of the roads. 

Even now, mysteries are being uncovered at Vindolanda.  The uninspiring picture below is actually extremely interesting from an archaeological perspective.  Beneath the regimented Roman walls are a series of circular structures which are of the right dimensions to represent native Romano-British Iron Age roundhouses:-
 

Instead of being sprawled out in a random chaotic fashion, they're laid out in neat serried ranks, and interpretations still vary as to what's going on.   Some have suggested that they're camps for enslaved locals (but why allow them to create such permanent structures?  If I were the camp commander, I'd shove 'em in tents and have done with it), while others argue that they represent refugee camps.  As usual in archaeology, the jury's still out.  What's certain is that Vindolanda Fort still has a lot to tell us in the future.

As for the finds...  I shall share some of these with you tomorrow!

Hadrian's Wall - Vindolanda Fort

Last time we visited Hadrian's Wall, which was way back in 1999 or 2000, we visited the forts at Corbridge and Chesters.  This time we stayed further to the west, and visited Vindolanda.

The cynical anti-Romanist in me would say that 'You've seen one Roman fort, you've seen 'em all,' which is true to a certain extent, because they're invariably laid out on a repetitive plan, with the principia, or Headquarter's building, at the heart of the complex, and the commander's house nearby.  Granaries and barrack blocks are arranged around these, the whole set-up enclosed within a playing-card shaped ditch and rampart which is easily recognised on aerial photographs.

But every monument has its own individual identity - even when the Romans are involved!- and Vindolanda is no exception.  On the surface, it looks pretty standard.  Rank upon rank of wall footings, representing a Roman fort and an external settlement populated by a bunch of long term 'camp followers' who have settled down outside the main fort complex.  This town would have housed service industries, and also the families of the soliders, marriage being illegal for all serving Roman soldiers (except the highest ranking officers):-

 

The structure in the foreground is a bath-house, identifiable as such by the stone pillars which represent the remains of the underfloor heating system or hypocaust, and it sits outside the actual fort complex.  It's slightly less well-preserved than the elaborate example from Pompeii that I featured previously!

Vindolanda is also home to some reconstructions, including two milecastles, one built of timber, and one of stone:-

 

The exposed footings you see on the site are the last of a succession of forts and temporary camps to have been built here, with archaeological excavations still taking place each summer season. The fort is of course famous for the wooden writing tablets that were recovered from a waterlogged part of the site - they lay at the base of a large pile of rubbish that was to be burnt when one of the units was leaving the fort and being transferred elsewhere.  The fire went out before the burning was complete, and so the tablets were preserved in waterlogged sediments.  Their translation has yielded insights into all sorts of Roman trivia ranging from birthday invites to complaints about the states of the roads. 

Even now, mysteries are being uncovered at Vindolanda.  The uninspiring picture below is actually extremely interesting from an archaeological perspective.  Beneath the regimented Roman walls are a series of circular structures which are of the right dimensions to represent native Romano-British Iron Age roundhouses:-
 

Instead of being sprawled out in a random chaotic fashion, they're laid out in neat serried ranks, and interpretations still vary as to what's going on.   Some have suggested that they're camps for enslaved locals (but why allow them to create such permanent structures?  If I were the camp commander, I'd shove 'em in tents and have done with it), while others argue that they represent refugee camps.  As usual in archaeology, the jury's still out.  What's certain is that Vindolanda Fort still has a lot to tell us in the future.

As for the finds...  I shall share some of these with you tomorrow!