Vindolanda
| Chesterholm Castle | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name | Vindolanda / Vindolana / Vindolande |
| limes | Britain |
| section |
Stanegate Hadrian's Wall (rear) |
| Dating (occupancy) |
a) Flavian, at the earliest around 80 AD to 97 AD. b) Nervous / Trajanic, 97 AD |
| Type | Equestrian and cohort fort |
| unit |
a / b / c) Cohors I Tungrorum milliaria a / b) Cohors IX Batavorum milliaria equitata |
| size |
H / E phase I: 1.4 ha, H / E phase III: 2.8 ha, H / E phase IV: 3.2 ha, stone phase IX: 1.4 ha |
| Construction |
a / b / c) wood-earth, d / e) stone |
| State of preservation | Square system with rounded corners, foundations of the stone fort and the vicus partially restored and preserved |
| place | Bardon Mill |
| Geographical location | 54 ° 59 '28.8 " N , 2 ° 21' 37" W |
| height | 165 m ASL |
| Previous | Newbrough forts (east) |
| Subsequently | Haltwhistle Burn small fort (west) |
| Upstream | Housesteads Fort (Hadrian's Wall) (northeast) |
| Diorama of the fort (3rd century) |
|---|
| Tina Madsen , 2014 |
| Vindolanda Museum Chesterholm
Link to the picture |
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Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary forces fort , near the village of Bardon Mill / Henshaw, district Chesterholm, County Northumberland , England.
The Romans advanced in the 1st century AD to what is now the border area between England and Scotland. This is where most of the troops were concentrated at the time of their rule over Britain. The securing of the border through a dense chain of forts such as Vindolanda and military roads such as the still visible so-called Stanegate began in the late 1st century after the Romans had given up part of their conquests in Scotland. The permanent presence of Roman soldiers since the early Trajan times could be unequivocally attested by archeology. The border region, which stretched across northern England from the mouth of the Tyne to the Solway Firth , was accessed by a well-developed military road known as Stanegate since the Middle Ages. It marked the first solid borderline in Roman Britain. The fort crew of Vindolanda was initially responsible for security and surveillance tasks at the border and later for the control of the hinterland of Hadrian's Wall . Located on the very edge of one of Rome's most remote provinces, the people of Vindolanda were heavily dependent on the use of local resources and their ingenuity. Today it is known that in Chesterholm there are the remains of nine successive Roman castles. Due to the practice at the time of leveling the area or covering it with a new layer of clay before starting a new building, thousands of ancient artifacts have been remarkably well preserved. The excavation site became popular across the region, primarily due to the numerous fragments of ancient writing boards that were recovered there. Outside the fortress there was a larger civil settlement with bath houses, temples and an adjoining burial ground. Vindolanda is one of the best-researched archaeological monuments in the United Kingdom because of its long occupation, the partially very well-preserved wall structure and the spectacular archaeological finds . Today you can see the large-scale excavated, late antique stone fort and the civil settlement, as well as a museum with a selected collection of finds and several building reconstructions on the exhibition grounds.
This article contains the description of the fort, civil settlement and the two watchtowers in neighboring Barcombe .
Surname
In 1914, while looking for a well, a worker found a sandstone altar 110 meters west of the fort, which had been dedicated to the ruling imperial family and the god Vulcanus by the former residents of the civil settlement ( vicani ) . Its inscription revealed the ancient name of the settlement. The altar probably dates from the years between 223 and 225. The place name also appears in one of the Vindolanda tablets . It can be derived from the Celtic . Vindo means white , but it can also be a person or field name. The probably Latinized form Vindolanda could thus be resolved as a white fortress, a white shimmering meadow or the house or courtyard of Vindo. The location is also mentioned in the two most important late antique written sources. In the Notitia Dignitatum (late 4th and early 5th centuries) it appears as Vindolana between Borcovicio (Housesteads) and Aesica (Great Chesters). In the cosmography of the geographer of Ravenna (7th century) it is found as Vindolanda , where it is mentioned between the entries for Camboglanna (Castlesteads) and Longovicium (Lanchester). It is referred to as "Chesters on Caudley", "Little Chesters" and "The Bower" in the records of the antiquarians who visited Chesterholm.
location
Vindolanda is in the north of England , on the border with Scotland , in the Pennines hills , in that part of the island where the distance between the coasts of the North Sea and the Irish Sea is the smallest. It stood about three kilometers south of Hadrian's Wall, on its most scenic section, the ridge of the Whin Sill, near Hexham and Haltwhistle , about 40 km from Luguvalium ( Carlisle ) in the west. The Roman fortress with its civilian settlements and burial grounds were located immediately south of Stanegate Street. The latter connected Corbridge in the east with Carlisle in the west on the Cumbrian coast. The fort stood in the trough valley of the South Tyne , on the eastern edge of a 154 × 93 meter large, slightly south-west sloping, 160-165 meter high plateau between the watercourses of the Doe Sike in the west and the Chainley Burn in the east. From there you had a good view of the densely forested Allen Valley and the low mountain range of the Pennines. To the east, visibility was somewhat restricted by Barcombe Hill and the Cod Law Ridge to the north. The latter mainly obscured the view of the Whin Sills ridge. This circumstance was probably of no great importance for the builders, since the fort was primarily intended to secure Stanegate Street. The terrain was otherwise flat enough and, above all, had sufficient water resources for a larger crew. Bradley and Brackies Burn initially unite below the plateau to form Chainley Burn, which in turn flows three kilometers away as Bardon Burn into the southern arm of the Tyne. The archaeological site is now accessible via the A69 (Carlisle-Newcastle dual carriageway). The closest ramparts were the Vercovicium (Housesteads) in the NE and Aesica (Great Chesters approx. 6 km in the NW) 3 km away . In the late 2nd century the region belonged to the province of Britannia inferior , from the 4th century to the province of Britannia secunda .
Road links
The roads laid out by the army in Northern Britain were vital for communication between garrisons and control of the newly conquered territory. The south of the British Isles, such as B. the commercial metropolis of Londinium and the canal ports can be reached in less than a week. Concrete witnesses for the connection of Vindolanda to the trunk road network are u. a. Imported dishes from Gaul and olive oil amphorae from Hispania . A text on the blackboard probably even refers to a trip to Rome. The shoe fashion in Vindolanda was also based on the contemporary styles that were also worn in the rest of the empire. Vindolanda was a stage on the Stanegate built by Agricola or one of his successors , which connects the Coriosopitum ( Corbridge ) supply base in the east with Luguvalium ( Carlisle ) in the west through the river valleys of the Tyne and Irthing , which cut through the Pennine hill country. The place was only about 24 kilometers from the main supply base of the wall garrisons, which was about a day's march. Despite the construction of the military road , which stretched closer to the wall, the Stanegate remained a heavily frequented route, as the former partly ran over difficult terrain that was impassable for ox carts. The name of the street comes from the Middle Ages , but its route was determined by Roman surveyors. In some places some of today's roads still follow his route, but a large part of the ancient route can only be recognized by means of dirt roads or borders. The Stanegate ran past the stone camp in Vindolanda immediately north, and a little further northeast it crossed the Bradley Burn. To the west it is marked by a sidewalk and by the access road to the archaeological park. Remnants of the ancient road surface are no longer visible on site. During the investigation of the north-west wall of the fort, it was also found that the previously assumed course of the Stanegate cannot be correct, as a defensive moat must have existed there at times. Supplementary aerial photo and magnetometer examinations therefore suggest that the route was about 50 meters further north of the fort. Road connections existed - via the Stanegate and its side streets - to Barcombe, to Fort Cilurnum (Chesters), to Crindledykes, to Fort Aesica (Great Chesters), to Grindon Hill, to the small fort Haltwhistle Burn ( Haltwhistle ), to Fort Magnis (Carvoran), to Newbrough , to Seatsides and almost certainly to the Wallkastell Vercovicium (Housesteads).
Milestones
Roman milestones were not only used to indicate the distance to the next stage. They should also emphasize the new installations and repairs ordered by the emperors or other honoraria . There is evidence that the governors in some of the provinces Hadrian visited had the roads restored to good condition a year or two before his arrival. The governor of Britain at this time was Quintus Pompeius Falco . Seven Roman milestones were discovered north of Stanegate about ¼ mile east of Crindledykes Farm in 1885. A copy is now in the Chesters Museum. According to its inscription, the distances on the eastern section of the Stanegate were measured from Corbridge. The replica of one of these stones was placed directly at the entrance to the show area, after the bridge over the Chainley Burn. The milestones that were set up along the Stanegate in the third and fourth centuries underline the ongoing importance of this strategically important east-west route for the Romans.
In 1725 the antiquarian John Horsley came across another intact milestone on Stanegate Street at Codley Gate, 120 meters northeast of the fort. It was 1.7 meters high, had a cylindrical shape and a rectangular base. The pages were only roughly smoothed and showed no traces of writing. According to Robin Birley, they were worn down by cattle over time. It may have originally only had a painted inscription and marked the 16th mile from Coriosopitum (Corbridge). The base of a second Roman milestone is still on the north side of Stanegate on the edge of the modern access road to Chesterholm, about 130 meters from the road coming from Once Brewed, i.e. i. 1.5 km west of the fortress. Around 1815 it was split in two and reused as a goal post. According to Horsley, he wore an honorary title for the incumbent emperor, probably Hadrian , and probably a mention of the Tungrian cohort. The stone is one of the two specimens that indicated the 15th and 16th Roman miles west of Corbridge. The distance between the two milestones is slightly larger than the standard length, possibly the so-called Drusian foot was used as a measure. They are also remarkable because they are still in their original locations.
Digs
The ruins of Vindolanda have been known since the 16th century, but only a few areas of the pre-Hadrian camps of Vindolanda have ever been completely excavated or examined in more detail. Their design was certainly similar to the wood and earth castles of the early imperial era. On the basis of information from better researched camps, one could interpret the structures excavated in Vindolanda , but with the reservation that none of the fortifications were completely identical. Hypotheses made for this can therefore only be confirmed by future excavations. Since 1970 the Vindolanda Trust has therefore carried out an extensive archaeological research program, during which smaller excavations take place every year.
The excavations between 1930 and 1980 already showed that there were several successive wood, earth and stone fortresses in Vindolanda . Numerous remarkable antique utensils were also found. These include, above all, the Vindolanda tablets . Every season, up to 500 archeology enthusiasts from all over the world take part in the excavations. Professionals, students and amateurs take turns at one location every two weeks. Visitors to the excavation site can tour the excavation areas, chat with archaeologists and volunteers, and witness new discoveries. The excavations so far have provided an extraordinary insight into the daily life of the soldiers and civilians who lived in this remote border region. The archaeological work of Eric Birley's descendants , Robin, Anthony and Andrew, is also closely linked to Vindolanda . The family home now houses the Vindolanda Museum, which presents artifacts recovered there and information about the history of the fort. It is currently estimated that it will take another 150 years to complete the excavations in Vindolanda .
The stratigraphic and hydrological conditions on site are often extremely difficult for the excavation teams. The demolition and reconstruction of the buildings, which lasted over four centuries, has left a complex sequence of layers. The remains of the early wood-earth stores are in places up to six meters below the current layer of soil. The wall sections of the last construction phase limit the access to only small areas. The most important excavations of the pre-Hadrian fortresses took place, for example, in a narrow green strip between the western wall of Fort IX, which has not yet been excavated, and the buildings of Vicus II. The investigation of these deeper layers is therefore extremely laborious and the creation or interpretation of floor plans of the building structures discovered there is fraught with great uncertainty. Only a small part of the early forts that lie below the stone fort and the vicus have been excavated so far. You can only work in the summer months. The biggest problems here are the high groundwater level, fed by the frequent rains and numerous small springs that arise on the Vindolanda plateau. The differentiation of the construction phases has therefore always proven to be very difficult, since z. B. in the course of the planned demolition of the old buildings often their - still usable - wooden beams were removed and reused in the new construction. When the stone fort was built, the last remnants of the wood-earth camp were also severely disrupted or disrupted.
Research history
16. – 19. century
The oldest known evidence of Vindolanda comes from the antiquarian and historian William Camden (1551-1623), which he wrote down in his work Britannia (1586). Before the beginning of the 18th century, it was very dangerous to stay in this area without an armed escort, as it was a retreat for outlaws of all kinds (so-called border reivers ). During the next 200 years or so, scholars and travelers visited the area again and again. It was only when the former border region was opened up by mining in the course of the industrial revolution that archaeologists were able to move a little more safely there. However, a large number of people looking for work now also settled there. The eyewitness accounts of these early researchers are valuable historical documents, as they were able to study the ruins of Vindolanda before the massive stone robbery in the late 18th and early 19th centuries through land enclosure. Before 1702, the walls of Bath House II must have been almost completely preserved, as Christopher Hunter described the building as still partially roofed. He not only recorded his own observations, but also interviewed the local population. In 1716 the tax clerk John Warburton came across an altar stone of the goddess Fortuna which he had removed. It was donated by a centurion, Gaius Iulius Raeticus. John Horsley founded the systematic exploration of Vindolanda. In his work Britannia Romana he reported in 1732 a. a. from an inscription from Beltingham, which later turned out to be a building inscription from one of the castle gates. In 1765, John Wallis mentioned a temple building with richly decorated columns on the western edge of the vicus which was completely destroyed by stone cutters. He also reported from a burial ground in the hallway Archy's Flat. From 1814, the pastor Anthony Hedley had scientifically guided excavations carried out for the first time and the east gate of stone fort IX was exposed. Hedley also examined the remaining gates, the Praetorium, and the northeast corner. The fort walls were partially up to 4 meters high at that time. Hedley also built the Chesterholm manor house in 1831 in order to better monitor the excavations from there. He died in 1835 before he could write down his findings. With his death the first phase of the archaeological exploration of Vindolanda came to an end. In 1858, Henry McLauchlan drew up the first survey plan for the stone fort. Since it was not completely excavated at the time, he made it using the visible elevations in the ground. In 1864 John Clayton bought Chesterholm and had most of the inscription stones recovered there set up in the house. Until 1878 only minor investigations were carried out.
20th century
In 1929 the Chesterholm lands came into the possession of the archaeologist and offspring of a wealthy textile manufacturer, Eric Birley (1906-1995). In the 1930s he was commissioned by Durham University with extensive excavations. In the course of this, the surrounding walls and the staff building were exposed. From 1931 onwards, the first excavations were carried out on the grounds of the camp village. Due to the outbreak of war , these investigations had to be stopped again in 1939. Birley turned his property over to the Ministry of Works . The praetorium, three gates and individual sections of the fort wall were preserved and made accessible to visitors. Shortly after the end of the war, in 1946, Birley carried out new excavations in Chesterholm with the help of German prisoners of war. He had recruited her for this job because of her work in the British secret service and her archaeological training. Some of them later became active in this research field again in Germany and remained on friendly terms with their British colleagues throughout their lives. In the following decades only minor excavations were carried out (1959). In the late 1960s, archaeologists first examined the well-preserved remains of the stone fort and vicus from the 3rd and 4th centuries. Further research was carried out by the Durham University excavation committee from 1969 onwards. I.a. Drainage work was carried out on the vicus area, revealing the extensive remains of the civil settlement. Only when Chesterholm was transferred to the independent Vindolanda Trust, which was founded at the time, did this lead to a new upswing in archaeological exploration of the area. The foundation paved the way for the excavations, which were carried out regularly in the decades that followed, under the direction of archaeologists Robin and Andrew Birley, the two sons of Eric Birley. Bathhouse II was completely excavated between 1970 and 1971. However, it has not yet been possible to date it without a doubt. His area was also acquired by the Vindolanda Trust. 1985–1989 the southern part of the central sector and an area next to the Via Principalis of the expanded Fort II were examined. Since 1999, excavations lasting over six months have taken place in Vindolanda every year.
21st century
During excavations on the western edge of the extramural zone in the period 2004-2006 stone foundations from the second century were observed in the vicus . In 2008, the two warehouses were uncovered and preserved. Other large-scale campaigns began in 2016 and continue to this day. 2017 were u. a. Cavalry barracks discovered, which brought a wealth of new interesting finds to light. Anaerobic layers from the year 120 AD were exposed under the foundations of stone fort IX, i.e. from the time shortly before the construction of Hadrian's Wall. At that time the fort (phase IV) was occupied by two units, the Tungrian cohort and a division of Vardulli cavalrymen from northern Spain. Remains of wooden walls, floors, fences, animal bones and wooden objects could be recovered there. In one of the barracks there were also numerous militaria, leather shoes worn by men, women and children, as well as combs, hairpins and brooches. Other personal items included wooden writing boards and pens, knives, and two wooden toy swords. A special find was a riding sword ( Sparta ) that was still in its wooden scabbard. The pommel and handle were also still intact, only the tip of the blade was slightly bent. The second sword was discovered in an adjoining accommodation, but in this case only the blade remained. The two found objects were apparently still exactly where they had been deposited 2000 years ago. That they had been left behind could indicate that the crew had to leave the fort in a hurry. Among the rest of the militaria found there were spearheads and arrowheads and bolts for ballistae that were strewn all over the floor of the barracks. The excavation team also found perfectly preserved copper utensils for horse saddles. Another unique feature is a centurion's helmet bush, which has survived almost undamaged because it was made of moss fibers. Probably the first Roman fortification of Vindolanda was discovered only recently. It was located north of the fort, which is still visible today, and probably dates from the early 1970s AD. It could have been a temporary marching camp.
Find spectrum
The around 500,000 finds that have been recovered so far can be combined to form an extremely interesting overall picture of everyday life in the border garrison. The anaerobic, boggy and humid conditions in these culture layers have also preserved finds made of organic materials in earlier waste pits, which would normally have long since decomposed in the soil over such a long time. Every time the fort area was leveled after a demolition, an airtight layer of clay was created, which almost perfectly preserved everything buried under it, including the organic. These included textiles, leather goods, wooden objects and remnants of ancient flora and fauna. It is becoming increasingly clear that many of the northern European tribes were unfamiliar with the techniques of tanning before the Roman conquest. The skins were either treated with oils or fats or smoked and then processed further. Since none of these preservation methods produce durable and water-repellent leather, such leather artifacts are only preserved under exceptional environmental conditions such as extreme dryness, high salt content or in peat bogs, where a kind of secondary natural tanning process takes place. In contrast, tanning with plant extracts results in a chemically stable product that is resistant to bacterial infestation and survives centuries particularly well under moist, low-oxygen conditions. The residents of Vindolanda also had an idiosyncratic view of hygiene in their living rooms. Obviously fresh layers of bracken , straw and gorse were poured onto the floors from time to time without sweeping the garbage out of the houses. Over time, layers were laid on top of each other and compressed. As a result, mat-like conglomerates of rubbish and plant residues were sometimes up to 45 cm thick. When they were rescued, they were cut out like peat bricks and brought to the investigation in blocks of 2 to 3 meters in order to salvage the organic finds. In addition to a selection of finds presented in the Vindolanda Museum, the most important pieces of the older excavations are in the British Museum in London .
Human remains
In 2010, during excavations in the corner of a fort barrack from the middle of the 3rd century, a skeleton was discovered that was initially thought to be that of a canid . In 2012, however, research at the University of Durham under the direction of anthropologist Trudi Buck revealed that the find was the remains of an approximately nine to eleven-year-old child who lived in the period after 213 to the middle of the 3rd century Earth came. The garrison force at that time was the Cohors IV Gallorum . The analysis of the teeth revealed that it had grown up in the Mediterranean area . Until the child was seven or eight years old, it was either in southern Europe or in northern Africa . However, it could no longer be clarified whether the poorly preserved bones were those of a boy or a girl. In Roman times it was customary to bury or cremate the deceased in cemetery on the outskirts of the city. Hiding a corpse inside the camp raises suspicion of a deliberate criminal act. The forensic examination, which showed that the wrists were handcuffed as well as massive skull fractures , further corroborated the assumption that the child died violently and was then buried under the floor of the barracks. Or maybe it was an accident and an attempt was made to cover it up in this way. Whether it was a slave or a member of a soldier's family remains in the dark for lack of evidence. The Romans' keeping of child slaves is well documented, which may explain how it got from its original homeland to northern Britain. Upon completion of the forensic examination, the skeleton was given to the Vindolanda Museum.
One particularly gruesome find was an 1,800-year-old British-born skull that had apparently been impaled on a pole. The skullcap showed numerous signs of injury, caused by sword blows, which probably also led to the death of this man. The victim came from northwestern Britain, as determined by isotope analysis of his teeth. The traces of damage clearly show that the head was cut off and then placed on the stake. The taking and displaying of head trophies was common among Roman auxiliary soldiers.
Animal remains
A variety of animal bones, including ox skulls pierced with holes, were also uncovered during the excavations, suggesting that they were used by soldiers for target practice. Animals that left their traces on ceramic or brick fragments were from domestic dogs ( Canis familiaris ), more than 80% of these traces come from him, as well as from wild cats ( Felis sylvestris ), domestic pigs ( Sus scrofa ), sheep ( Ovis ammon ), Goats ( Capra hircus ) and cattle ( Bos taurus ). The complete skeleton of a dog was discovered in one of the storehouses of Fort IX. Two larger bone dumps are about 200 years apart. One was in the western moat of the stone fort, presumably the residents of the vicus had disposed of their leftovers there in the 4th century. The older landfill was mainly filled by the soldiers from the wood and earth forts.
leather
The Vindolanda Trust also has the largest collection of Roman leather artifacts, including 6,000 shoes of all sizes and styles, saddle covers, bags, buckets, purses, and an archer's thumb guards. The name of their producer was stamped on many of the shoes. One of them, Lucius Abucius Tales, son of Titus, made particularly exclusive and expensive footwear. Some of his sandals were only thrown away because the toe strap was torn, which would have been easy to fix. A sign of a certain prosperity among the upper classes, even in a remote place like Vindolanda . During the archaeological excavations, however, there were also clear indications of material recycling. Some remains of shoes show that pieces of leather have obviously been reused several times.
A particular archaeological stroke of luck was the discovery of three leather tents (tent I-III) from the 2nd century, which had been used by the common soldiers. Tent III was particularly well preserved. Old tarpaulins were often cut up and sometimes reused for repairs. The specimens from Vindolanda, along with a considerable number of other worn and damaged pieces of leather, had been thrown into a rubbish pit when Fort II was demolished. Tent III was obviously old and in very bad condition when it was deposited. It had been patched several times with pieces of leather and probably dates from the time of Fort II (90-100 AD). The tarpaulin was sewn together from around 50 square goatskin segments and weighed 45 kg. About 75 goat skins were required for a tent this size. This is much lighter than cowhide and was very suitable for making such tents. Smaller elements such as eaves flaps, reinforcement patches, tension cords and seam reinforcements were for the most part obtained from the cut remains. Bill Mayes noted that such a tent must have weighed about 8 kg more in the rain. The tarpaulin was stretched over a wooden frame when it was erected. Until now it was assumed that the Roman specimens were mainly supported with bars and held in shape by the tensioning ropes, which would have resulted in a rather low height of only 120 cm. After examining the find in Vindolanda, it became clear that the tent was 185 cm high above the frame with a roof pitch of 60 °. The wall height was 110 cm. The tension ropes were used to stabilize the leather over the support frame. Four leather segments were sewn together in an overlapping manner and served as a cover for the doorway. The leather fragments, some of which had already crumbled and were often incomplete, were cleaned and preserved in the laboratory of the Vindolanda Trust, so that they remained relatively supple and had only shrunk slightly. Torn and damaged segments were partially restored or supplemented, so the tent was almost completely restored.
textiles
The excavations also produced the largest collection of ancient textiles (mainly made of wool) from the military sites in the western provinces of the empire. Most of the fragments, however, are too small to recognize their former function. But they provided a lot of new information about the web technologies of that time. Apparently clothing was also produced in Vindolanda , Table 192 mentions a shipment of 38 pounds of wool. But clothing also formed a large part of the supplies. Very few textile finds were still complete when they were recovered, including a children's sock.
Wood
The structural remains of the pre-Hadrian camps, which elsewhere mostly consisted only of post impressions in the ground, were in many cases preserved in Vindolanda as almost complete structures and offered archaeologists the very rare opportunity to study Roman woodworking techniques. The woods also offered the possibility of their very precise dating by means of dendrochronology . Of the other wooden objects, wagon axles, pieces of furniture, tent pegs and combs deserve special mention. The writing board no. 51 contains the settlement of a material delivery ( materias ). It consisted mainly of wheel hubs, car axles, spokes, bed axles and seats. References to barrows can also be found in Plate 316, according to which they were requested for the transport of stone material. It seems that the soldiers in Vindolanda , a wagon- operated, that is, that there carrulis either repaired or have perhaps made.
Ceramics
A considerable amount of the pottery finds date from the third and fourth centuries. A special collection of 111 fragments was put together from these, on which tread seals of animals (see also above) can be seen. Some also have finger and hand prints, as well as prints from tools, nails, textiles, and pieces of wood.
metal
The metal finds consisted mainly of jewelry, bronzes and weapons. A particularly large number of weapons, spear and arrowheads, and slingshot came to light in the Vicus II. Presumably, the security situation had worsened massively in the 4th century. But also special tools like an iron awl to be able to pull the armor's straps tight, an iron knife with the blacksmith's name, Jovinus, stamped on it , and a capsule with sewing needles. A doctor's set discovered in Vindolanda consisted of tweezers , a silver probe for opening wounds, and a narrow bronze knife that was used for amputations . The trademark of the Vindolanda Trust was a horse statuette about eight centimeters high, represented in the so-called Spanish step . The bronze figure was found in 1971 under the floor of a house in Vicus I (corridor house). Due to the polygonal spout on its underside, it is assumed that it originally served as an ornament or closure of a standard pole. In the same building a gold ring with a carnelian gem was found , which bore the inscription "ANIMA MEA" (my soul / heart / darling). Another gem with the image of the deity Silvanus came to light under the doorstep of the southwest room.
Coins
On August 8, 1837, quarry workers discovered a bronze container that held 63 Roman coins near the Langstone at Thorngrafton. The coins (three gold and 60 silver pieces) came from the period between the reigns of Claudius (41–54) and Hadrian (117–138). They were probably hidden in the quarry in Hadrianic times. The purse is now in the Chesters Museum, the coins are missing. At the end of the 19th century, 300 coins were recovered from the ruins of the west gate. They provided evidence that the fort was still inhabited in the 4th century. In Bath House II, coins from the time of Marcus Aurelius (161–180), Septimius Severus (193–211) and Alexander Severus (222–235) came to light. Further specimens (nine bronze sesterces ) that had been minted during the reigns of Domitian (81–96) and Marc Aurel were found in the latrine drain . In 1976 a hoard of 62 coins came to light in the mansio near the east wing; they were minted between the middle and the end of the 2nd century (Antoninus Pius, 138-161) and Marc Aurel (161-180). At the same place in the corridor area another hoard of 111 items was found, which was found in 1976 in the uppermost layer of destruction of Vicus II and which was of great importance for the dating of the two Vici. This find and the lack of coins from the time of Tetricus I (270–273) indicate that the civil settlement was destroyed or abandoned by 270 at the latest. In 2011, 21 silver denarii were secured in the head building of a barracks from the late Cantonese period (180-200) . The coin hoard had been buried in a shallow pit under the mud floor in the center of the room, possibly in a bag or some similar envelope made of organic material that had rotted away over time. The archaeological context suggests that the coins were deliberately buried and not lost. Probably it was about the savings of the then resident. The coins were given to the Vindolanda Museum. The last of a total of eleven coins found from another hoard was one from the reign of Valens (364–378). The most recent coin discovered in Vindolanda dates back to the time of Valentinian II (375–392).
Inscriptions
In Chesterholm, 47 Latin inscriptions on 24 altars and votive stones, 6 building inscriptions (one undated), on 4 centurial stones (so-called slab stones), 6 gravestones and 7 other - illegible - inscription artifacts, including 4 Voussoir stones, each with a Roman numerals were provided. Among these finds was a fragment of a military diploma for a soldier from the Tungrian cohort.
Writing boards
Among the most remarkable finds from Vindolanda are the writing boards ( sectiles / laminae ), which have also become internationally known , which provide insights into everyday events in this border region in the years before the construction of Hadrian's Wall. They were recovered from the ancient buildings and garbage pits in the course of several excavation campaigns in the 1970s and 1980s. Subsequent excavations in 1974 and 1975 increased the total number to over 200. A further 400 specimens appeared at the south gate in 1993 and some after 2000. Up until then, only a few fragments were known, including the concentration of such an amount in one place is unique. The finds today include the largest collection of Latin documents ever discovered. The panels contain valuable information on palaeography and the development of this language. Most of the Roman sites in Britain only know the names of a handful of people, mostly from inscriptions, brick stamps or wall graffiti . In contrast to this, more than 600 individuals are named in the writing boards, they were the authors or recipients of letters, as well as persons referred to in accounts or lists. The boards sometimes also reveal additional information about certain people, mostly their rank, but also their place of origin and their family or friendship relationships.
On the very well-developed roads in Italy, messengers in a cart, with regular changes of the draft animals, could have covered distances between 50 and 80 miles per day; mounted messengers managed this almost certainly. Such travel speeds were probably not possible in Northern Britain. Corbridge messages to Carlisle could well have been answered within a day. An embassy could have reached York in two days, London within a week, and the home provinces of the soldiers stationed in Vindolanda in northern Gaul within two. Many texts refer to repeated correspondence. Complex business transactions depended on the rapid exchange of information. A letter from Octavius to his brother Candidus mentions receiving or sending letters several times and points out that communication and the transport of goods keep breaking down because of the bad roads.
The panels - mostly broken when they were recovered - were about the size of a postcard and were made of locally abundant alder or birch wood, which could be processed easily and cheaply. A letter usually consisted of two panels tied together at the top with a thin leather cord threaded through two holes. The address was scratched on the outside with a stylus. The text was applied with ink on both inner sides. They contain messages, lists or records. The plaques were mostly inscribed between 90 and 120 AD, when the fort was occupied by the Cohors I Tungrorum and the Cohors IX Batavorum . They come from the period between the conquest of North Great Britain in the second half of the 1st century and the erection of Hadrian's Wall from the year 122, i.e. from the least known epoch of the Roman occupation. The tablets also provided ample evidence of communication between the Vindolanda garrison and units at Carlisle, Catterick, Ribchester, Corbridge and Binchester. When the Bataverkohort withdrew, the archive of the camp commandant's office was thrown into the fire, but it was quickly extinguished again shortly afterwards by a downpour; the cremation site was located near the south gate of Fort III. Due to this historical stroke of luck, u. a. the correspondence of the cohort prefect Flavius Cerialis, commandant of Fort III, received for posterity. The special soil conditions on site had kept the tablets in a good state of preservation, so that many of them could still be deciphered. In this context, Alison Rutherford from Newcastle University developed a method to make the ancient writing legible again using infrared photography.
The tablets were transcribed and translated by papyrologists Alan Bowman and David Thomas. They provided groundbreaking insights into ancient writing, the development of Latin cursive script and details on Roman military and provincial history. Most of them contain short messages, military reports and vacation requests. The military regulations and other administrative documents relating to everyday garrison service were of great importance for research. They revealed more information about how the Roman border sections were organized. In addition to the official ones, the texts often also concern the private concerns of the officers, their relatives and slaves. The private correspondence of the wives of the camp commanders, food requests, and personal letters to the soldiers and their replies were also found. Even a student 's notes on Virgil 's Aeneid survived. They are the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Great Britain. Chance finds at other British excavation sites, such as Carlisle and Caerleon , Wales , suggest that they were not unique. The large quantities that could be recovered in Vindolanda rather suggest that they were ubiquitous as writing materials in the office (Officia) of the northern provinces, especially since papyrus was naturally extremely scarce there.
Others
In the changing room and drains of bath house II, numerous hairpins, pearls, oysters, game stones (cubes) and combs made of boxwood came to light. They prove that the thermal bath was also used by civilians.
development
Vindolanda was founded in the first phase of the establishment of the northern border of Roman Britain, in the decades before the construction of Hadrian's Wall. The fort was part of the border security systems of the Roman Empire from the 1st century until the end of Roman rule in the early 5th century. According to Notitia Dignitatum , in the 4th century it was part of the fortress chain of Hadrian's Wall ( per lineam valli ) , despite its spatial distance from the wall zone . The camp probably secured the gap between the ramparts Housesteads (three kilometers northeast) and Great Chesters (six kilometers northwest). It was also an important stage in the network of forts and roads in Northern Britain. The forts were built by the soldiers themselves and housed a militarily organized, largely self-sufficient community. I.e. the soldiers were able to cover a large part of their own daily needs, including food production and the manufacture and repair of everyday objects. Nevertheless, this military base, in which over 1000 regularly paid soldiers and their relatives were stationed at times, attracted craftsmen, farmers and traders from the surrounding area or more distant provinces of the empire. The garrison not only offered them protection in this remote outskirts of the empire, but above all a regular income in coins. The on-site infrastructure, such as bathhouses, running water, a hospital and various temples, was otherwise only to be found in the larger cities in the southeast of the island. However, the fortress was by no means completely independent and relied on regular interaction with the outside world. According to the writing boards, goods of all kinds were delivered to Vindolanda every day . The soldiers patrolled along the border and came into contact with the crews of the neighboring forts. The general security situation was obviously stable enough for the wife of the garrison commander of Vindolanda to be invited to another border fortress by an officer's wife who was friends. According to the boards, a trader was more concerned about the poor condition of the roads than being mugged and robbed by highwaymen on the way. The exchange of goods and the almost undisturbed travel movements of the people living there made it possible to maintain an upscale Roman lifestyle, at least in the camp commandant's household.
1st century
Under Emperor Domitian , the governor of Britain, Gnaeus Iulius Agricola , led his army and fleet to the northernmost edge of Britain. There he still managed an overwhelming victory against the indigenous tribes in north-east Scotland in 83. The battlefield was on Mons Graupius , who was probably near what is now the city of Aberdeen . With this the Romans had completed the conquest of the British Isles, but complete and permanent control of the tribal areas in Caledonia (Scotland) was apparently not in the strategic and economic interests of the imperial court. Despite the considerable military efforts, which included the construction of a legionary camp in Inchtuthil and numerous cohort forts and watchtowers, a reduction in the provincial forces led to a comprehensive revision of the military operation in the north. Most of the expedition army was recalled by Emperor Domitian to drive the chats out of the Wetterau on the continent . Under Trajan (98–117) the forts in the Lowlands were also given up and the borderline on the Stanegate , a military road running from east to west, was withdrawn. This led directly past Vindolanda , which was permanently occupied with soldiers from 85 AD and must therefore have played a central role in the defense of the British Limes. It is believed that Vindolanda has had a fort since the late 1st century AD. It is believed to be south of the Stanegate. The remains of a larger Roman fortification were actually found there, but they could not be dated. If it actually came from this period, it was probably founded by Agricola between 72 and 79 or during the tenure of governor Sallustius Lucullus. The latter ordered the gradual withdrawal of the army from Scotland to use on the lower Danube. In 86 Rome had one of the four legions in Britain, the Legio II Adiutrix , moved to Dacia. With the departure of this major association and a significant number of the auxiliary cohorts, effective control of Scotland was no longer possible. The fort was rebuilt around 92 and significantly expanded to accommodate a mixed unit of infantry and cavalry ( cohors equitata ) - in this case the ninth Batavian cohort. Further modifications were made around 97. At times, up to 1,000 soldiers and their relatives, slaves and freedmen were staying in the fortress.
2nd century
In 104, when the Batavians were also moved to Dacia, the fort was destroyed as planned. Abandoned briefly, the site was reoccupied and rebuilt around 105 by the first Tungrer cohort. There is evidence that the border area was repeatedly threatened by barbarian tribes between 110 and 118. The gravestone of a centurion was found in Bath House II, presumably it had fallen in the fighting. On one of the writing boards (No. 32) a member of the army described the combat equipment and tactics of the indigenous tribes, which he dubbed "Brittunculi" (wretched little Britons), who use too many riders in battle and do not stop for theirs when the enemy rushes Throwing spears. This expression first became known to researchers there. The letter can be a report or a remark on the suitability of the British as recruits, or just a personal assessment that an officer has left for his successor. The fort was considerably expanded several times within a few years after its completion and was now part of the new fortress chain along the Stanegate, which was built by the governor Neratius Marcellus . Presumably he - temporarily - also set up his residence in Vindolanda (see also Vindolanda boards ). Even after the decision to build a border wall further north, the Stanegate camps still fulfilled an important function. The border troops were initially housed there until the high command made the decision to build the new camps directly on the wall. When Hadrian's Wall was built, Vindolanda probably also served as a base camp and logistics center for the central wall zone. After the fort in Housesteads was completed, his garrison was apparently moved there in 125 years. Vindolanda was abandoned for a few years. In 140, Emperor Antoninus Pius ordered the reoccupation of the Scottish Lowlands to secure his status as Emperor. The border was pushed forward to the line between what is now Glasgow and Edinburgh and secured by a new wood and earth wall, the Antonine Wall . Nevertheless, Vindolanda remained occupied and was gradually rebuilt in stone during this time. The presence of the Romans in this part of the island was only a brief episode. Already around 160, before the death of Antoninus, a large part of the army was withdrawn to Hadrian's Wall. At 162 he was again occupied in full length with troops. The Stanegate remained an important connection and supply route, even after the military road was built not far from the wall in 160. The withdrawal of the border on Hadrian's Wall meant that Vindolanda was reoccupied with a new unit, although this section had remained relatively quiet at the time. The favorable position of the fort made it possible, however, to monitor and protect the traffic on the Stanegate between the Carvoran wall fort and the Irthing crossing near Chesters. Perhaps from then on Vindolanda also played a key role in supplying the wall garrisons, similar to Coriosopitum in the east of the border zone.
3rd-9th century
When Emperor Septimius Severus marched his army into Scotland at the beginning of the 3rd century, the fort was abandoned again and largely demolished to make room for the erection of 300 round huts, these were removed again around 211. Its foundations still partially protrude from under the north wall of Fort IX. When Severus died in Eburacum (York) that same year , his son and successor Caracalla made peace with the Caledonian tribes and withdrew his troops behind Hadrian's Wall. In 213 a new stone fort was built in Vindolanda . The same was repaired or rebuilt around 300, the civil settlement was obviously abandoned or destroyed around 270. The garrison was probably already very thin in numbers, so that civilians were also allowed to settle within the fortress walls. There are still some references to the last repairs that were carried out until 370, after which the fort was apparently no longer occupied by the regular army. In the Notitia Dignitatum Occ. (late 4th century) all fortresses along the wall are listed, but only Vindolanda appears from the Stanegate camps . Although Hadrian's Wall was abandoned in the early 5th century, the fort was still inhabited for over 400 years, and traces of post-Roman burials could be seen near the fortress. Some evidence also suggests the existence of an early Christian church before it was finally abandoned by its residents in the 9th century. Since Vindolanda is located in a remote area, far away from larger towns or cities, it was initially not as massively damaged by stone robbery as other Roman settlements, the systematic destruction of which often began in the early Middle Ages. For example, the roof of Bath House II is said to have been - partially - intact until the 18th century. The massive stone robbery probably did not begin until the 19th century. From then on, the stone material of the fortress and the vicus was used for the construction of farm buildings, field walls and churches.
Castles
Like many of the Roman castles, those of Vindolanda have been repaired, rebuilt and then removed again and again over the centuries. Over the years, the excavations in Vindolanda have revealed a sequence of at least five wood-earth camps that preceded the three later stone forts, which is very difficult to determine in terms of building history. So far, a total of nine construction phases could be distinguished. West of the late antique Balineum , on the north side of the Stanegate, the alleged parade ground of the fort could be made out on aerial photographs. One of the fort's construction stores was also likely to have been located next to it. The main entrance to the fort was the north gate, the Porta Praetoria , in the front part of the fort ( Praetentura ) there were barracks, small shops and workshops on both sides of the north-south main street ( via Praetoria ). It led directly to the entrance of the headquarters ( Principia ), in the central fort area ( Latera Praetorii ). The west-east main street of the fortress, the via Principalis , ran in front of the camp headquarters . This was also the home of the commandant and his family ( Praetorium ) and one or more granaries ( Horrea ). There were often functional buildings such as workshops ( Fabrica ) and a hospital ( Valetudinarium ). In the rear half of the fortress ( Retentura ) there were four more barracks blocks. Another street ( via Sagularis ) ran directly behind the wall and spanned the entire fort. The bathhouse was outside the fortress because of the high fire hazard.
Wood and earth forts
The forts listed below were built according to the early imperial building scheme (layout, playing card shape, axis from east to west).
Fort I (85–92)
It covered an area of around 1.4 hectares, was repaired several times and partially rebuilt. This construction phase could be dated with the help of ceramics, which had been thrown into the moat after 90 AD at the latest. It was in approximately the same position as the stone fort IX, which is still visible today, was about 6 meters lower and could therefore only be explored in a rudimentary manner, as otherwise the layers above would have been too severely disturbed. Three moats ran in front of its western wall. To the east, north, and south the camp extended to the slopes of the plateau. Furthermore, the course of the road to the west gate could be determined. The fort was also surrounded by a V-shaped ditch, which was interrupted by two earth dams. On the west side it was 4.5 meters wide and up to 1.5 meters deep. It is possible that there were other weir trenches further west. Additional obstacles to the approach could have been thorn hedges, pitfalls with sharpened stakes and iron toe bars.
Castle II (92–97)
After the demolition of Fort I, the area was leveled and a layer of clay was poured in. The former trenches were also filled in. Some wells were only temporarily covered with beams. The new warehouse, twice as large, was built with inferior (i.e. freshly felled) wood from alder and ash, and apparently in a hurry. It was slightly larger than Fort I, stretching 100 meters further west and covering an area of just over 2.8 hectares. The boundaries of the fort could only be precisely determined in the south and east. Its originally more than 3 meter high defense consisted of a 4.5 meter wide lawn brick wall at the south gate, secured by a wooden palisade as a parapet. It is believed that it was originally intended only for the 1st Tungrian cohort. But as well as the IX. Bataverkohort was stationed in Vindolanda , it probably had to be expanded quickly. The south gate had only one passage and, soon after its completion, obviously had stability problems caused by a spring over which it was built. Remnants of the western barracks blocks and the - presumed - house of the commandant were observed from its interior. Its west wing was around 46 meters long and had twelve rooms. The building, which is at least 11.75 meters wide, stood directly above the west ditch of Fort I. Notes for the manufacture and repair of metal goods and leather processing indicate that workshops were also located there. The course of the Via Principalis was also determined during the excavations .
Fort III (97-105)
During this time the camp was repaired and expanded a little to the west. This increased its area to 2.8 hectares. Fort III was very similar in size and location to that of Phase II. The repairs had been made with much better wood material. The location of the south gate of the fortification is known; it was relocated two meters to the west because it was lowered into the moat of Fort I. Its position is now marked by eight wooden posts. The fort was also surrounded by a moat. There were also probably wooden towers at the corners. The position of the south gate was marked with six piles after the excavations. The sill beam and a number of beams inside the gate that served as the road surface were also reconstructed. Most of the other buildings were made of oak logs. Some streets, remains of the western barracks and, in particular, the praetorium and the bathhouse outside the south-east corner could be examined. The position of the Praetorium is particularly unusual. A building of this importance is expected to be in the center in an east-west orientation on one side of the Principia and not on the road to the south gate. Further archaeologically important buildings of the castles II / III are the wooden houses that were examined on the east side of the street. They were probably also part of the Praetorium. The fort remained in the ground plan similar to the previous building, but was expanded much more generously. Its construction quality had also improved significantly compared to the previous period. Oak was used again as construction timber and some rooms were covered with wooden floorboards. The living quarters of the officers and their families are probably located under Fort IX and are therefore inaccessible. The rooms at the southern end of the west side that could be excavated appear to include a large courtyard, kitchen and storage room. Extensive evidence of manual activity (metal and leather processing) also came to light. This could also mean that the building was the workshop ( fabrica ) of the fort. Such buildings were often very similar to the praetories . However, the discovery of the correspondence of the garrison commander and letters from his wife indicate that the building was actually the commandant's house. The first 347 writing boards were recovered there, most of them from the archives of the Prefect of the IX. Batavian cohort, Flavius Cerealis, were from. In addition, there were some other remarkable Roman artifacts such as the remains of a woman's wig, leather shoes (women’s and children’s shoes), which had been preserved very well under the almost oxygen-free conditions in the ground.
Castle IV (104–120)
After a short period of vacancy, a new warehouse was built, but with a different arrangement of the internal buildings, which was occupied by troops up to around 120. With an area of over 3 hectares, it was the largest fort built in Vindolanda . The renewed leveling of the area increased the ground level by over 2.5 meters. The fort was probably completed around 106. It is likely that his garrison was helped by cavalrymen and legionaries in the construction. The north gate and a section of the south wall are known of the fence. The south gate of Fort III was blocked and a new one was built, but its location could not yet be determined. A hall-like, west-east-facing, rectangular wooden building was discovered on the west wall, near today's parking lot. Its purpose is unknown but suggests the presence of legionnaires. The positions of the praetorium, a house with an inner courtyard (camp hospital?), That of the southern barracks with the head buildings of the centurions, porticos and 14 contubernias as well as some streets could be determined on the interior structures. The west wing of the Praetorium of Phase III was built over with a barracks block, the portico of which was later walled up. Its southern end was sealed off from the other chambers, perhaps the living quarters for the NCOs. Despite the generally poor state of preservation, the felling date could be determined for the first time from one of the wood finds using dendrochronology (104 AD), although it is also possible that it was used a long time after the tree was felled.
Fort V (120–140)
The finds from this period were not particularly informative, so the construction periods V and Va were difficult to distinguish from one another. The end of this construction period was not easy to determine and also not to be related to the next phase of construction, in which the fort was reduced in size and some, if not all of the buildings were rebuilt in stone. The transition dates between the year 120 and the middle of the second century. Around 120 the defenses were apparently completely renewed and the interior buildings were also rebuilt, probably in preparation for the visit of Emperor Hadrian (117-138). It was the last fortress to be built using the wood and earth technique. Presumably it remained occupied until around 150. Since it was almost in the middle of the rampart zone about 1.6 km south of Meilenkastell 39 , the fort could have served as a base camp for the construction of the central sector of Hadrian's Wall. It was probably demolished in 140 when the rampart was completed and in the late 130s only the Vallum was built. The interior of the Praetorium, a house with an inner courtyard (camp hospital?), Workshops on the western wall, a shoemaker's workshop on Via Praetoria and a presumed dining room with a large oven could be examined. The barracks block had been torn down and the area leveled. During the excavations, two successive buildings could be identified. Their construction quality was clearly superior to earlier periods. Stone slabs were used as the flooring and the wooden beams were larger and better processed. The extensive evidence of metalworking and robust architecture suggests that the building was a workshop ( fabrica ).
Fort VI (140-160)
The camp was established at the time when Hadrian's Wall was abandoned and the Antonine Wall was built on the Clyde-Firth of Forth line as a new border barrier. Fort V was leveled and its area backfilled with a layer of clay. The new fortress covered an area of 1.61 hectares and was located almost exactly above Fort I and under the late antique stone fort IX. At first it seems to have been raised again using the wood-and-earth technique, but it is possible that around 160 its stone walls were rebuilt. Its area was examined in the 1930s together with the north and west gates. Its convenient location on Stanegate was possibly the reason for the stone renovation. A section of the west wall, the west gate and the rounded south-west corner are known of the defense. In front of the western wall, three weir ditches had been dug as obstacles to approach.
Stone fort
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The remains of the stone camp, still visible today, date from the 3rd to 4th centuries. It was still executed in the rectangular floor plan with rounded corners (playing card shape, orientation from north to south) typical of mid-imperial forts and measured 155 × 93 meters (1.5 hectares). A total of five construction phases could be determined at the stone warehouse. The stone material was believed to have been extracted near Vindolanda from a quarry at the southern end of Barcombe Hill and from a rock face at Chineley Burn, less than 130 meters east of the fort.
Fort VIa (160–208)
It originated when the Antonine Wall was abandoned and the army withdrew from Scotland. The wood and earth fort was demolished around 160 and - according to a building inscription - completely rebuilt in stone in 163. It stood on the eastern area of the much larger wood and earth fort IV, but had a different axis orientation (northwest). The entire circumference of the fortification is known, as is the position of the west gate and the east gate, which are flanked by two internal towers. Later an annex was apparently added in the west . The fort was surrounded by a moat that could be seen on the south-west corner. The Principia could be examined in internal structures. Its walls were made very carefully, which suggests legionaries as builders.
Fort VIb (208–211)
During this time, the existing fortress was either demolished or destroyed during fighting. Only its western wall and the associated gate remained. Apparently only the area of the vicus was temporarily fortified with a mud wall and a ditch. Inside there was a peristyle house and several barracks blocks. The peristyle house had several rooms, including a small bathroom. The rooms were arranged on three sides of the courtyard. This building was previously interpreted as an inn or hostel ( mansio ). However, it is believed to be the camp commandant's residence in the late second and early third centuries. The building was also surrounded by a mud wall, of which remains were observed during the excavations. Excavations in 1991 showed that part of the western wall of Fort VI was removed to connect the building to the camp area. In the third century it was demolished and the vicus was built over. On the other hand, there were numerous, very simply constructed, Celto-British round huts with stone foundations on the actual warehouse area. Their diameter was 4.27 meters, the foundations were 60 cm thick. They could be entered through doors 91 cm wide. However, no remains of stoves or fireplaces were found inside. Their purpose is unknown. Several theories have been discussed in this regard: Severus had a considerable number of hostages or prisoners housed here, it was the accommodation for irregular or newly recruited local army recruits, local workers or it served as accommodation in a refugee camp. Perhaps they were also used as flour mills. In 211 or 212 they were demolished again and the construction work for a new stone fort began at the same place.
Stone fort VII – IX (163–400)
The last three construction phases include the fort that was built from around 213 (period VII), renovated again in 368/369 and used by the regular military until 400. At 1.61 hectares, it was slightly larger than its successor and extended an estimated 16 meters above the north wall of Castle VIII. Castle IX was the last Roman fortification built in Vindolanda , measuring 155 meters (north-south) × 94 Meters (east-west) and covered an area of 1.4 hectares. The fort was almost completely rebuilt between 223 and 270, with only a few sections of the original west and east walls remaining. The new camp was relocated about ten meters to the south, and the western wall of Stone Fort VII was demolished along with its gate. In the late third century the vicus was abandoned or destroyed, with the exception of the third century bathhouse. In the final construction phase, significant changes were made to its interior buildings. According to the ceramic and coin finds that were unearthed during the excavations in the fort, it is believed that the military occupation ended in the early 5th century.
Gates and towers
The wall was reinforced by square watchtowers attached to the inside at the corners and broken through by four gates. The north gate served as the main entrance ( porta praetoria ), the road going from there connected the fort complex with the Stanegate. The north, east and west gates were uncovered between 1828 and 1935 and later preserved. The north and west gates were flanked by gate towers, which protruded relatively far from the wall, a structural feature that could often be observed in forts of the late principate . In contrast to the ramparts, the gates in Vindolanda did not have double passages, although they were structurally very similar. They represent a type of building that was completely out of date by the time it was built, in the middle of the 3rd century. The east and south gates of Fort IX were only small and had no guard rooms. Perhaps they only served as side gates or hatches .
North gate: The flank towers measured 6.6 × 4.9 meters and protruded slightly over the fort wall, the passage was 3.6 meters wide. The entrances to the towers were on the southeast corner. It was probably built in the early 3rd century, its building material still comes from stone fort VII.
West gate: At its flank towers are u. a. the stone thresholds of the entrance doors can still be seen. The two towers were apparently added a little later. The passage was 2.9 meters wide, the tower foundations are made of large stone blocks, the southern one measured 2.82 × 2.6 meters. Its construction was similar to the side gates ( porta quintanae ) of the ramparts Benwell , Chesters and Birdoswald . The street starting from the gate ( Porta principalis sinistra ) crossed the Vicus II .
Osttor: In an early construction phase it was also reinforced with two flank towers, as corresponding foundations were observed on both sides of the passage. There was no road outside, just a stone staircase leading away from the gate.
South gate: its remains are only visible as a slight elevation. The gate was partially exposed by Robin Birley in 1969. It was also very simply constructed and had no side turrets. On the east side there was still the pivot hole for the pivot of the wooden gate. The passage was 4.35 meters long and 4 meters wide. The wall cheeks were only 0.85 meters wide. Beyond the gate threshold there was still one or more stone steps that made it impassable for carts, probably to compensate for the height difference of 0.65 meters between the threshold and the road. Apparently it was walled up in the late period of the fort.
Enclosure
The fort wall was excavated and consolidated on the north and east sides as well as on the west side between the north-west corner and the west gate. Elsewhere, their position is only recognizable as an elevation on the edge of the fort platform. Some of the walls are still up to three meters high. They consisted of a quarry stone core, encased on the front and back with cut sandstone blocks, which were connected with lime mortar. The surrounding wall was additionally supported by a rear earth ramp made of clay, which also served as a battlement. This could be reached via a gravel road ( Via Sagularis ) that ran around the entire camp . When it was discovered in 1972, the wall on the NE corner was still nine rows high (91-122 cm). It had been repaired several times or rebuilt in some places. Several drainage channels ( culverts ) were built through the wall to drain the seepage water from the interior . On the inside of the fort wall, four gun platforms were also encountered. The core of the platform at the northwest corner consisted of stone rubble and clay which was bordered with several layers of stone blocks. The ballista set up here covered the north gate of the fortress.
Trench system
The moat surrounding the fort could be cut on its west side between 1969 and 1972. It was 4.90 to 6.10 meters wide, its slope, secured with stone packings, was made somewhat steeper on the side facing the fort. Part of the stumps of the previous wood and earth forts still protruded from it. Overall, its course turned out to be quite irregular. At the end of the 4th century it was apparently only used as a drainage system for rainwater drainage and as a garbage dump.
Interior development
The fort had the standard interior buildings for auxiliary troop camps during the Middle Imperial period. They were almost entirely made of stone: in the center an administration building ( principia ), two granaries ( horrea ), team barracks ( centuria ), workshops ( fabrica ) and a latrine ( latrina ). The north wall stands over the foundation walls of four circular huts from the Severan period. These have been preserved and are visible. Another three of these structures are known from the excavations from 1934 to 1936 and 1979 to 1980 and were filled in again. Stone buildings belonging to Castle VII including its principia have been excavated, but only two of its walls, running in a north-south direction, are still visible. In the middle of the third century a double barrack was built in the north-eastern corner of the camp, possibly to accommodate cavalrymen. The building was rebuilt several times and was occupied until around 400. During excavations in 1980, the remains of the east-west facing crew barracks were uncovered, but after their investigation they were filled in again. After the vicus was abandoned around 270, the remaining population was resettled in the fort. Some of the barracks had to be demolished for this. Subsequently, 20 new residential buildings were built on these grounds, including shops, houses with small backyards and workshops that were inhabited for a long time after the end of the Roman occupation. In one of the buildings an inscription was found that revealed the name of a man, Riacus, possibly one of the post-Roman residents of the fort, who lived there in the 5th or 6th centuries.
Principia
The still visible remains of the multi-phase principia (camp administration) date from the 4th century (construction phase II, stone fort IX) and faced north, towards Stanegatestrasse. The 24.8 (east-west) × 26.6 meters (north-south) foundation walls were completely exposed and preserved. They overlay the remains of the original command building (construction period I), which was also built of stone, but whose axis was oriented more towards the south. It was built using the Adope method, typical of buildings in North Africa and Spain. A relief of the sun god on his chariot and a few small statuettes were recovered from it. The additions to construction phase III, which were made after 367, were completely removed during the excavations. The building could be entered on the north side through the main entrance. There was also a portico on the street side , similar to that of African forts. This was later walled up and converted into storage rooms. The inner courtyard was relatively small and not, as in most buildings of this type, surrounded by a portico on the sides, but by closed rooms. They probably served as armories ( armamentaria ). Across the courtyard one entered the transverse hall ( basilica ) through a small narthex . There the tribunal can still be seen in the east together with two preserved steps. Five chambers were added to the rear of the transverse hall. The door openings of the two outer doors were only 90 cm wide, the three middle ones had portals vaulted with arches, two of which were decorated with stone reliefs (rectangular patterns). They were intended for the camp administration as a writing room ( officium ), as well as the offices of the two standard bearers ( Signifer ) and adjutants of the camp commandant ( Cornicularis ). These chambers could be closed with iron bars. The larger, two-part square chamber in the center served the imperial cult ( Aedes ) and as a flag sanctuary ( Sacellum ). The garrison's pay was deposited under the flag shrine. In Vindolandas Principia, however, there was no brick cellar room for this, but only a simple pit, protruding about three meters to the south, solidly set in stone. In the 4th century two of the chambers were equipped with underfloor heating and the western one with a small latrine. After 367, the two armories were apparently used as storage rooms (with slightly raised floors and vents) for food. In the inner courtyard, a 6 meter deep well was excavated to supply fresh water. The roof of the basilica was also supported with pillars. The administration rooms were converted for residential purposes and provided with underfloor heating. An open fireplace had been set up in the flag shrine for a long period of time.
Praetorium
East of the Principia, in the central area of the fort, was the camp commandant's house ( praetorium ). The remains visible today date from the 4th century. On its outer wall, Hedley found three consecration altars, donated by commanders of the fourth Gaul cohort, now in the Chesters Museum. The heavily damaged building complex was very difficult to interpret. It was essentially a 650 m² peristyle house with 18 rooms, which were grouped around an inner courtyard. There was probably another storage room on the east side of the building. It was built in the 210s and significantly changed around 300, including the addition of hypocaust underfloor heating in some rooms and the gradual construction of the inner courtyard, where additional rooms and corridors were added. At the eastern end there was a bathhouse with hypocaust heating, a water basin and an apse. In post-Roman times, the south and east wings were torn down, and a building from the 4th century, possibly used as a church, with an apse and east-west orientation was built in the inner courtyard. The excavations have shown that the visible remains are by no means the oldest. A small section of a wall from an earlier row of buildings can still be seen on a layer below. Overall, the building was of a very high standard, as the still-preserved door sills prove. It is also noteworthy that at the eastern end of the bathhouse on its outer wall an elaborately designed base can be seen, which must have been created when the main house was expanded, as this wing of the building overlaps the internal Wallstrasse.
Warehouses
Immediately to the west of the staff building was a double horreum for storing grain. The warehouses were built in the 3rd century. It was a type B building; H. free-standing inside the fort. One can still see part of the double floor made of stone slabs, it rested on brick air ducts that allowed the grain stored there to be ventilated. The western horreum was reinforced on the long side by six support pillars and on the narrow sides by two pillars. The raised floor in the western warehouse was removed when both were converted to residential buildings at the end of the 4th or early 5th century. A large amount of supplies was stored in the granaries of the fortress, which the garrison could keep alive for many months in the event of a crisis.
workshops
A building discovered on Via praetoria leading to the north gate is interpreted as a workshop (fabrica) .
Crew quarters
The barracks in the northeast corner of Vindolanda corresponded to the scheme of the Middle Imperial period. They were double barracks with head structures for the officers, who stood back to back and were separated from the other barracks blocks by a street. The living rooms ( contubernia ) were divided into two rooms and about 35 m² in size. The front rooms had stoves or fireplaces for food preparation. In contrast to many other barracks of auxiliary troop forts, those in Vindolanda only had six instead of the usual eight living rooms. They were structurally separate from one another and only assembled back to back with those in the second block. This also applied to the head buildings, which were also free-standing. During the excavations, a barracks was also examined, which was used until the end of the 3rd century. Each contubernium there consisted of only one room. It is possible that these buildings were even two stories high, as the thickness of their walls suggests. Remnants of windows were found, along with stoves or fireplaces, which had somewhat increased the living comfort compared to the other fortresses in the Wallzone. The gable walls of the barracks were oriented towards the narrow sides of the fort.
Iupiter sanctuary
In the north-western area within the fort, near the walls of the north gate, a shrine for Jupiter Dolichenus was excavated in 2009 , in which, among other things, an altar stone was located. The sanctuary was built around 220 AD by order of the garrison commander at the time. A sacred building within an auxiliary fortress is extremely rare. It was destroyed around 370, possibly in the course of Christianization.
latrine
In the northeast corner of the fortress, a latrivina is currently being uncovered and consolidated, as well as wall sections belonging to a building north of the east gate. It is a communal latrine that offered space for around 12 to 14 people. In the south-east corner there is another, somewhat larger latrine for 16 men. The southern fortress wall also showed evidence of repeated alterations, especially in the southeast corner. Their poorly executed foundation caused the wall to collapse, so that the latrine - probably before the end of the third century - collapsed and was not rebuilt. A second communal latrine was located at the southeast corner of the camp wall, at the lowest point of the fort area. The building had a rectangular floor plan and consisted essentially of the four outer walls, a U-shaped sewer over which the toilet seats were installed and a central stone platform. The entrance was on the north side. In terms of construction, it was certainly made similar to the Housesteads latrine . In Vindolanda , a wooden toilet seat, rectangular with a keyhole-shaped opening, from the 2nd century was uncovered in 2014 by Andrew Birley. The workpiece consists of a very carefully processed wooden board. The toilet seat was in a garbage pit in use around 122 and broke in two. Heavy signs of wear indicate that the seat has been in use for a very long time. Its preservation lasted about 18 months, after which it was made available to the museum.
Water supply
Vindolanda was supplied with fresh water from a spring northwest of the fort through an aqueduct, the water pipe was partially restored or reconstructed. There was also a cistern in the northeast corner of the camp . Otherwise, spring or rain water was collected in stone basins and channeled into the fort or vicus via stone or wooden channels.
Warehouse streets
In front of the main entrance to the Principia in the north, the via praetoria coming from the main gate, paved with stone slabs and running from north to south, crossed with the via principalis . This second main camp road connected the west gate with the east gate.
garrison
Vindolanda was part of a network of auxiliary forts that stretched across northern England, with the legions stationed in York and Chester in the hinterland. His garrison belonged to an army of about 50,000 men, whose units were mainly distributed over northern Britain. The fort was occupied by several auxiliary troops during its existence. None of them were initially made up of indigenous British. This is due to a practice that was initiated by the uprising of Lower Germanic units in 69. As a result of the unrest in the so-called Year of the Four Emperors, Batavian and Tungrian auxiliary troops revolted against Emperor Vespasian . To regain discipline it required the deployment of several legions, commanded by Quintus Petillius Cerialis . Later this set the rebels on march to Britain, where they remained stationed until the end of their service. There, over time, the original ethnic composition of the units was gradually diluted by recruits from other regions. The soldier names handed down on the Vindolanda tablets (e.g. Gnavorix, Chrauttius, Gambax) indicate soldiers mainly from Gaul, Germania, but also Pannonia, Dacia, Greece and the Upper Rhine. The occupation troops consisted of mixed infantry and cavalry units, an average of 480 foot soldiers and 120 cavalrymen. Their crew strength varied from 300 to 1000 men. Two messages went to a decurion named Lucius (Plate 299 and 300) and in another panel is one Turma mentioned (Plate 159), evidence of the presence of cavalrymen in Vindolanda . Legionaries were usually not assigned to garrison service on the border, but instead sent their special forces for more demanding construction projects. Building inscriptions and slab stones of all three British legions were also discovered in Chesterholm. One of the vexillations may even have been under the command of a Primus Pilus named Celer. It is also not known which troops occupied castles VIa and VIb between 160 and 211. In late antiquity, their occupation belonged to the Limitanei .
The following units either provided the garrison or may have been in Vindolanda for a limited time :
See also: Roman forces in Britannia
| Time position | Troop name | description |
|---|---|---|
| 1st century AD | Legio secunda Augusta (the second legion of Augustus) | According to an inscription, members of this legion were temporarily stationed there; it is most frequently represented in inscriptions in Chesterholm. Their headquarters were the Isca Silurum (Caerleon) camp . Their vexillations were probably also primarily used there for building projects. An altar for the forest god Silvanus was donated by Marcus Aurelius Modestus, a Beneficiarius Consularis of the Legion, an undated building inscription calls a "Vexillatio". |
| 1st century AD | Legio sexta Victrix (the sixth legion, the victorious) | The legion's main camp was Eburacum (York). An altar dedicated to the goddess Fortuna by the centurion Gaius Julius Raeticus speaks for the presence of soldiers of this legion in Chesterholm . Another notable fact is that some of the bricks of Bath House II were marked with that Legion's stamp (LEG VI V). Birley suspects that there must have been a legionnaire-run brick factory nearby. |
| 1st century AD | Legio vicesima Valeria Victrix (the twentieth Valerian Legion, the Victorious) | There is only one undated building inscription of this legion in Chesterholm. It is believed that her relatives built the Agricolan fort. Their main camp was in Deva ( Chester ). |
| 1st to 2nd century AD | Cohors tertia Batavorum (the third cohort of the Batavians ) | Several Vindolanda tablets show the presence of members of the Batavian cohort in Vindolanda between 98 and 103; a permanent stationing is not guaranteed beyond doubt. |
| 2nd century AD | Cohors prima Tungrorum (the first cohort of Tungrers) | The earliest identifiable garrison unit could be recognized on one of the Vindolanda tablets . The crew of Fort I therefore provided this Tungrian cohort. The Tungrians settled in the north-western outskirts of the Arduenna Silva in the province of Gallia Belgica (today the Ardennes Forest on the border between Belgium and Germany). This unit was used in the campaigns of Agricola in central Scotland and had probably also taken part in the battle of Mons Graupius . It was a cohors millaria , an infantry unit of around a thousand men. By the middle of the second century it had been increased to a total of over 750 men. The unit was stationed in Chesterholm from around 85 to 122 (possibly also to 140). A military diploma found in Vindolanda dates back to 146, and its owner was probably recruited around 122. A spearhead found there bore the inscription Tung (rorum) . The names of two of their commanders, the Praefecti cohortis Julius Verecundus and Priscinus, are known from the writing tablets. A status check, also handed down on one of the tablets, shows that their nominal strength at this time was 752 men, including 6 centurions, but only 296 of the soldiers were present when the report was drawn up in Vindolanda . 46 of them were u. a. as the singular legati (bodyguard of the governor). |
| 2nd century AD | Cohors nona Batavorum (the ninth cohort of the Batavians) | Several of the Vindolanda tablets document the presence of the cohort in Chesterholm (97–104?). This unit - originally recruited in Lower Germany - possibly occupied castles II and III. According to Plate II / 155, on April 25th (year indefinite), the majority of the soldiers present in the fort were posted to work. Of the 343 men, 12 made shoes, 18 repaired bathhouse I (“structores ad balneum”), others collected lead, clay and stones, and some were assigned to the truck service, the ovens, the hospital and plastering work. The exact time of the withdrawal of the cohort from Vindolanda is not known. |
| 2nd century AD | Cohors tertia Nerviorum (the third cohort of the Nervier ) | Possibly it was the garrison troops of Fort VI in the late second century (140-160). Their soldiers were recruited from the Nervii tribe who lived in the province of Gallia Belgica . The belligerent neighbors of the Tungri had once revolted against Julius Caesar , but were defeated and had to regularly provide soldiers for the Roman auxiliaries. There is an inscription that testifies to the presence of the unit in Chesterholm, it is dedicated to the god of war Mars . From her the name of one of her commanders, Titus Caninius, is known. |
| 3rd to 5th century AD | Cohors quarta Gallorum equitata (the fourth partially mounted cohort of the Gauls) |
From the 3rd century on, the garrison provided a mixed unit of infantry and cavalrymen with a nominal strength of five hundred men. The unit is occupied for the years 213-370 and occupied the castles VII, VIII and IX. Perhaps she had been here since 163 AD. Their soldiers were probably originally recruited from tribesmen from central Gaul. At the end of the 1st century she was stationed in Templeborough (Yorkshire) and around 125 AD in Castlesteads ( Camboglanna ). Her traces can then be found in Castlehill (140 AD) on Antonine Wall and from 150-160 AD in the outpost of Risingham ( Habitancum ) on Dere Street . The unity is mentioned in seven inscriptions from Vindolanda , including an altar of the Genius of the Praetorium (donated by the Prefect Quintus Petronius Urbicus), three altars for Iupiter Optimus Maximus (one donated by the Prefect Quintus Petronius Urbicus), a building inscription dedicated to the Emperor Caracalla ( dated 213), one for the governor Claudius Xenophon (dated 223) and another for Emperor Probus (dated between 276 and 282). Three could be dated to the third century. At this time, however, the common name only had a nominal meaning. At that time, new members for the auxiliary troops were mainly recruited locally. Another inscription discovered in Vindolanda suggests that indigenous Gauls apparently still served in the cohort at that time and that they also explicitly acknowledged their Gallic origins. From the inscriptions three other names of the commanders of the cohort are known, Vindex Caecil [ianus ...], Aurelius Mucius and the prefect Ju [lius Ser] gius Pudens. The fort housed a much smaller garrison in the 4th century and now offered a refuge for the civilian population. The unit was last mentioned in the western Notitia dignitatum with the designation Cohors quarta Gallorum , stationed in Vindolana . She was part of the army of the Dux Britanniarum under the command of a tribune . |
Vicus
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A vicus was at the lowest level of the self-governing settlements recognized as such under Roman law. The camp commandant had unrestricted authority over its residents. The buildings erected by the military could not be purchased, only rented. The presumed ancient name of the settlement ( Vindolanda Textoverdurum ?) Is known from an altar of Vulcanus, which was discovered 120 meters west of the fort. The term “vicani” on its inscription could be translated as a street settlement or villager. When the garrison was assigned for a campaign, most of the Viciani left the settlement as they were either relatives or service providers of the soldiers and were dependent on their wages. The extent of the vicus is known from aerial photographs. During the excavations, it was soon discovered that there had been two successive settlement periods with stone buildings in Vindolanda, which had also been laid out according to different plans. In addition to all of this, the remains of the Prehadrian wood and earth forts were among them. The two Vici probably existed between 163 and 350. The area must have been uninhabited from 245 to 270. After the barbarian invasion of 367, the number of inhabitants steadily decreased. For the late fourth century there is no evidence that the Vicus II was still inhabited at this time. The settlement was abandoned by the Romano-British sometime between 400 and 500.
Vicus I
Since the forts were almost continuously occupied, there was a civil settlement outside the southwest gate from 163 to 245. It stood west of the fortress within the remains of the old wood and earth forts. After stone fort VII was built in 213, the camp village also expanded northwest of the fort. The findings (coins) indicated that it was abandoned between the mid to late 4th century. Most of the buildings of Vicus I were made of sandstone from Barcombe Hill and were much larger than those of Vicus II. In addition, at least the 0.81 hectare core area - was apparently completely surrounded by a massive mud wall. The wall measured up to 10 meters at the base and was originally thought to have been up to 5 meters high. At first it was thought to be the remainder of an earlier fort wall, but in the meantime it has been believed that it must have been built sometime between 163 and 245. The complex was more like an annex of the fort that was used by the military. It would be the first archaeological evidence of the fortification of a fort settlement on the northern border of Britain. The wall was probably leveled again before 270.
Vicus II
Around 270 a new 2.4 to 4 hectare large settlement was built west of the fort, which differed significantly from its predecessor due to the building distribution and was probably inhabited until around 370. The exposed stone foundations of their buildings are partially still visible. There were taverns, handicraft businesses, shops and in the northwest the heated bath house II with a latrine . Its population is estimated at 800–1500 people. The vicus stretched along the north bank of the Doe Sike on both sides of the flagstone-paved main road that started from the Porta Principalis Sinistra (west gate). The drainage channels on both sides of the road were bricked up five layers of stone and covered with stone slabs. They were laid out before the building was erected. The area to the east, west and south of Balineum II was also densely built up. The development plan of the vicus was irregular and arbitrary. Most of the houses sat on stone foundations, otherwise they were entirely made of wood and were no longer as comfortable and carefully constructed as those of Vicus I. The interior walls were made of half-timbered houses. Wall plastering or painting was not available. Most of the stoves were made of clay. The roofs were covered with nailed, 2 cm thick stone slabs. The windows were closed with wooden shutters, but some of the buildings (Corridor House, Balineum II) also had glass windows. The doors were secured with sturdy locks, the windows with iron bars. In summary, they were solid, unadorned, functional buildings with little comfort. There was no sewerage system anymore; there was probably a public latrine in the camp village.
If you enter the vicus from the west today, you first see the remains of the military complex from construction phase VIb, the commandant's house on the right and barracks blocks on the left. They date from the first decade of the 3rd century. The main street continued to the west and was probably there from other shops, cookshops, etc. Ä. Lined, off the main street were mainly workshops. A considerable number of the metalworking furnaces were also concentrated there. Further remains of metal workshops have been identified in the southwest. There were also fragments of bronze molds there. They were often found in Roman camp villages. Building V could be entered through a wide driveway suitable for horse-drawn carts. The stumps of the wooden gate were still in situ. In the quarter south of the main street, three large stone buildings with inner courtyards and two wells were examined. The finds recovered there suggest that its inhabitants were relatively wealthy.
Corridor house
After the soil layer from Vicus II had been removed, it turned out that buildings XXIII – XXV on the north side of the main street originally formed a single, much larger building complex, a so-called corridor house. A butcher's shop was probably located in this building at the time of Vicus I. Its southwest room had two peculiarities that confirm this assumption. To the left of the entrance there was a wall that may have once served as a sales counter and a triple-branched drainage channel was sunk in the floor for the removal of slaughterhouse waste. Another channel was found in the east wing, probably the drainage channel of a latrine. The bronze standard attachment was also found there.
Warehouses
Some buildings, which were originally also considered part of the vicus, were used by the military in the late 3rd century. Three buildings (LXXIV, LXXV, LXXVIII) on the SW corner of the stone fort probably served as depots ( horrea ), perhaps for tax payments ( Annona Militaris ), as they had no cooking areas or the like. Two of them could be entered through double gates.
Strip houses
The houses had narrow facades facing the main street ( strip house ). It is assumed that the building structure of the vicus consisted mostly of such "standardized" houses, often built by the military. The buildings were taxed according to their areal size, the reason why they mostly had these long and narrow floor plans. On average, they measured in Vicus II 18 × 4.6 meters. The foundations consisted partly of large stone blocks weighing 0.75 tons, which is very unusual for such houses. But such massive blocks did not have to be connected with lime mortar. The upper floors consisted for the most part of half-timbered or linked walls. However, whether all buildings had it could not be proven beyond doubt. The roofs were probably covered with stone or slate slabs. Three of these strip houses (successors to the corridor house of Vicus I: Buildings XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVII) stood south of Balineum II and were examined more closely. Their fronts faced the main street. Between them a 1.5 meter wide passage led to the bathhouse. The interior of house XXV was divided into several rooms, in the north there was a stove on the west wall. House XXIII was divided into three rooms, the north front was closed off by an apse, which function it had remained unclear. The hearths in all three chambers were still preserved. The remains of smoke ducts were visible in two of them. House XXVII had its own oven made of clay and stone in the south room and a slightly raised cooking bench in the north room. This equipment was typical for the residential buildings of Vicus II.
hostel
Building IX proved to be very complex in structural terms after its uncovering. In the early phase it served as a hostel ( mansio ), which was presumably reserved for higher officials and other representatives of Rome who traveled with the Cursus publicus . It may have been maintained by the military or by the Viciani themselves. Built by soldiers at the time of Vicus I, it was oriented from north to south and went through four construction phases during its use. In the west wing it had its own bathroom (rooms 11–15), an associated praefurnium and hypocaust heating, which was sealed with a screed floor ( opus signinum ). The bathroom was one of the oldest part of the building. This wing of the building, which also included six rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a latrine (rooms 1–9) and an inner courtyard with a water channel, was not built until some time later. Before that, a previous building had been built and the east wing laid out. The servants' bedrooms and the stables were located there. It was later separated from the rest of the mansio and may only have been used for residential purposes. This part of the building has been thoroughly examined. The west side was almost completely destroyed in antiquity. In the better preserved eastern part, traces of eight chambers, screed floors and three partition walls can still be seen. The chambers measure 3.70 × 4.90 meters. Three of the rooms were equipped with stoves. It is believed that they served as accommodation for soldiers' families at the beginning of the 3rd century. At the turn of the 2nd to the 3rd century, the building fell into disrepair, perhaps as part of the declining importance of Hadrian's Wall. In the bathing wing, the roof vault collapsed and was not rebuilt. In the case of the hot bath (room 12), the door was finally bricked up when the adjoining room 13 had also become unusable. The main entrance from the courtyard was initially narrowed and soon afterwards also completely walled up. In the final phase, in the middle of the 3rd century, a small brewery with two stone vats over two hot air ducts was installed in the west wing. One of these is also mentioned on one of the writing boards.
Business premises
Approx. 36 meters west of Balineum II was a long rectangular building (Building XI), which was probably used as a business premises ( tabernae ). These houses had open spaces to the street, as are still typical for small shops in the Mediterranean today. A hob or stove could not be detected. Only a small lead seal was found as a find.
Cult building
There was a Romano-British temple in the north-west of the site . It is one of the few remaining monuments from pre-Hadrian times and consisted of an inner chamber with an entrance door ( cella ), where cult statues or altars were placed. Some have been merged with the traditional gods of Rome. Such temples are actually only known for the south of Britain. An altar was found inside the cella, but the inscription could no longer be deciphered. The closed corridor ( ambulatory ), resting on pillars, ran around the cella . (Cella: 5.1 × 5.1 meters, handling: 10.8 × 10.8 meters). After the demolition in the middle of the second century, the area was used as a burial place. In the middle of the building you can still see the base of an amphora that was used as an urn. Further sanctuaries were located in the southwest of the vicus area, a temple with ornate columns on the western edge of the civil settlement was destroyed around 1765. They are likely to have been in use until the 4th century. Local deities were also often worshiped in the Roman settlements.
Hadrian's residence
During the excavation campaign of 1992, the remains of a representative, approximately fifty square meter wooden building, which could be dated between 120 and 130, were uncovered in front of the west gate of the stone fort. Both the floor plan and the recovered fragments of elaborate wall painting lead to the conclusion that this must have been an unusual palatial residence for the north. The building, which was excavated on the site of a crew barracks in Fort IV, was built from massive beams, which suggests another floor. One of the floors was made of stone slabs, presumably a workshop ( fabrica ) was housed in this area . In the north part there was an inner courtyard, the portico of which was supported by oak beams, as well as screed floors ( Opus Signinum ) and plastered walls. Its location in the central sector of the northern border and only a few kilometers south of Hadrian's Wall suggests that Emperor Hadrian and his personal entourage were housed there during their visit to Britain in 122. The building was not used for very long. It is possible that the construction of Hadrian's Wall was planned or supervised there. To the west of this palace building stood a large warehouse with a number of ovens. Numerous workshops were found further west.
Brick factory
The bricks needed to construct and maintain the buildings were likely made in a nearby brick factory ( figlina ). The geophysical survey of an area north of Stanegate, near the fort, 200 meters from the Chineley Burn valley, revealed a severe soil anomaly. Presumably there were kilns there that were used to produce bricks. The latter were stored openly north and west of the ovens. The clay required for this was u. a. extracted from pits south of bath house I.
Water supply
Fresh water was obtained either from the surrounding streams or wells, which did not dry up even in summer. Some of these wells were only very small in diameter, just big enough for a bucket, and about five feet deep, so they were initially mistaken for post holes. In the western part of the vicus in 1914 a stone-lined well shaft was found which had been filled in again after its investigation. It was dug up again in the late 1960s. It was found that there was still an abundant spring there. Subsequently, remains of water basins and pipes from Roman times came to light, which were examined more closely in 1973. The upper part of the well, which was researched in 1914, consisted of a round sandstone basin from which the spring water had once poured into other small distribution basins and then into stone channels. These channels consisted of long rectangular stone blocks chiseled out in a semicircle on the upper part, which were laid in rows. One strand ran to Balineum II, another to the main street and then on to a collecting basin at the Mansio. A third line supplied a collecting basin some 3.80 meters away, which consisted of stone slabs. They were expanded several times during their period of use.
Bathhouses
No bathhouses ( thermae or balineum ) could be detected for the period from the mid-80s to the end of the 90s and from 140 to 227 . The fort was again manned by soldiers during this time, it is believed that the other forts in Vindolanda also had them. It is therefore likely that some undiscovered bathing complexes from this period are still on the Chesterholm grounds, possibly north of Stanegate Street and under the Severan Praetorium. So far, two bathhouses have been identified in the vicinity of Fort IX. One of the bath guards ( balinator ), a man named Vitalis, is also known from the writing boards . Various finds made in the bathhouses suggest that they were used not only by soldiers but also by civilians. Probably men and women bathed separately, i. H. the bathhouses were reserved for women (and children) at certain times. The officers probably bathed in the Praetorium's premises. From 370 until the early 5th century, only the much smaller bathhouse in the praetorium was probably available to the residents of the late antique fort. Robin Birley considers that the praetorium was entirely converted into a bathhouse during this period.
Balineum I.
Around 100 AD, the Batav cohort was commissioned to build or repair the fort bath, according to a writing board. His position was initially only visible on aerial photographs. After the excavations were completed in 2000, the remains were preserved and made accessible to the public. The multi-phase building was about 20 meters south of the stone fort IX, on the edge of a small plateau above the steep slope to the Doe Sike Bach. The subsoil had to be leveled there first in order to be able to set the foundations. In contrast to the other buildings of the early fortress, it was built almost entirely from brick. The building was redesigned and repaired at least twice, possibly during a change of guard of the garrison in 105. The excavations uncovered a considerable number of bricks, floor tiles and other ceramic fragments. The foundations of the hot and warm baths can still be seen today. The bathhouse was demolished again by the following garrison troops, as its building materials were supposed to be reused for the construction of a new building around the middle of the 2nd century. His area was not built on again afterwards. Therefore, the archaeologists were able to reconstruct its complete floor plan. It was a row-type bath, which was aligned in its axis from west to east, and which was common in the border regions. It could be entered in the north through the changing room ( apodyterium ). A small vestibule led to the sweat bath ( laconium ) in the east, which could be heated by a prefurnium on the east wall. Through a door in the south of the anteroom one entered a narrow corridor, from which one got into the east wing, which housed the hot bath ( caldarium ) and the warm bath ( tepidarium ). The brick pillars ( pilae ) still preserved there supported the double floor of the hypocaust heating. If you went back into the corridor, you could enter the two-room cold bath ( frigidarium ) through a door in the east . The toilet facility ( Latrivina ) belonging to the bathhouse was located a little to the southwest of the main building.
Balineum II
The first known description of Bath House II (or Legionnaires Bath) comes from Christopher Hunter, who stayed in Vindolanda in 1702 : “A few years ago a vaulted room was discovered under a pile of rubble. He had floor slabs laid in lime. Below was a lower room (hypocaust), the ceiling of which was supported by rows of square pillars about half a yard high. The upper room had two niches like chimneys on either side of each of its four corners, a total of 16 of them; the floor panels of this room, as well as its ceilings, were blackened with soot. "
The uncovered foundations of the buildings have been preserved and are visible. The changing room and latrine block were badly damaged by stone robbery, the west wing was best preserved, here the walls were partly up to a height of 2 meters. The building stood 22 meters from the northwest corner of the stone fort and was also built by soldiers. It may have been built in Hadrianic times or only at the turn of the 3rd to 4th century and went through three construction phases, none of which could be dated exactly enough. The discovery of Handcliffe ceramics suggests that the bathroom was last repaired or rebuilt around 367.
Its layout was similar to other baths on Hadrian's Wall (block or row type). It was originally planned as a row bathroom with a tepidarium and sudatorium on the sides. Ultimately, however, all of the functional rooms were crammed into a smaller area regardless of the shape of the individual rooms. It had a hot, a warm and a cold bath as well as two boiler rooms ( prefecture ). In phase 2, a changing room ( apodyterium ) and a separate, 5.20 × 2.70 meter latrine as well as a porch (narthex) and a few functional rooms were added to the building . They must have been erected by auxiliary soldiers. In the south-east corner of the frigidarium a 2.60 meter large, semicircular water basin was installed. The apse of the caldarium was bricked up. The central bathing wing was probably built by members of Legio VI. Auxiliaries could also be used for the construction of the not so demanding changing room and the latrine. The changing room, which was not entirely at right angles, measured 8.60 × 4.45 meters and could be entered from the south. To the west was the 5.45 × 5 meter cold bath ( frigidarium ), which had a 2.25 × 5 meter pool ( piscina ) in the south . A 1.45 meter long wall remnant in the west could be the remnant of a heat lock that shielded the entrance to the 4.4 × 5 meter sweat bath ( sudatorium ). The sudatorium was heated by a prefurnium on the north side. To the west of the cold bath was the 3.80 × 5.5 meter warm bath ( tepidarium ), from which the 6.30 × 5.5 meter hot bath ( caldarium ) with its apse in the west could be entered in the northeast . The apse (diameter: 3.15 meters) was embedded in a rectangular block in the east, which protruded into the sweat bath. About 1.20 meters in front of the north wall of the hot bath, in the west of the room, there is the beginning of a transverse wall, which starts inside the apse, probably the rest of the heating channel ( alveus ) of the second prefecture. The platform for the hot water boiler and nine stone steps were still preserved here. The hypocaust consisted of a series of supports of about 91.4 cm high stone columns and columns of superimposed walled, thin stone plates on which the floor of stone slabs and from opus signinum existing floor of the bathing rooms rested. The slabs and screed had been renewed several times. The bathhouse sewer drained north into the Brackies Burn. Ceramic shards indicate that the bathhouse was no longer used after 367. During the reign of Theodosius (379–394), some rooms were used as workshops. A child's sandal, hairpins, hair combs and pearls recovered in the sewer indicated that the bathhouse was also accessible to civilians.
population
The region probably belonged to the territory of the Celto-British tribe ( pagus ) of the Textoverdi, they could have been part of a larger federation of brigands . An altar of the local deity Sattada (Satiada) found in Beltingham Chapel, just three kilometers from the fortress, is believed to also come from Chesterholm and suggests that Vindolanda was originally an important Textoverdi settlement. The textoverdi are only known from this altar. It should therefore be a local cult. Perhaps she was the genius of this tribe. The altar inscription for Vulcan indicates that it was erected by the Textoverdorum Curia . This can refer to the old Welsh coria , which means army or weapon place, or a kind of popular assembly is meant, perhaps also a council of elders. Some of the people named on the writing boards were most likely also members of the Textoverdi. What the tribal name means is unclear, it could refer to the Celtic word for quick. Perhaps the Textoverdi were skilled horsemen and scouts, no doubt very familiar with the harsh land on which they lived. Since no bones or the like came to light in the grave fields, one is only dependent on guesswork about the physical condition, diet and living conditions of the inhabitants of Vindolanda. Conclusions in this regard could be drawn from the results of the investigation of a burial ground in York / Trentholm Drive. The information on the tombstones shows that mostly young people lived in the border region, but most of them did not get very old. On average, men died at the age of 36 and women at 28. Infant and child mortality was also high. Such conditions prevailed in England until the Middle Ages. The population on Hadrian's Wall was not known to be hungry. Most of them suffered from diseases such as arthritis or rheumatism , and towards the end of the 4th century epidemics such as the plague claimed many victims. Poorly healed wounds or breaks left many cripples for the rest of their lives. Most of the individuals were of sturdy, sturdy stature and reached the same height as people today. Newcomers came from all parts of the empire, and their descendants were probably all born in Northern Great Britain. Most of them could read and write, as evidenced by the Vindolanda tablets. This skill was lost again in the 4th and 5th centuries. Nevertheless, the standard of living enjoyed by the residents of Vindolanda was not reached again until the 18th century. Her life was closely tied to the soldiers. When they were moved to the mainland, many of the Viciani moved with them. When the Roman troops withdrew from Britain at the end of the 4th century, this probably only affected the mobile field army . The numerically bled out and now insignificant for Rome border troops stayed behind and with them the civilian population who now also lived in the fort. In the end of Roman rule, however, a massive decline in population set in. The economy and food production fell back to the pre-Roman subsistence level , sources of money dried up and trade routes were interrupted. The country could only feed a few people.
economy
Mainly cattle were kept on farm animals, but also sheep and pigs. On one of the writing boards it is mentioned that venison (deer) was sold in the shops. Between slaughterhouse waste from cattle and sheep were u. a. Dog bones. Such animals may also have been consumed in Vindolanda . A large number of professions such as hunter, farmer, carter, weaver, butcher, tanner, saddler etc. depended on hunting and animal husbandry. Milk, lard, meat, eggs, and bone marrow were preferred foods. Clothing and a large number of everyday items were also mainly made from animal products. Oxen, horses, donkeys and mules were used to transport people and goods. Most of the grain was delivered there from the south of Britain. The transport was carried out by the Classis Britannica , which delivered it to the mouth of the Tyne. Only insignificant quantities could be produced in the Wallzone itself. It is not known whether grain was grown in Vindolanda , since all traces of Roman fields were erased over time. The terrain there was also very unsuitable. The main crops that were harvested were hazelnuts, fruit and wild berries. A coal stalk was found in the fountain of the Praetorium (stone fort). The only proof that such vegetables were also eaten in Vindolanda . Pottery was mostly imported from other provinces, from the 4th century pottery was also produced in Vicus II, the very coarse so-called Housesteads ware . The clay pits required for this were probably located at the Chinelay Burn. The area around Vindolanda was rich in mineral resources, including iron, lead and coal, perhaps a reason for the foundation of an altar to Vulcanus, the patron god of blacksmiths and metal workers. Iron and lead were probably mined in the vicinity (e.g. on the north bank of Brackies Burn) and smelted on the spot. Most of the time wood was used for heating, less often coal was used for this. During the excavations, bronze workshops could also be identified. Weaving and spinning were probably operated in the private sector. Lime was burned in Vindolanda for mortar , and slate was also used. There were probably mills on the banks of the watercourses.
Burial ground
As is customary with the Romans, the burial grounds were laid out outside the built-up area. One was in the corridors (Archy's Flate) on the north side of Stanegate, it extended about 800 meters from the northwest corner of the stone fort to the west. There urns and the tombstone of Ingenuus were discovered. Another cemetery was on the south side of Stanegate, west of the civil settlement. Six burials that were discovered south of the Mansio are believed to date from the 4th century, they barely contained traces of bones or other finds. The foundations of two larger graves (post-Roman mausoleum ) on the western edge of the site have also been preserved there. No grave goods could be found. Some of the deceased were buried in chamber or flagstone graves. Due to the acidic soil conditions on site, however, all the skeletons are long gone. Roman cremation burials (dated to 250 AD) were observed during the construction of the west parking lot and about 400 meters west of the fort. Hugh Ridley had already unearthed some ancient urns in his garden at this point in the 18th century. Six Roman tombstones were also uncovered, some of which were damaged. There is another badly damaged stone that is believed to have been inscribed as well. The cemetery was probably used jointly by soldiers and civilians. Through these finds, some names of the earlier residents have also become known:
- Brigomaglos, possibly one of the post-Roman inhabitants of Vindolanda,
- Cornelius Victor, a Singularis Consularis , who lived for 55 years, came from Pannonia and was the son of Primus Pilus Saturninus,
- Ingenuus, who lived 24 years, four months and seven days,
- a woman named Iulia Verecunda,
- Aurelia, the daughter of Aurelius, she lived 24 years and
- Flavia Emerita, wife of Flavius In [...].
The relief on the tombstones of Ingenuus and Iulia Verecunda, which Haverfield still saw as a coat of arms, is actually a chalice, a motif often used in Roman funeral symbolism.
Cult and religion
After evaluating the inscriptions and statues found in Vindolanda, the religious ideas of its inhabitants were strongly Celtic. Excavations in Chesterholm have so far uncovered 24 altars or votive objects dedicated to a variety of gods, both Greco-Roman and Germanic deities. A total of five altars were counted for the supreme imperial god Iupiter Optimus Maximus, five for the Germanic god of war Veterus, two for the mother goddesses , one of which could provisionally be dated to the late third or the beginning of the 4th century. Other altar stones were the Cocidius , Fortuna , Veteris , Neptune , the Genius Loci des Praetoriums, the goddess Satiada - this by decision of the Council of Textoverdi - Silvanus by a soldier of the Legio II Augusta , the deified imperial house, the god Vulcanus and Dedicated to the Mogon and the local guardian spirits. Satiada (also Saitada, Sattada, Saiiada) was probably a deity worshiped only in the region, for which there is no other written evidence apart from the altar from Chesterholm. According to an altar inscription, there was also a temple ( Ara Vituris ) for the god Viturus in Vindolanda . In 1765, according to Pastor John Wallis, a ruined temple was discovered west of the vicus, but shortly afterwards it was completely destroyed. In one of the houses (building LXXII) a Mercury relief was found that was reused as a stove. Furthermore, a clay statuette of Dea Nutrix came to light, which might have been brought there from the Rhineland. Christianity is believed to have spread in Northern Britain from the middle of the 4th century. One of the burial grounds that was explored in 1973 could have been a Christian burial site. Evidence for followers of this religion in Chesterholm is the tombstone of the Briomaglos, which probably dates from the end of the 5th century.
Vindolanda Museum
There is a small museum on the excavation site that presents the collection of the Vindolanda Trust from the ongoing excavations. It shows a selection of the writing boards, the world's largest collection of Roman footwear, textiles, pottery, militaria and personal items of the fort and vicus inhabitants. The museum cooperates closely with the Roman Army Museum in Greenhead, which teaches visitors the daily life of the border guards.
The archaeological park includes the preserved remains
- a pre-Hadrian bathhouse and one from the 3rd century,
- two commandant houses and the principia of the stone fort from the 3rd and 4th centuries,
- a latrine,
- a Romano-British common temple for an unknown deity,
- the only still visible Jupiter-Dolichenus temple within an auxiliary troop fort,
- a post-Roman mausoleum and
- an early Christian church in the former praetorium.
Reconstructions of Roman buildings were also built on the Chesterholm site:
- a nymphaeum on Chainley Burn east of the fortress,
- a business premises ( tabernae ),
- a Romano-British house and
- part of Hadrian's Wall in wood and stone.
The latter should give the visitor an impression of the presumed appearance of the wall in the form of a watchtower and the gate of a wooden-earth-mile fort. The design of the upper part of these buildings are pure guesswork. The watchtower and wall were built from Roman stones. The height of the watchtower is also speculative.
Limes course between Newbrough Fort and Haltwhistle Burn
| Illustration | Surname | Description / condition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Barcombe Hill watchtower and signal tower | The tower is about 1.6 km east of the stone fort. Presumably it was part of the chain of watch and signal towers at Stanegate. The tower stood south of Stanegate or on the northern edge of Barcombe Hill on the northwest corner of an Iron Age hill fort . From there you had a good view to the north to Hadrian's Wall (Steel Rigg ridge), Vindolanda itself and the Pennines mountains further south. It was exposed in 1939 and again in the 1950s. The fence was a 4.2 meter wide and in places still 0.8 meter high preserved wood-earth wall, which stood on a limestone foundation, which in turn cut into the fence of the hill fort. It had a rectangular floor plan with rounded corners and measured about 17 meters from east to west and 13 meters from north to south. The facility was also protected by a 3 meter wide weir ditch. It is believed that a platform inside the fence supported a wooden watchtower. During the excavations, a considerable amount of pottery from the first century was recovered, and a hearth built into the north-eastern wall could also be observed. | |||||
| Barcombe B watch and signal tower | During the excavations, a rectangular wall of a Roman building was discovered south of Vindolanda and southwest of Barcombe Hill. The stone foundations were on average 0.96 meters wide, identical to those of Tower 45a Walltown on Hadrian's Wall. In the corner there were still remnants of a stone platform (1 × 1.19 meters), presumably it served as a ladder attachment. The walls date from the first or second century AD. A broken glass bottle from the first or second century could be found as an accessory. |
chronology
- 80–125: Presumed establishment of the first fortification under Agricola (1980s of the 1st century AD), secured from the year 90 as part of the Stanegate border. Then the Flavian and Trajan forts were built
- 125–163: Vacancy during the first construction phase of Hadrian's Wall
- 163–197: Construction of a new fortress from 163 (inscriptions), this was destroyed again between 196/197
- 200–297: Reconstruction of the fort in stone at the beginning of the 3rd century, it was destroyed again at the end of the century, between 245 and 270 the vicus was also uninhabited
- 300–367: Rebuilt at the beginning of the 4th century and used until 367
- 369–400: Extensive repairs to the camp and construction of new buildings after 367, in the early 5th century the fort was finally abandoned by the army
literature
- Paul T. Bidwell, Justine Bayley: The Roman Fort of Vindolanda at Chesterholm, Northumberland. Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, London 1985, ISBN 1-85074-061-5 ( digitized ).
- Justin Blake, Robin Birley, RJ Brickstock: Vindolanda Excavations 2000. The Southern Defences of Stone Fort Two, with the Circular Huts and Other Features. Roman Army Museum Publications, Greenhead 2001, ISBN 1-873136-95-1 .
- Alan K. Bowman , John David Thomas: The Vindolanda Writing Tablets (= Tabulae Vindolandenses II). London 1994.
- Alan K. Bowman, John David Thomas: The Vindolanda Writing-tablets. (= Tabulae Vindolandenses III). British Museum Press, London 2003, ISBN 0-7141-2249-1 .
- Alan K. Bowman: Life and Letters on the Roman Frontier: Vindolanda and its People. British Museum Press, London 1998, ISBN 0-415-92024-8 .
- Alan K. Bowman: The Roman Writing Tablets from Vindolanda. British Museum, London 1983, ISBN 0-7141-1373-5 .
- Eric Birley: Research on Hadrian's Wall. 1961.
- Barbara Birley, Elizabeth Greene: The Roman Jewelery from Vindolanda. Beads, intaglios, finger rings, ear-rings & bracelets. Roman Army Museum Publications, Greenhead 2006, ISBN 978-1-873136-09-6 .
- Andrew Birley: Vindolanda's Military Bath Houses: Report on the Pre-Hadrianic Military Bath House Found in 2000, with Analysis of the Early Third Century Bath House Excavated in 1970/71, and Possible Sites of Other Bath Houses. Roman Army Museum Publications, Greenhead 2001, ISBN 1-873136-90-0 .
- Robin Birley: Vindolanda Guide. The Home of Britain's Finest Treasures. Roman Army Museum Publications, Greenhead 2012, ISBN 978-1-873136-59-1 .
- Robin Birley: Vindolanda. Extraordinary Records of Daily Life on the Northern Frontier. Roman Army Museum Publications, Greenhead 2005, ISBN 1-873136-97-8 .
- Robin Birley, Andrew Birley, Justin Blake: The 1998 Excavations at Vindolanda. The Praetorium Site. Interim report. Roman Army Museum Publications, Greenhead 1999, ISBN 1-873136-66-8 .
- Robin Birley: Roman Records from Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall. Roman Army Museum Publications, Greenhead 1999.
- Robin Birley, Justin Blake, Andrew Birley: The 1997 Excavations at Vindolanda. The Praetorium Site. Interim report. Roman Army Museum Publications, Greenhead 1998, ISBN 1-873136-61-7 .
- Robin Birley: The Roman Documents from Vindolanda. Roman Army Museum Publications, Greenhead 1990, ISBN 1-873136-00-5 .
- Robin Birley: Vindolanda: A Roman Frontier Post on Hadrian's Wall. Thames and Hudson, London 1977, ISBN 0-500-39014-2 .
- Robin Birley: Vindolanda (Chesterhelm), Northumberland. A Guide to the Remains of the Roman Frontier Fort and Town. Cameo, 1972
- Robin Birley: Vindolanda: A Roman Frontier Fort on Hadrian's Wall. 2009.
- Anthony R. Birley : Garrison Life at Vindolanda. A band of brothers. 2002, ISBN 0-7524-1950-1 .
- Anthony R. Birley: Vindolanda: The everyday life in a border fortress in Britain at the beginning of the 2nd century AD. In: Wilhelm G. Busse (Ed.): Castle and palace as places to live in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. (= Studia Humaniora. Volume 26). Düsseldorf 1995, pp. 9-18.
- Anthony R. Birley: A Band of Brothers: Equestrian Officers in the Vindolanda Tablets. In: Electrum. Volume 5, 2000, pp. 11-30.
- Anthony R. Birley: Vindolana: Notes on Some New Writing-Tablets. In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy. Volume 88, 1991, pp. 87-102.
- Anthony R. Birley, Robin Birley: Vindolanda: Four New Writing Tablets. In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy. Volume 100, 1994, pp. 431-446.
- Anthony R. Birley: Vindolana: New Writing Tablets 1986–1989 In: Roman Frontier Studies. 1989 (1991), pp. 16-20.
- Anthony R. Birley: Vindolanda: New excavations 1985–1986. In: Hermann Vetters , Manfred Kandler (ed.): Files of the 14th International Limes Congress 1986 in Carnuntum. Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1990, ISBN 3-7001-1695-0 , pp. 333-340.
- Anthony Birley, A. Meyer, E., & Greene: Recent Discoveries in the Fort and Extramural Settlement at Vindolanda: Excavations from 2009–2015. Britannia 2016, No. 47, pp. 243-252.
- Anthony R. Birley: The Vindolana Tablets. Roman Writing Revealed In: Minerva. Volume 11, No. 2, 1990, pp. 8-11.
- Kasper Grønlund Evers: The Vindolanda Tablets and the Ancient Economy. Archaeopress, Oxford 2006, ISBN 978-1-4073-0842-5 .
- George WI Hodgson: The Animal Remains from Excavations at Vindolanda, 1970-1975. Vindolanda Trust, Hexham 1977, ISBN 1-873136-66-8 .
- Robin George Collingwood, R. Iard P. Wright: The Roman Inscriptions of Britain. No. 1, Oxford, 1965.
- Peter Prestel: Hadrian's Wall in Britain. In: Gisela Graichen (Ed.): Limes, Rome's border wall against the barbarians. Scherz, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-502-15186-9 , pp. 35-51.
- Ronald Embleton, Frank Graham: Hadrian's Wall in the Days of the Romans. Newcastle 1984, pp. 210-222.
- Les Turnbull: Hadrian's Wall History Trails Guidebook IV. Newcastle 1974, pp. 29-56.
- Manfred Philipp: Fort baths in the northern provinces of the Roman Empire. Dissertation, text volume I, Innsbruck 1999.
- Jocelyn MC Toynbee , Alan Wilkins: The Vindolanda Horse (= Britannia. Volume 13). Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, 1982.
- Alistair Moffat: The Wall: Rome's Greatest Frontier. Birlinn Limited, Edinburgh 2012. ISBN 978-1-84158-789-9 .
- Carol van Driel-Murray: Warm and dry: a complete Roman tent from Vindolanda. Royal Armories Museum, 2017. PDF
- Robert Nouwen: The Vindolanda tablet 88/841 and the cohors I Tungrorum milliaria ,. In: M. Lodewijckx (Ed.): Archeological and Historical Aspects of West-European Societies. Album amicorum A. Van Doorselaer. 1995.
- Margaret Roxan: The Roman military diploma, in Paul Bidwell: The Roman fort of Vindolanda. Hist.Build. and Mon.Comm. England, Archeological Reports 1, 1985.
Web links
- Location of the fort on Vici.org.
- Vindolanda on PastScape
- Vindolanda on Historic England
- Website of the Vindolanda Trust (English, information, photos, finds)
- Vindolanda on Roman-Britain.org
- Barcombe Hill signal station on Roman-Britain.org
- Vindolanda Tablets Online (English, all writing boards digitized and accessible)
- Björn Onken: Economy on the border. Studies on economic life in Roman military camps in northern Britain (dissertation, University of Kassel 2004, short version - full version also available as a PDF file)
- Kai Brodersen : Beer for the Landser on Spiegel Online from January 27, 2009
- Model of the fort and vicus
- Vindolanda impressions on You Tube
- Periods of construction of the fort
- Vindolanda on castles, forts, battles
- Mike Bishop: Per lineam vali
- 3D view Vindolana
Remarks
- ↑ Vindolanda tablets online, No. 343.
- ^ Albert Rivet, Colin Smith: The Place-names of Roman Britain. 1979, p. 502, Bidwell 1985, p. 3 RIB 1700 : vicani Vindolandenses , Robin Birley 1977, p. 35.
- ↑ R. Birley 1977, pp. 109-110.
- ↑ BONO REIPUBLICAE NATO "For those who were born for the good of the state", RIB 2308 ; Hodgson 2009, pp. 113-123; Klaus Grewe: Great Britain. England - Scotland - Wales. A guide to historical and technical monuments from antiquity and the Middle Ages. Verlag Theiss, 1999, p. 163; Anthony Birley: Roman Roadworks near Vindolanda and the Cohors I Tungrorum. In: Britannia. Volume 48, 2017, pp. 1-17; Robin Birley 1977, p. 27.
- ↑ Robin Birley: Vindolanda. A Roman frontier post on Hadrian's Wall. Thames and Hudson, London 1977. pp. 24-29, Robin Birley 1977, pp. 34-37, Fortunalatar: RIB 1684 .
- ↑ Bowman / Thomas 1994, pp. 18-21, R. Birley 1977, pp. 39 and 65.
- ↑ Peter Prestel 2008, p. 38; Bidwell / Bayley 1985, p. 7; Marta de la Torre (Ed.): Heritage Values in Site Management: Four Case Studies. Getty Publications, Los Angeles 2005, ISBN 0-89236-797-0 , p. 209.
- ^ Carol van Driel-Murray: Vindolanda and the Dating of Roman Footwear. Britannia, Vol. 32, 2001, p. 185.
- ↑ Child skeleton at Vindolanda fort 'from Mediterranean' on the BBC News website . Accessed April 23, 2013.
- ^ Robin Birley 1977, p. 95, W. Higgs: Catalog of animal-imprinted ceramic building materials. In: Andrew Birley (Ed.): Vindolanda's Military Bath Houses. The Excavations of 1970 and 2000: pp. 51-65. The Vindolanda Trust, Bardon Mill, Northumberland 2001, W. Higgs: Ichnology in Archeology: Comparison of Two Recently Excavated Assemblages as a Case Study in the Recording and Analysis of Archaeological Footprints. Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MSc, University of York Department of Archeology and Center for Human Paleoecology, York 2001.
- ↑ Driel-Murray 2017, pp. 1ff., Bill Mayes: The reconstruction of a leather Tent '. Exercitus 2.10, 1994, pp. 183-186.
- ↑ Toynbee / Wilkins 1982, pp. 245-251, Robin Birley 1977, pp. 70 and 91.
- ↑ R. Birley 1977, pp. 37, 45, 48.
- ↑ X, XI, XIII and XIIII, RIB 1720a-d , RIB 1702 , 122–126, building inscription, dedicated to the Emperor Hadrian and his governor Aulus Platorius Nepos of the Legio II Augusta , RIB 1703 , 163–166, building inscription, dedicated to the Governor Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, RIB 1705 , 213, building inscription, dedicated to Caracalla von der Cohors IV Gallorum , RIB 1706 , 223, building inscription, dedicated to governor Claudius Xenophon von der Cohors IV Gallorum Severiana , RIB 1710 , 276–282, building inscription from the Cohors IV Gallorum Probiana , Paul Bidwell 1985, p. 95.
- ↑ "Octavius to his brother Candidus: ... I have written you several times that I have bought around 5000 mets of grain, for which I need money. If you do not send me at least 500 denarii, I will lose my deposit. And that would be embarrassing. The leather you're writing to me about is in Cataractonium (Catterick). Write me what's wrong with the cart, I can't get there with the animals because the road is so miserable and I don't want to hurt it ... " ( Table 343 ).
- ↑ Johannes Kramer: Vulgar Latin everyday documents on papyri, ostraka, tablets and inscriptions. Verlag de Gruyter, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-11-020224-3 , p. 48, Bowman / Thomas 1994, pp. 18-21.
- ↑ Robin Birley 1977, p. 65
- ↑ , Notitia Occ. XL 25, R. Birley 1977, p. 110.
- ↑ AE 1987, 00746
- ↑ Robin Birley 1977, pp. 22, 110.
- ↑ Peter Prestel 2008, p. 46.
- ↑ Robin Birley 1977, p. 12.
- ↑ Eric Birley 1961, pp. 184-188, 267
- ↑ Bidwell 1985, p. 4.
- ↑ Birley 1977, p. 118.
- ↑ R. Birley 1977, p. 110.
- ↑ Paul Bidwell 1985, pp. 13, 35ff, Birley 1977, p. 121.
- ↑ Birley 1977, pp. 121-122.
- ↑ Birley 1977, pp. 123-124.
- ↑ R. Birley 1977, pp. 111-114
- ^ R. Birley, 1977, p. 115.
- ↑ Paul Bidwell 1985, pp. 72-84.
- ↑ Hodgson 2009, pp. 113-123, Roman toilet seat found at dig site . In: BBC News , August 27, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
- ^ RIB 1709 , lead seal with the stamp CO II P (Cohors II Pannoniorum?) AE 1975, 572
- ^ RIB 1702 , 122-126, building inscription, dedicated to Hadrian and his governor Aulus Platorius Nepos , Silvanus Altar, RIB 1696 , building inscription RIB 1707
- ^ RIB 1684
- ^ RIB 1708
- ^ Vindolanda Tablets Online , The Roman Army: Military Units.
- ↑ Nouwen 1995, p. 126, Roxan 1985, p. 93-102, military diploma: AE 1983, 00639 , plate 88/841.
- ↑ Bowman / Thomas 1994, pp. 22-24.
- ↑ RIB 1683 , RIB 1691
- ↑ CIVES GALLI DE GALLIAE CONCORDES QUE BRITANNI, RIB 3332 , translation: "The troops from Gaul dedicate this statue to Gallia , with the support of the troops from Britain.", RIB 1685 , RIB 1686 , RIB 1687 , RIB 1688 , RIB 1705 , RIB 1706 , RIB 1710 , ND occ. XL, Robin Birley 1977, p. 111.
- ↑ RIB 1700 , RIB 1695 , Alistair Moffat 2012, Robin Birley 1977, p. 44ff.
- ↑ Paul Bidwell 1985, p. 88, Robin Birley 1977, pp. 70-73.
- ↑ Robin Birley 1977, pp. 70-73 and pp. 91-92, 97-103.
- ↑ RIB 1695 ; Robin Birley 1977, p. 66ff. and 2012, pp. 4-5; Paul Bidwell 1985, p. 88.
- ↑ R. Birley 1977, pp. 73-78.
- ↑ R Birley 1977, pp. 79 and 86.
- ↑ R Birley 1977, p. 36
- ↑ Bedoyere 1998, p. 136.
- ↑ R. Birley 1977 pp. 82-83.
- ↑ Robin Birley 1977, p. 65.
- ↑ Hodgson 2009, pp. 113-123, Andrew Birley: Vindolanda's Military Bath Houses. The Excavations of 1970 and 2000. The Vindolanda Trust, Hexham, Northumberland 2001, W. Higgs: Catalog of animal-imprinted ceramic building materials. In: Andrew Birley, (Ed.): Vindolanda's Military Bath Houses. The Excavations of 1970 and 2000: pp. 51-65. The Vindolanda Trust, Bardon Mill, Northumberland 2001b.
- ↑ Eric Birley 1961, p. 188, and 1971, p. 249, Robin Birley 1977, pp. 34-37, 46-65 and 2009, p. 159, Philipp 1999, pp. 113-114.
- ↑ R. Birley 1977, pp. 91-92 and 104-105.
- ↑ Robin Birley 1977, pp. 22, 95-97.
- ↑ R. Birley 1977, p. 83.
- ↑ RIB 1722a , RIB 1713 , RIB 1714 , RIB 1715 , RIB 1716
- ↑ Robin Birley 1977, pp. 93-95, RIB 1722d , RIB 1683 , RIB 1684 , RIB 1685 , RIB 1689 , RIB 1690 , RIB 1692 , RIB 1694 , RIB 1695 , RIB 1696 , RIB 1697 , RIB 1699 , RIB 1700 , RIB 1722 ,
- ^ Albrecht Steinecke: cultural tourism - market structures, case studies, perspectives. Oldenbourg, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-486-58384-7 , p. 149.
- ^ Ronald Embleton, Frank Graham: Hadrian's Wall in the Days of the Romans. Newcastle 1984.
- ↑ P. Wooliscroft, S. Swain, N. Lockett: Archaeologia Aeliana or Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity. Volume 20, 1992, pp. 57-62.
Pons Aelius Castle (Newcastle upon Tyne) | Coriosopitum (Corbridge) | Newbrough forts | Vindolanda (Bardon Mill) | Haltwhistle Burn (Haltwhistle) | Magnis Castle (Carvoran) | Small fort Throp | Nether Denton Fort (Nether Denton) | Castle Hill (Boothby) | Old Church Castle (Brampton) | Luguvalium Castle (Carlisle) | Fort Portus Trucculensis (Kirkbride)