Vindolanda - a fort and frontier in transition by Dr. Andrew Birley

Today we see the Roman frontier, especially Hadrian’s Wall, presented as a serene monument fixed in stone. This largely peaceful and tranquil ruin is situated in the beautiful rolling hills of Northumberland. However, such images, while evocative, conceal the grimier ever day realities and opportunities that frontier people faced, either as members of the military community or as those oppressed by them. The fort and settlements at Vindolanda, dating from the earliest occupation of the area and lasting through all the centuries of Roman rule (and beyond) offers a glimpse into the daily struggles and lives of those communities which has yet to be paralleled. The organic soils preserve things which have long rotted away elsewhere, artefacts in wood, leather, textile, and bone. But most of all, it is the letters, thin postcards from the past which are covered in ink handwriting which are the greatest treasure of all. Each one is a window into the very soul of the person who wrote it, each letter, no matter how mundane, is a first-hand account from a time when no great and detailed written histories of Britain have yet been found. They tell the stories of soldiers, slaves, merchants, women and children, everyday folk rather than kings and queens, emperors, or governors. When combined with other material from the site an intimate and lively picture emerges of what it meant to be in a place where nothing ever seemed to have been set in stone.