Fifty years ago this month, a dig discovery in Northumberland opened up an astonishing window into everyday life almost 2,000 years ago.
The postcard-sized thin wooden writing tablet found at the Roman fort of Vindolanda was the first of almost 2,000 which have since been unearthed, allowing voices to be heard from the distant past.
The Vindolanda Trust is now celebrating the 50th anniversary of that first find on March 23, 1973, in which the writer says: ”Have sent you pairs of socks from Sattua, two pairs of sandals and two pairs of underpants. Greet all your messmates with whom I pray that you live in the greatest of good fortune.”
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A later tablet uses a derogatory word - Brittunculi – to describe the native people: ” The Britons are unprotected by armour. The cavalry do not use swords nor do the wretched Britons mount in order to throw javelins.”
The Northumberland writing tablets are now world famous and were voted as Britain’s top archaeological treasure. They are mostly held in the British Museum, but 13 are on permanent display at Vindolanda.
Ten were found during Vindolanda’s 2022 excavations and it is expected that more will be revealed in an area of expected good preservation when this year’s dig begins next month. These hand written notes of ink on wood have revealed a remarkable amount of first-hand information from the people who lived at the fort site nearly 2,000 years ago.
Several individuals feature more than once in the tablets, such as Flavius Cerialis, commander of the Ninth Cohort of Batavians from modern day Holland, who were one of the garrisons at Vindolanda. A birthday invitation letter to his wife, Sulpicia Lepidina, is one of the most celebrated of the tablets. It was written by her friend Claudia Severa, wife of Aelius Brocchus, at the unknown location of Briga.
Claudia’s letter contains the earliest known examples of writing in Latin by a woman. It says: “On 11 September, sister, for the day of the celebration of my birthday, I give you a warm invitation to make sure that you come to us, to make the day more enjoyable for me by your arrival, if you are present. Give my greetings to your Cerialis. My Aelius and my little son send him greetings. I shall expect you, sister. Farwell, my sister, my dearest soul.”
Cerialis is also written to by Masclus, a decurion - cavalry detachment commander - who says: “Please, my lord, give instructions as to what you want us to have done tomorrow. Are we to return with the standard.” Then he adds: “ My fellow-soldiers have no beer. Please order some to be sent.”
Vindolanda Trust chief executive Dr Andrew Birley, said: “This collection of correspondence both to and from Verecundus gives us an unparalleled insight into the daily life of a commanding officer stationed on the most northern edge of the Roman Empire nearly 40 years before Hadrian’s Wall. The contents of these tablets are remarkable not because of any sensational statements or revelations but because of their unfiltered account of everyday life. “
Dr Roger Tomlin, one of the team of specialists who analysed the texts, described deciphering Julius Verecundus’s letters more than 19 centuries later as “a privilege.” He said: “To be looking over the colonel’s shoulder as he deals with his correspondence – his vegetables and plant-cuttings, a wrong key, a missing knife, the pompous attempt by a fellow-colonel to get one of his sergeants into trouble. How lucky we have been.”
The letters in which Masclus appears also shows that, while commanders and garrisons come and go, he is stationed along the frontier for at least 15 years. A letter from Secundus, who may have been of similar rank to Verecundus, complains about “little outbursts of anger” from a centurion called Decuminus.
“It suggests that this needs to be sorted out and that it merits a telling-off,” said Andrew. “It shows the dynamic of day to day life and the job of Verecundus in keeping the peace and stopping people fighting with each other.”
Other characters to emerge from the letters are Vitalis the Balniator (a bath house keeper), Vardullian (northern Spain) cavalrymen including Tagomas whose contubernalis, or unofficial wife, is mentioned, Atrectus the brewer and the slaves Severus and Candidus who are getting ready for the festival of Saturnalia.
Mr Birley said: “Writing tablets cross the great distance of time and cultures and the thing which stands out, apart from the sheer variety and detail, is the humanity of the people writing them. It is this humanity which allows us to really enjoy, marvel and understand the people of the letters. They are, in that way, utterly amazing.”
* On March 16, Prof Alexander Mayer will give a talk at 7pm at Vindolanda on his research into the tablets - the largest collection of Roman writing in the Western Empire. On March 23 itself there will be tablet tours at 11am and 1pm.
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