Dating from the first and second centuries AD, the Vindolanda tablets consist of letters, accounts and records of life in the Roman fort of Vindolanda. They are a unique source of information on ancient roman writing as well as everyday roman life on the frontier of Roman Britain
The Vindolanda Tablets
Now held in the British Museum, the Vindolanda tablets were discovered by Robin Birley in the 1980s. Dating from around 100AD, they survive in fragmented form but contain a wealth of information about day to day life in the fort of Vindolanda and Roman Britain in general.
The tablets demonstrate the widespread nature of roman literacy as they are written not only by scribes and the fort commanders but also their wives, slaves, merchants and ordinary soldiers.
Roman Stylus Tablets and Leaf Tablets
The documents from Vindolanda fall into two categories: Wooden stylus tablets and wooden leaf tablets.
- Stylus tablets. These were thought to be the most widely used form of roman writing material although at Vindolanda they form the minority of the finds. They consisted of postcard sized rectangles of wood which were overlaid with a layer of wax, often linked together in book form. Stylus tablets were made from silver fir, cedar and lime wood, trees not native to Britain in this period, indicating that they were imported rather than locally produced.
The writing was made on the wax layer using a stylus and could be wiped from the wax, allowing the stylus tablet to be used again and again. Despite the loss of the wax, traces of writing often survive on the wooden backing board.
Stylus tablets tended to be used for accounts, business and legal documents and occasional letters
- Leaf tablets. Over 1000 leaf tablet letters have been found at Vindolanda, making them the most common form of documentation at the fort although they survive rarely throughout the Roman world.
Leaf tablets consisted of thin sheaves of young wood from birch, alder wood or oak written on in an ink made from carbon, gum Arabic and water. The types of wood used were native, proving they were locally produced.
Because of the thinness and pliability of their material, leaf tablets could be folded. If they were used for letters, the address was written on the folded outer sheet, in much the same way as letters are addressed today. Holes on the right and left hand sides of surviving fragments indicate they could be tied together to seal them.
Leaf tablets were used for accounts and lists, reports and letters
How Did The Vindolanda Tablets Survive?
Although described by ancient writers, leaf tablets in particular were rare finds up until the discovery at Vindolanda. This is because wood as an organic material and so quickly broken down by oxygen in the environment.
The Vindolanda tablets survived because of the rare conditions at the site. The clay soil of the area became compacted, creating oxygen free pockets around the tablets. The absence of oxygen prevented the wood from being broken down. Preservation was aided by chemicals released from bracken, bone and other remains which rendered the soil sterile. This inhibited plant growth which in its turn prevented the letters being disturbed and destroyed by root systems.
Contents of Tablets
The contents of the tablets cover a wide spectrum of daily events. They include mundane matters of fort administration such as requests for more beer as well as including letters between the soldiers and their families, many of which refer to the supply of socks and underpants to guard against the harsh British winter. The soldier’s accounts also describe skirmishes with the natives, who are described as fighting without armour and without swords or javelins on horseback.
Some documents supply indirect evidence about roman religion, listing the expenditure of the fort on religious festivals, as well as supplying the dates these ceremonies took place. They also detail the food consumed at the fort, which included fish sauce and pork fat and barley for animals. General household items in use such as blankets, vases and jewellery are also listed.
There is even a birthday invitation from Claudia Severa, wife of one of the fort’s commanders to her sister. Although much of the formal part of this letter is written by a scribe, a change in handwriting indicates that Claudia added a portion of the letter in her own hand and the closing greeting. Although her handwriting is of poorer quality than that of the scribe, her Latin is good, demonstrating that roman women were as well educated as roman men.
Sources
Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice (1994) Colin Renfrew and Paul Bahn. Thames and Hudson: London
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