6. F2011 Vindolanda Letters

Vindolanda

You‟ve Got Mail!gwyn

finn white (fair) llan

Signaling

Short Range Communication

• Trumpets– Charge, retreat

• Cornets ( played by cornicen)– Motion of colors

• Classicum or buccina (horn)– Used by commander, salutes, executions

• Tuba (played by tubicen)– Signal trumpet

Vegetius, De Re Militari

Trajan‟s Column

Longer range communication

• Beacons

• Semaphores

• Coded signals

• Manpower needed?

• caelum crebris imbribus ac nebulis foedum

Signaling

The other 'evidence' from field

archaeology, aerial photography and

excavations for Roman military signalling

systems is hypothetical, and varies from the

ridiculous to the inconclusive.

Donaldson, “Signalling, Communications and the

Roman Imperial Army” 1988

• Probable Method: pony express

Vindolanda

Resources

• Find slag

• Find coal in 2nd C.

Where?

The Place

When? Stages

Period Dates Size Occupants

I c AD 85-95 3 acres Coh I Tungrorum

II c AD 95-100 5 acres Coh VIIII Batavorum

III AD 100-105 5 acres Coh VIIII Batavorum

IV AD 105-120 8 acres Coh I Tungrorum; Vardulli cavalry +Legionaries;

V AD 120-130 5 acres Coh I Tungrorum ; stone fort

VI c AD 130-160‟s 3.6acres Possibly Coh II Nerviorum

VIA c AD 160-200 4 acres. Unknown – Possibly North African in origin or Coh II

Nerviorum

VIB c AD 208-211 1.5acres Unknown

VII c AD 212-280 3.6acres Coh IV Gallorum

VIII c AD 300-367 3.6acres Coh IV Gallorum

IX AD 367-410 3.6acres Unknown –Riacus

X c AD 410-600 3.6acres Unknown – Brigomaglos and Riacus only known

occupants

Who?

Leading Cast

• Flavius

Cerialis, Prefect

• Aelius

Brocchus, another

prefect (off-stage)

Roman Names

Forename Family name Nickname, local name

or tribal name

Praenomen gentilicium or nomen Cognomen

? Flavius Cerialis

Acquired Roman

Citizenship after

accession of first

Flavian, Vespasian

From Petillius Cerialis

Significant Others

• Sulpicia

Lepidina, wife of

Flavius

• Claudia Severa, wife

of Aelius

Their Home

Correspondents

• Felicio, a centurion

• Priuatis, a slave

• Caecilius September, prefect of a cavalry

unit

The Extras

• Types of auxiliary units

– Quingenaria or milliaria

– Equitata

• VIIII Batavians

• I Tungrians

• Itinerant cavalry, legionaries, other units

Cavalry Present

Bronze military diploma

Malpas, Cheshire 103 CE

To:

Reburrus, a Spanish decurion

in the 1st Pannonian cavalry

Military DiplomaFrom Hadrian for the

units:

which are in Britain….

… soldiers who have

served twenty-five

years and received an

honourable discharge

…. To them and to

their children for

posterity has been

granted … citizenship.

Marriage

Life at Vindolanda

The Written Record

Not Written on Stone

• Papyrus

• Vellum

• Wax tablet – business and legal use

• Ink tablet – ephemeral use

Wax Writing Tablet/Styli

Found in or near

the River

Walbrook, London

1st or 2nd century

Wax Writing Tablet-Vindolanda

Writing Tablets and Scribes

PROC AVG DEDERVNT

BRIT PROV

'The imperial procurators of

the province of Britain

issued this

Ox Goad Or Pen?

Challenge-Reading the Tablets

• Conservation

• Dirt: Infra-red photography

• Reading script

• New words, new spelling

• Filling in missing parts

– Formulaic writing

– Standard abbreviations

– Recognized names

Script

Cerialis Seeks Advancement

Now (?), in whatever

way you wish, fulfil

what I expect of you

and ... so furnish me

with friends that

thanks to you I may be

able to enjoy a

pleasant period of

military service.

Wishing Cerialis Success in his

Upcoming Meeting with the Governor

Expenses

• Dinners with Brocchus

• Hunting

• Distribution of beer to the decurions

• Chickens

– Dinner guests

– Holidays

Account

Account - Details

• Cloaks, number 6, 11 /2 denarii each, total 69 denarii

• Skillets, number 4, denarii 2 7/8 and 1 as each, total 11¾

denarii.

• Scarlet curtain (?), measuring 11 ½ , total 54 ½ + denarii

• Hair, 9 pounds in weight, 5¾ denarii per pound, total 51¾

denarii.

• Drawers, number 10, 2 ½ denarii each, total 25 denarii.

Supplies – Detailed List

•Wheat

•Hides from tannery at

Catterick

•Send cash

•Delivery delay because

the bad roads would have

resulted in injuries to the

animals

Inventory

Buying Food for the Holiday, etc.

•Barley

•Beer

•Wine

•Fish-sauce

More for the Saturnalia

Severus to his Candidus, greetings. Regarding the ... for

the Saturnalia, I ask you, brother, to see to them at a

price of 4 or six asses and radishes to the value of not

less than 1/2 denarius. Farewell, brother.‟

Back: To Candidus, slave of Genialis the prefect, from

Severus, slave of ?

Recipe

Found in kitchen

•Garlic

•Spiced wine

•Olives ?

•Salt ?

New Year‟s Day Sacrifice

FootwearEarly

Late

Lepidina‟s „Designer‟ Sandal

Birthday Invitation

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

(?).

To Sulpicia Lepidina from Claudia Severa, wife of Aelius Brocchus

Birthday Letter

Child‟s Sock

HW

INTEREA PAVIDAM VOLITANS PINNA

TA .VBEM segn.Meanwhile, the winged [bird, rumor], flying though the

trembling city. Virgil IX 473 Slack

Neglecting HW?

Damaged pottery

From Graufinesque, S. Gaul

The Rank and File

Roll call

18 May, net number of the

First Cohort of

Tungrians, of which the

commander is Iulius

Verecundus the prefect:

752, including centurions 6

of whom there are absent:

[list numbers of absentees and

where they are]

Work

Three groups

•Building a hospitium

•Working at lime-kilns

•Getting clay for making

wattle fences

Recommendation Letter

Clothing

I have sent (?) you ... pairs of socks from Sattua, two pairs

of sandals and two pairs of underpants, two pairs of

sandals ... Greet ...ndes, Elpis, Iu..., ...enus, Tetricus and all

your messmates with whom I pray that you live in the

greatest good fortune

Expense Account

•Wine

•Barley

•Wagon-axles

•Carriage

•Accommodation

•Vests

Travel

Account of Loan(?) of Wheat

Request for Leave

I ask, my lord

Cerialis, that you

consider me a

worthy person to

whom to grant

leave

Masclus‟ Request

P.S. My fellow soldiers

have no beer. Please

order some to be sent.

Purchases by Lower Ranks

•Pepper

•Tallow

•Towels

•Overcoat

•Thongs

Complaint

I want you to know that I

am in very good health, as

I hope you are in turn, you

neglectful man, who have

sent me not even one

letter. But I think that I am

behaving in a more

considerate fashion in

writing to you ... to

you, brother, ... my

messmate.

Mistreatment - Complaint

I implore your majesty not

to allow me, an innocent

man, to have been beaten

with rods… I implore your

mercifulness not to allow

me, a man from overseas

and an innocent one, about

whose good faith you may

inquire, to have been

bloodied by rods as if I had

committed some crime.

Intelligence on the Britons

... the Britons are

unprotected by armour

(?). There are very many

cavalry. The cavalry do

not use swords nor do the

wretched Britons

(Brittunculi) mount in

order to throw javelins.

British Uprising

VicusFort

Development of Vici

Traditional model

• Extra mural area with bath house and a few

traders and camp followers

• Economic development

• Some political independence

– Survive dismantling of the fort

• Military annexes or fortified civilian

annexes

Extramural Vindolanda

• Antonine (~160)

– Defensive enclosure perhaps to facilitate wagon

parks, horse lines

• Severan (~210)

– Stone fort

• 3rd century

– Settlement

Vindolanda 3-4 C.

Baths

Baths

Footwear for the Baths

Roman-Celtic Temple

Model altar and stands

Brooch and pendant

The Environmentc. 180 CE85-92 CE

Traditional View

• Fort – combatants

• Vicus – noncombatants

– Merchants

– Women

In the vicus or nearby

• Oxherd; keeper of pigs

• Brewer

• Veteran

• Guesthouse

Finds in barracks

• Female shoes – not just associated with

prefect

• Bracelets and beads at Catterick

Shoes in barracks

2nd C.

21% smaller sizes

Women in the fort - 3rd & 4th C.

• Weaving work

• Not just associated with prefects or

centurions

• Fort boundaries porous in both directions