Vindolanda: Everyday Life on Rome's Northern Frontier

The beautiful site the Romans called Vindolanda lies in south-west Northumberland, in the district of Tynedale, more or less half way between the North Sea east of Newcastle and the Irish Sea to the west of Carlisle. It is just within the boundary of the Northumberland National Park, and is a part of the World Heritage Site of Hadrian's Wall. The Wall itself was built on the whinstone ridge a mile to the north, with the fort of Housesteads two miles to the north-east, and that of Great Chesters five miles to the north-west. This book follows the site throughout its many phases of use and occupation. It explores the everyday life of those who lived and worked on the site and provides valuable new insight into the larger context of Rome's Northern Frontier: Hadrian's Wall. The translations of the Vindolanda Scrolls ('send fresh socks' etc) are also a treat!

Robin Birley was formerly the Director of Excavations at the Roman site of Vindolanda, and now heads the Vindolanda research committee. The son of Eric Birley (his family home was thus the Chesterholm Museum at Vindolanda), he worked as a Royal Marine and then a teacher before giving this up to run the Vindolanda Trust and excavate the site. He has over 50 years of excavation experience on that site (as well as directing numerous other excavations at other sites such as Housesteads), over thirty of which have been as director of the Vindolanda Trust (he is one of its founding members). Birley is perhaps best known for his discovery inthe 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s of the first Vindolanda writing tablets to be excavated. He is also responsible for the excavations of most of the remains visible on the site today.