We’ll never know what was written on the first Vindolanda tablet found in 1973. But since then, more than 1,800 similar tablets have been found, and they’re recognized as some of the world’s greatest archaeological treasures
“He was having a break, and he found two oily pieces of wood in the trench,” Birley recalls. “He picked them up and rubbed them between his fingers. And when he did that, the two pieces came apart—and he was confronted with the writing.”
To mark the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the first Vindolanda tablet, the British Museum in London is conducting a new analysis of the materials used to make the Vindolanda tablets, in the hope that by studying the mediums of the tablets they can complement their messages.Birley is the third generation of his family to work at Vindolanda: his grandfather was the Oxford professor Eric Birley, one of the pioneers of studies of the fort and Hadrian’s Wall. “We’re like the Mafia,” he jokes.
“... I have sent you ... pairs of socks from Sattua, two pairs of sandals and two pairs of underpants . Greet Elpis, , Tetricus and all your messmates with whom I pray that you live in the greatest good fortune." Most of the tablets were written in ink on wood, but about 400 of them were written with a stylus on a layer of beeswax in a recess in the tablet.
Each examination looks closely at the wood the tablet is made from, the chemical composition of the ink , and whether the tablets were prepared with another substance before being written on. Most of the ink tablets seem to be written on thin sheets made from local woods like birch or alder. The wood in the wax tablets tends be softer says Cartwright, and may have been recycled from barrels that held imports from other parts of the Roman Empire.Along with the intimate insights into everyday life in the ancient world, the Vindolanda tablets are also prized for the important information they provide about Roman military operations on a remote edge of the empire.
The environmental conditions at the site of Vindolanda that preserve wooden tablets also keep other items, like this leather shoe, intact over the centuries.Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
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