Vindolanda Day -15: At the British Museum
Posted on April 7, 2024 • 3 minutes • 490 words
A few weeks before my trip to Vindolanda as part of the 2024 excavations Sarah and I headed to the British Museum to see the Legion exhibit. Sarah had just come back from a trip to [South Africa] and we had a day in [London] to kill. An archaeologist friend had recommended it and I wanted to do some “pre-reading” before heading to Vindolanda so the timing seemed perfect.
The exhibit was fantastic, and focussed on the Roman Legions (and Auxiliaries). There were plenty of pieces of armour, spear heads and swords, but also many non-military items. Artifacts from Vindolanda (particularly leather and wooden ones) played a prominent role in painting some of the more pastoral scenes.
This was my first time seeing the Vindolanda letters up close. These are thin slivers of wood with ink writing in an old cursive Latin (quite different from the CAPITAL LETTERS seen in stonework).
The most famous is Claudia Severa’s letter to Sulpicia Lepidna: a party invite. One translation reads
Claudia Severa to her Lepidna, greetings. On the third day before the Ides of September, sister, for the day of the celebration of my birthday, I give you 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.
Other letters and lists have also been recovered and I was amazed by a list of household items (perhaps made for insurance purposes) including curtains, bowls, horse tack and nine pounds of hair. It was all itemised very carefully and noted with the value in denarii. Unfortunately, and possibly intentionally, directly opposite was a contract of sale for a slave boy. His price was comparable to “Purple curtains (2)”.
The centerpiece of the exhibit was most probably the only surviving scutum shield (pictured at top). I’m not sure why, but I was surprised to find that it was constructed with wood and leather! I think too much Asterix and Obelix in my youth had convinced me that Roman shields went “clang”!
There were more grim artifacts too. Human remains from a crucifixion (complete with nail in the ankle) and a letter from a civilian complaining about unwarranted beatings by the local garrison. Its certainly part of an argument against the notion that “people who were conquered by the Romans wanted to be! It brought benefits!” (as I heard one boyfriend mansplain to his poor partner).
As an exhibition about the Legions it was excellent, and we got to see quite a few artifacts from Hadrian’s Wall and Vindolanda in particular. I was left wondering a bit more about the life of the men (mostly) who owned the objects we saw. What did they eat? What languages did they speak (Latin obviously, but they were conscripted from all over the Empire)? Who did they worship and how? These are probably questions best answered by another trip to the British Museum !