Vindolanda: Roman Soldier Life, Tablets and Letters | Early European History And Religion

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VINDOLANDA

Vindolanda ruins

Situated a few miles behind Hadrian’s Wall was a string of forts, evenly spaced a half a day’s march apart. Each fort could house between 500 and 1,000 men, capable of responding quickly to any attacks. Housesteads Roman Fort is one the best preserved forts in the country. Located on a high ridge. It covers an area of five acres. Within its walls are a number of buildings including the fort's headquarters and commander's house, granaries, barracks, a hospital, and latrines. |::|

Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort complex just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England. There are the remains of at least nine forts over 14 levels. Archaeological excavations of the site show it was occupied by the Romans roughly from A.D. 85 to 370. Artifacts found b archaeologists have included Roman boots, shoes, armour, jewelry and coins. Perhaps the most interesting discovery has been the Vindolanda tablets, which contains letters and notes by soldiers stationed there, found in a waterlogged trash pile.

Vindolanda fort embraced a wall and gatehouse. Located south of Hadrian's Wall, it was surrounded by a settlement. As well as providing protect Roman forts near the wall attracted settlement and some local trade. According to to the BBC: “Sixteen forts were built on or near the Wall: each was different, with no standard interior plan. Archaeological evidence suggests that the forts were built after the Wall had been laid out and constructed. The forts were designed to house the soldiers that patrolled the Wall, although historians disagree about the numbers who were stationed there.” [Source: BBC |::|]

The Vindolanda Praetorium was the official residence of the Roman governors stationed at Vindolanda. Along the main street at Vindolanda there was a bath house with a raised floor. The fort and settlment also embraced temples, granaries, hospitals, and latrines. Among the 2000 or so ink tablets found at Vindolanda, one reads: 'I have sent you...pairs of socks, two pairs of sandals and two pairs of underpants.' Another says: '...you ought to decide, my lord, what quantity of wagons you are going to send to carry stone...I ask you to write back what you want me to do. I pray that you are in good health.' |::|

Dr Mike Ibeji wrote for the BBC: “For a Roman military historian like me, Vindolanda is one of the most fascinating and exciting sites in the Roman world. It ranks alongside my old third-century hunting ground of Dura-Europos as a site of major importance, in which a snapshot of Roman life has been preserved for posterity. As such, it transcends the basic military significance of the find and, like so much else of the Roman army (around which the Roman system revolved), sheds light upon the everyday lives of those who lived and worked in and around the camp. The Vindolanda tablets provide a unique insight into what it must have been like to be a Roman representative in a foreign land.” [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, November 16, 2012 |::|]

One tablet reads: “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.” (Tab. Vindol. II.164) This memorandum “was probably written by one of the commanders at Vindolanda as informative notes to his successor. It graphically portrays the frustrations of the regular soldier when faced with a guerrilla army that will not stand and fight, rather like the experience of American soldiers in Vietnam.” |::|

History of Vindolanda

Vindolanda was built before Hadrian’s Wall. Jarrett A. Lobell wrote in Archaeology magazine: ““The first Roman settlement at the site of Vindolanda was built between A.D. 74 and 85 just a mile south of where Hadrian’s Wall would be constructed decades later. Vindolanda would remain vital to the frontier system over the next three centuries, during which a total of nine forts would be constructed, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers, men, women, and children passed through the fort and extramural town, or vicus, associated with it. [Source: Jarrett A. Lobell, Archaeology magazine, May-June 2017]

Construction began after Rome abandoned plans to colonize Scotland. This de facto northwestern frontier of the Roman Empire was formalized under Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 122. Adrian Goldsworthy wrote in National Geographic History: Hadrian built a 73-mile defensive wall near Vindolanda that would stretch from coast to coast. The wall linked a series of forts and smaller forts (milecastles) and took around six years to complete. [Source Adrian Goldsworthy, National Geographic History, June 8, 2023]

In approximately A.D. 92, Vindolanda was rebuilt nearly doubling its size, perhaps in preparation for the start of the construction of Hadrian's Wall in A.D. 122. Towards the end of the second century and into the third century there was further expansion with a number of shops, workshops and domestic buildings added to the fort and settlement. The original Vindolanda structure was soon rebuilt, and over the next 300 years, as Roman garrisons defended the northernmost point of the empire from Caledonian raiders, a total of nine forts would be built on the Vindolanda site. [Source: BBC]

reconstruction of a Vindolanda tower

Dr Mike Ibeji wrote for the BBC: “Like most Roman forts, Vindolanda followed several phases of construction. Originally a turf rampart, probably erected in the time of Agricola, by the late 80s A.D. it was a permanent turf and timber fort in the classic Roman playing-card shape, aligned east-west, with a stone headquarters building, an officer's house, and a small bathhouse situated down the slope on the eastern side. [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, November 16, 2012 |::|]

“During the Hadrianic period (c.120 and after), this whole fort was demolished and a new structure was built facing north-south. Attached to the west of this Hadrianic fort was a small civilian settlement, called a vicus, within the remains of the old rampart and which incorporated a fine bathhouse and a mansio, a guesthouse with space for up to six residents travelling along the Stanegate on official business. All of this was enlarged and rebuilt in stone during the early third century AD, and it is this ground plan that we see today. The famous Vindolanda tablets date to the pre-Hadrianic fort, though they are typical of Roman military life in any period. “

“During the fourth century, the Wall's function as a barrier declined as Roman power waned. Bede writes about the Wall in the seventh century as being eight feet (2.4 m) wide and twelve feet (3.6 m) high. The Wall was undoubtedly a handy source of stone for a number of new buildings, including new monasteries at Jarrow, Monkwearmouth and Lindisfarne.” |::|

Vindolanda Tablets

In 1973 workers digging a drainage ditch at Vindolanda uncovered piles of Roman trash under a thick layer of clay. Andrew Curry wrote in National Geographic: “The wet layer held everything from 1,900-year-old building timbers to cloth, wooden combs, leather shoes, and dog droppings, all preserved by the oxygen-free conditions. Digging deeper, excavators came across hundreds of fragile, wafer-thin wooden tablets covered in writing. [Source: Andrew Curry, National Geographic, September 2012 ]

These Vindolanda tablets were found mainly in a waterlogged rubbish heap at the corner of the fort commander's house. Dr More have been recovered from other parts of the site since. As of 2012, there were over 400 tablets, made of postcard-size pierces of wood between one and three millimeters thick. Letter writers wrote in ink before folding the leaf in half and writing the address on the back. In some cases, longer documents have been created by punching holes in the corner and tying several of these tablets together. [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, November 16, 2012 |::|]

Adrian Goldsworthy wrote in National Geographic History: Every time the Romans rebuilt the fort, substantial remains of the former structures were buried in waterlogged soil. Deprived of the oxygen necessary for rot and decay, the soldiers’ wooden tablets, leather goods, and other organic items survived in remarkably good condition (more leather shoes have been found at Vindolanda than at any other Roman-era site). [Source Adrian Goldsworthy, National Geographic History, June 8, 2023]

The trove held two types of tablets. One was a thin piece of wood covered in wax, which could be reused by melting the wax and smoothing it flat. While these sometimes preserve scratches made by the point of a stylus, the traces of successive messages often overlapped, creating a jumble of letters impossible to decipher.

The other type was meant for single use. Wood tablets were coated with only a thin layer of beeswax to prevent ink from spreading. Even in the case of the single-use tablets, the ink has often faded and become illegible. Sometimes scratches are visible, if only under a microscope or in an enlarged photograph. Sometimes there are just spaces, which means guessing how many letters might be missing and trying to deduce what the words might have been from the context. Deciphering the texts is a painstaking task, requiring an exhaustive knowledge of Latin—and all the slang and abbreviations employed by the Roman military.

The writing tablets survived because of luck—and because they were thrown away. It is most likely that they were mailed to some-one at Vindolanda, unless the text belongs to a drafted rather than a final polished letter. A few may just have been discarded accidentally, but historians believe that nearly all were dumped because they were not worth keeping any longer, especially when the owner was about to move to another posting and had to decide what was really worth carrying.

Few texts are complete, and the task of deciphering each one is akin to solving a crossword puzzle in another language and without any real clues. They are snatches of communication, only ever heard from one side, by strangers who speak to, and of, other strangers. Sometimes there are snippets of enough messages to create some sense of who someone was, their position, their family, and friends. But even then?There are many gaps. Did the shoes in that first letter ever actually arrive? No response has been found yet, so their fate is likely to remain unknown.

The ability to read and write was key to the swift and efficient functioning of a Roman frontier fort. Soldiers needed to be able to issue reports and orders, duty lists, and furlough permits. The Vindolanda tablets reveal high levels of literacy among the garrisons, including support personnel and their family members. The tablets’ authors came from a wide social spectrum, from the prefect and his wife to the lower ranked soldiers, slaves, and tradesmen. It was not only adults who wielded the stylus; children did, too. One tablet included part of a line from Virgil’s epic poem the Aeneid on the back of the draft of a letter. Some scholars theorize that it was written by one of the children of the prefect Flavius Cerialis, as part of writing practice. The line from the Aeneid is not particularly well known, suggesting that Roman literary texts were available for perusal and copying, even in the wilds of the Northumberland frontier.

Only Vindolanda tablet written by a Roman woman

What the Vindolanda Tablets Tell Us

The Vindolanda Tablets provide insight into daily life along Hadrian’s Wall: supply requests, personal letters, military strength reports, literary texts, work assignments, duty rosters. There are references to military tasks, illnesses, social invitations, financial worries, literacy levels, and ethnic origins and mundane things like the stocks of supplies like barley, beer, wine, fish sauce, and pork fat. One message says "Send beer!"; another was a birthday party invitation from one officer’s wife to another, the earliest surviving example of women’s handwriting in Latin. Yet, another complained how "awful" the roads were [Source: Andrew Curry, National Geographic, September 2012 ]

Dr Mike Ibeji wrote for the BBC: “ “Documents such as these were not uncommon in the Roman world, and were even described by Herodian, who talks of the emperor Commodus making a list of proscribed persons by: 'taking a writing-tablet of the kind that were made of lime wood and folded face-to-face by being bent.' It was the discovery of this list which prompted his assassination. The Vindolanda tablets are made of birch, alder and oak. Chance finds from other sites in Britain indicate that they were not unique, and the vast volume of them in the anaerobic conditions of Vindolanda suggest that such tablets were ubiquitous in the northern provinces as means of record-keeping and letter-writing where papyrus was scarce. [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, November 16, 2012 |::|]

“They can tell us a great deal about the nature of life on the Roman frontier, not just in a military context. The vast majority of them date from the period A.D. 97-103, when the fort was occupied by IX Batavorum and its sister unit III Batavorum, both 'quingenary' units approximately 500 strong, as well as a detachment of cavalry from the Spanish Ala Vardullorum. |::|

“It is almost impossible to separate the military activities of Vindolanda from its civilian activities, as you will see, since the two naturally blend into one. Yet the Vindolanda tablets can tell us some very interesting things about the way the Roman army was run on the northern frontier. What they show is just what a well-oiled and bureaucratic machine the Roman army was. Much of the Vindolanda material is made up of accounts, work rosters, and interim reports. Its value lies in its very nature as interim material, used to write up the more formulaic official reports which we find elsewhere, such as at Dura and in Egypt. These not only demonstrate how such a small number of men could be used to police and control such a wide frontier, but the extent to which the army was always engaged in non-military activities that interacted with the local area. |::|

Military Forces at Vindolanda

Roman officer

Adrian Goldsworthy wrote in National Geographic History: During the period when the Vindolanda writing tablets were made and used, two army units were based at the fort: the First Tungrians, consisting of infantry, and the Ninth Batavians, a mix of infantry and cavalry. They were Roman in the sense that they belonged to the Roman army, but they were part of the auxilia: soldiers from the provinces who received citizenship after completing 25 years of service. Both Tungrians and Batavians came from the Rhineland area of present-day western Germany and the Netherlands. [Source Adrian Goldsworthy, National Geographic History, June 8, 2023]

Dr Mike Ibeji wrote for the BBC: “Vindolanda was garrisoned at different times by several units, most importantly the First Cohort of Tungrians and the Third and Ninth Cohorts of Batavians. These were auxiliary units, made up of non-citizen recruits who served for a period of up to 25 years in return for Roman citizenship. None of them were Britons. This is because of a policy prompted by the revolt of these very units in A.D. 69. In the wake of the infamous Year of the Four Emperors, the Dutch Batavian auxiliaries had mutinied against the emperor Vespasian, joined by their neighbours the Tungrians on the River Meuse. It had taken five Roman legions to subdue them, commanded by the veteran general Q. Petilius Cerialis. He had taken the subdued auxiliaries with him on his next tour of duty, to Britain, where they stayed. From then on, Rome followed a policy of not allowing native troops to serve within their province of origin. The units were commanded by their own tribal chieftains, but were gradually diluted by recruits from other areas. The names on the Vindolanda tablets suggest origins from Gaul, Germany, Pannonia, Dacia and Greece (probably Greek slaves) as well as the upper Rhine homelands of the original units. [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, November 16, 2012 |::|]

“The most fascinating military document to come out of the material is a strength report of the double-strength military cohort I Tungrorum, which shows just how many men could be absent from home base at any one time. (Tab. Vindol. I.154): '18 May, net number of the First Cohort of Tungrians, of which the commander if Iulius Verecundus the prefect, 752, including 6b centurions.'

“This lends weight to what we have long thought, that Roman frontier units were not static entities stuck in one place, but had men all over the place. It is significant that the vast majority of the troops were not even stationed in their own home base, but were elsewhere. Corbridge was the big granary fort at the eastern end of the Stanegate (and this is the only evidence we have of I Tungrorum occupying it, at almost quingenary strength). It is also interesting to see how far afield some of the troops were, for whatever reason. God alone knows what the men in Gaul were doing there (though bear in mind that I Tungrorum was technically a Gallo-Belgic unit); but the six men with a centurion were probably garrisoning an outpost or on patrol. I like to think that the single man below the pay detachment was away on leave, and we have at least a dozen formulaic leave requests written by soldiers in the fort to lend weight to this: 'I, [so-and-so], ask that you consider me a worthy person to grant leave at [such-a-place]'. The centurion in London was probably carrying official correspondence to the governor's office. Once again, we have evidence of centurions acting as couriers like this.

Life of the Soldiers at Vindolanda

Living conditions at Vindolanda were less than ideal. One of the tablets, a military strength report for the First Tungrian cohort, said that of the men at Vindolanda, 31 were unfit for duty and 10 were suffering from eye inflammation. Excavations at the site reveal the barracks were dirty, poorly lit, and infested with parasites, a good breeding ground for infections and illnesses. [Source Adrian Goldsworthy, National Geographic History, June 8, 2023]

Andrew Curry wrote in National Geographic: ““The tablets suggest that watching over the “wretched little Britons,” as one Vindolanda writer describes the locals, was no picnic, but the fort wasn’t exactly a hardship post. Some soldiers lived with their families—dozens of children’s shoes, including baby booties, are among the footwear recovered. And the wall’s patrollers ate well: Bacon, ham, venison, chicken, oysters, apples, eggs, honey, Celtic beer, and wine were on the menu. There was even garum, a fermented fish concoction that was the Roman version of Worcestershire sauce. Homesick soldiers received care packages too. “I have sent you ... socks ... two pairs of sandals and two pairs of underpants,” writes one concerned correspondent.” [Source: Andrew Curry, National Geographic, September 2012]

Hadrian's Wall latrine

Dr Mike Ibeji wrote for the BBC: “The diet of the inhabitants of Vindolanda was pretty varied. Within the Vindolanda tablets, 46 different types of foodstuff are mentioned. Whilst the more exotic of these, such as roe deer, venison, spices, olives, wine and honey, appear in the letters and accounts of the slaves attached to the commander's house; it is clear that the soldiers and ordinary people around the fort did not eat badly. We have already seen the grain accounts of the brothers Octavius and Candidus, demonstrating that a wide variety of people in and around the fort were supplied with wheat. Added to that are a couple of interesting accounts and letters which show that the ordinary soldiers could get hold of such luxuries as pepper and oysters, and that the local butcher was doing a roaring trade in bacon. [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, November 16, 2012 |::|]

“One list in particular is interesting, because it seems to illustrate the standard military practice of docking pay in return for some form of centralised supply. The tablet contains a list of men arranged by century, from the centuries of Ucenius and Tullio son of Carpentarius, who have been provided with various goods such as overcoats, towels, a flask, a cloak, thongs, tallow and in the case of Gambax son of Tappo, pepper. There are check marks to the left of several of these entries, as if they have been ticked off once they have paid, and we are able to ascertain from the fuller entries what the cost of certain commodities were. For instance, a towel cost 2 denarii, Gambax had 2 d worth of pepper, and Lucius the shieldmaker paid 5 d 3 asses for a cloak (Tab. Vindol. II.184). |::|

“Instead of paying for such items, the more fortunate soldiers in the unit could expect parcels from their families containing the basics of life, as in the case of this anonymous soldier (Tab. Vindol. II.346): ‘I have sent(?) you...pairs of socks from Sattua, two pairs of sandals and two pairs of underpants, two pairs of sandals...Greet...Elpis...Tetricus and all your messmates with whom I pray that you live in the greatest good fortune.’

A letter from the cavalry decurion Masculus to Flavius Cerialis, Verecundus' successor in the fort, illustrates just how involved the commander could be in determining these assignments: ‘Masculus to Cerialis his king, greetings. Please, my lord, give instructions on what you want us to do tomorrow. Are we all to return with the standard, or just half of us?...(missing lines)...most fortunate and be well-disposed towards me. My fellow soldiers have no beer. Please order some to be sent.’

Alan K. Bowman, author of “Life and Letters on the Roman Frontier,” wrote: “If he had lice, there were baths, soap and towels; for the cold, a medical service and a hospital; if looking at the sky gave him inflamed eyes, he could sign on the sick list. If he was lonely, he could take leave and find a friend in Corbridge, or perhaps even go home to Tungria. But it would be optimistic to suppose that even the Roman army could stop the rain pattering out of the sky in a climate notorious for its tempestates molestae.” |

Duties of the Soldiers at Vindolanda

Building Harian's Wall

Dr Mike Ibeji wrote for the BBC: “Another report of work assignments shows how these men could be employed. Of 343 men present, 12 were making shoes, 18 were building the bath-house, others were out collecting lead, clay and rubble (for the bath-house?), while still more were assigned to the wagons, the kilns, the hospital and on plastering duty. Other accounts indicate that the completed bath-house had a balniator, a bath-house keeper called Vitalis. The remains of the third-century bath-house on the site give a very good idea of what Vitalis' bath-house must have been like. [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, November 16, 2012 |::|]

“Other trades attached to the fort were two vets called Virilis and Alio, a shield-maker called Lucius, a medic called Marcus and a brewer called Atrectus. Most of these must have been soldiers, though we shall see later that civilians also played their part within fort life. Atrectus the brewer owed money to the local pork butcher for iron and pork-fat, which smacks of a little economic diversification on the butcher's part. It is not at all clear whether the butcher was a civilian or a soldier. He is likely to have been a civilian, if two other documents are anything to go by.

“The first is an intriguing account of wheat which, to me, paints a marvellous picture of everyday life at the fort. It is a long account, so I have excerpted only the clearest entries. [NB: a modius is a measure of weight] (Tab. Vindol. II.180): ‘ Account of wheat measured out from that which I myself put into the barrel: To myself, for bread... To Macrinus, modii 7 To Felicius Victor on the order of Spectatus, provided as a loan, modii 26 In three sacks, to father, modii 19 To Macrinus, modii 13 To the oxherds at the wood, modii 8 Likewise, to Amabilis at the shrine, modii 3 To Crescens, on the order of Firmus, modii 3 For twisted loaves, to you, modii 2 To Crescens, modii 9 To the legionary soldiers, on the order of Firmus, modii 11[+] To you, in a sack from Briga... To Lucco, in charge of the pigs... To Primus, slave of Lucius... To Lucco for his own use... In the century of Voturius... To father, in charge of the oxen... Likewise to myself, for bread, modii ? Total of wheat, modii 320½ .’ The document is clearly the account of a family business run by two brothers, whose father occasionally tends the oxen. |::|

Trade and Business at Vindolanda

Vindolanda tablet

Adrian Goldsworthy wrote in National Geographic History: Even though Vindolanda was on the very edge of the empire, it was fully connected with the wider markets of the Roman Empire. There is talk of bad roads delaying the transport of goods, but there is always the sense that just about anything that could be bought would be available for those who could afford it. The shoes and garments mentioned in one letter are matched by everything from hunting nets to oysters. Quite a few tablets were written by slaves and detailed purchases made by senior officers at the bases. [Source Adrian Goldsworthy, National Geographic History, June 8, 2023]

Dr Mike Ibeji wrote for the BBC: “Another fabulous, long and very well preserved letter, from Octavius to his brother Candidus, gives us the names of these two brothers and portrays them as a couple of local wide-boys, with their fingers in as many pies as possible (Tab. Vindol. II 343): “Octavius to his brother Candidus, greetings. The hundred pounds of sinew from Marinus, I will settle up. From the time when you wrote about this matter, he has not even mentioned it to me. I have several times written to you that I have bought about 5,000 modii of ears of grain, on account of which I need cash. Unless you send me some cash, at least 500 denarii, the result will be that I shall lose what I have laid out as a deposit, about 300 denarii, and I shall be embarrassed. So, I ask you, send me some cash as soon as possible. The hides which you write are at Cataractonium, write that they be given to me and the wagon about which you write. And write to me what is with that wagon. I would have already have been to collect them except that I did not care to injure the animals while the roads are bad. See with Tertius about the 8½ denarii which he received from Fatalis. He has not credited them to my account. Know that I have completed the 170 hides and I have 119(?) modii of threshed bracis. Make sure that you send me some cash so that I may have ears of grain on the threshing room floor. Moreover, I have already finished threshing all that I had. A messmate of our friend Frontius has been here. He was wanting me to allocate(?) him some hides, and that being so, was ready to give cash. I told him I would give him the hides by the Kalends of March. He decided that he would come on the Ides of January. He did not turn up, nor did he take the trouble to obtain them since he had hides. If he had given the cash, I would have given him them. I hear that Frontinius Julius has for sale at a high price the leather ware(?) which he bought here for five denarii apiece. Greet Spectatus and ...and Firmus. I have received letters from Gleuco. Farewell. [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, November 16, 2012 |::|]|

“Candidus was obviously so well known in the fort that his brother did not need to put his name on the back for whoever was delivering the note. The two seem to have the supply of grain to Vindolanda sewn up (which is interesting when you consider that the military granary of Corbridge was just down the road). The regular allocations to Macrinus and Crescens are probably rations doled out to individual unit centurions: since a Crescens is named as a centurion of III Batavorum. In that case, who are Firmus and Spectatus? Clearly Firmus is a key individual, as he has the authority to allocate grain to a detachment of legionaries in the fort; yet does this mean that he is a senior centurion of one of the cohorts, or is he just a middle-man? Since Spectatus uses grain as a loan to Victor, it seems most likely that they were agents of the brothers (though this does not necessarily stop them being soldiers). |::|

“I think it is clear that the two brothers were civilian entrepreneurs, and when you consider that the annual pay of an auxiliary soldier at this time was about 300 denarii, they were obviously not in the little-league if they could fork out 500 denarii for their grain supplies. The fact that they had Roman names can tell us little, since anyone who wanted to get on is likely to have 'Romanised' by this time. One possibility does come to mind. Given the Roman penchant for farming out public services (like tax-collecting and mining) to individual entrepreneurs, it is possible that these two men had the contract for supplying grain to the army from Corbridge. Flavius Cerialis and his family |::|

The other great strength of the Vindolanda tablets is the insights that they give into the personal lives of some of the people who inhabited the fort. Naturally, this is most graphic for the officers of the fort, especially since the majority of the tablets were found in a rubbish tip linked to the commander's house, but there are things they can say about the lesser individuals who lived and worked in the vicinity also.” |::|

Patronage and Promotion in Vindolanda

Dr Mike Ibeji wrote for the BBC: “Flavius Cerialis was the praefectus in command of Cohors IX Batavorum, which occupied Vindolanda from around A.D. 97 onwards. His name indicates that his family was granted the citizenship by the Flavian dynasty of Vespasian, and the cognomen Cerialis may have been in honour of Q. Petilius Cerialis, who brought the Batavians over to Britain. He was a Batavian nobleman of equestrian status, which meant that his family had amassed a fortune of over 400,000 sesterces (100,000 denarii), the property qualification for entry into the equestrian order.” [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, November 16, 2012 |::|]

“He was therefore, an important man in the area, and it was only natural for those who knew him to request letters of recommendation for their friends. One of these survives, from a certain Claudius Karus. (Tab. Vindol. II.250): ‘Brigionus has requested me, my lord, to recommend him to you. I therefore ask, my lord, if you would be willing to support him. I ask that you think fit to commend him to Annius Equester, the centurion in charge of the region at Luguvalium, by doing which you will place me in debt to you, both in his name and my own’.

“Brigionus is a Romanised Celtic name, and it does not take a great leap of imagination to see this as a classic example of patronage, by which the subjects of the frontier region were absorbed into the Roman system. Karus, a fellow officer, recommends to Cerialis a British client, and requests that he pass him on in turn to the regional administration officer for the legions, Annius Equester, whether as a potential recruit or for some other purpose is not clear (though given that it is being done through military channels, I would suspect the former). |::|

“Cerialis clearly had good contacts of his own, with which he was trying to wangle a promotion. Here are a couple of letters that paint an interesting little picture: ‘[Cerialis ] to his Crispinus... Since Grattius Crispinus is returning to [you], I have gladly seized this opportunity, my lord, of greeting you, whom I dearly wish to be in good health and master of all your hopes. For you have always deserved this of me, right up to your present high office... greet Marcellus, that most distinguished man, my governor. He offers opportunity for the talents of your friends, now that he is here, for which I know you thank him. Now, in whatever way you wish, fulfil what I expect of you and... so furnish me with very many friends, so that thanks to you I may be able to enjoy an agreeable period of military service. I write this to you from Vindolanda, where my winter quarters are’. (Tab. Vindol. II.225)

‘Niger & Brocchus to their Cerialis, greeting. We pray, brother, that what you are about to do is most successful. It will be so indeed, since our prayers are with you and you yourself are most worthy. You will assuredly meet our governor quite soon.’ (Tab. Vindol. II.248) |::|

“We do not know who Crispinus is, but he was clearly a high-ranking official in the province, with the ear of the provincial governor, L. Neratius Marcellus (Leg. Brit. A.D. 100-103). Cerialis obviously hoped by his patronage to gain a promotion from the governor, and his friends and fellow officers, Niger & Brocchus, clearly wished him well. The somewhat tart: 'I write this to you from winter quarters in Vindolanda.' might give some indication of how Cerialis viewed life up on the cold north-west frontier, as does another letter to a fellow officer, an aptly named September, offering to send him some goods: 'by which we may endure the storms, even if they are troublesome.' “ |::|

“We do not know whether Cerialis was successful in pursuing his promotion, but we do know about his friend. C. Aelius Brocchus went on to command the prestigious Ala Contariorum in Pannonia. At times, official channels could be abused, or at least stretched, in order to accommodate those in the position to take advantage of them. A legionary centurion called Clodius Super asks Cerialis to send him some clothing Cerialis had picked up from a friend in Gaul, saying: 'I am the supply officer, so I have acquired transport'. (Tab. Vindol. II.255).

Women and Officers at Vindolanda

Adrian Goldsworthy wrote in National Geographic History: Among the surprises of the Vindolanda tablets were the references to the women of the garrison community. The praetorium, the commander or prefect’s house, was one of the grandest buildings in any base, designed around a central courtyard and in size and shape comparable to a reasonably grand house at Pompeii. These men were equites, the social class just below the senatorial order and men of some standing. Prefects spent some three or more years in post and brought their families and households with them. [Source Adrian Goldsworthy, National Geographic History, June 8, 2023]

One of the most celebrated of the Vindolanda writing tablets is that written by Claudia Severa, wife of the commander at Coria, inviting Sulpicia Lepidina, wife of the prefect at Vindolanda, to her birthday party on September 11. Most of the text was written by a scribe, but in what is surely her own hand, Severa added,“I shall expect you, sister. Farewell, sister, my dearest soul, as I hope to prosper, and hail.” Her message is probably one of the earliest surviving samples of a woman’s handwriting in Europe and is the earliest known example of writing in Latin by a woman. Severa and Lepidina must have corresponded regularly, doing their best to maintain the same sort of connection as they would have had in Rome.

Lepidina’s husband, the prefect of Vindolanda, was called Flavius Cerialis. A woman named Valatta wrote to him, asking that he “relax his severity and through Lepidina that you grant me what I ask.” Patronage was central to Roman society, and women, as much as men, played their part in this network of recommendations and favors. Archaeology has added other vivid details to Lepidina’s life. One of her shoes has been found, an elegant and expensive one, perhaps discarded because so important a person did not need to have it repaired. Also unearthed were shoes belonging to her children.

Flavius Cerialis’s name suggests that although the prefect was a citizen and an eques, he was also a Batavian. One decurion (the commander of a cavalry troop) addresses him as “my king,” making it possible that he came from the royal family of the tribe. The relationship between this commander and his soldiers most likely differed from those in most army units. In the same letter, the decurion asks for orders, whether he was to take all or just half his men to a particular location. Perhaps more urgently, at least as far as the troops were concerned, he informed his commander that “My fellow soldiers have no beer. Please order some to be sent.”

Flavius Cerialis was prefect of the Ninth Batavians stationed in Vindolanda around the year A.D. 100. He received or wrote about 80 of the letters found at the fort. In some of the letters, Cerialis communicates about military matters both with those of higher rank than him and with men under his command. Other letters are friendly exchanges with prefects living in nearby forts, such as this excerpt: "Hostilius Flavianus to Cerealis, greetings. A fortunate and happy New Year ... Flavius Cerialis to Brocchus, greetings. If you love me, brother, I ask that you send me hunting-nets ... [Claud]ius Karus to Cerialis, greetings ... Brigionus has requested me, my lord, to recommend him to you. I therefore ask, my lord, if you would be willing to support him in what he has requested of you. I ask that you think fit to commend him to Annius Equester, centurion in charge of the region, at Luguvalium, [by doing which] you will place me in debt to you both in his name and my own. I pray that you are enjoying the best of fortune and are in good health. Farewell, brother."

British Museum curator Barbara Birley told CNN that the tablets prove that women were as crucial a part of army communities as men. “Before the Lepidina tablets were found we didn’t really understand the interactions between the soldiers and their wives,” she says. Another tablet is written by what is thought to be a Spanish standard-bearer’s common-law wife, ordering military equipment for her partner. The Vindolanda collection is showing that there weren’t just camp followers and prostitutes; women were part of everyday life, and contributing to the military community in many ways,” says Birley. [Source: Julia Buckley, CNN, May 26, 2024]

Leisure Time and Family Visits at Vindolanda

Vindolanda water tank

Dr Mike Ibeji wrote for the BBC: “Life on the north-west frontier was clearly less than exciting for the officer classes. Cerialis writes to Brocchus in another letter asking for some hunting nets: 'and please make sure that they are repaired strongly'. Brocchus was the commander of a nearby fort called Briga (Celtic for 'hill'), which we cannot identify. His wife, Claudia Severa, was in regular correspondence with Cerialis' wife, Sulpicia Lepidina.: [Source: Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC, November 16, 2012 |::|]

The most famous of these is the well-known birthday invitation. “Claudia Severa to her Lepidina, greetings. 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. Give my greetings to your Cerialis. My Aelius and my little son send him their greetings. I shall expect you, sister. Farewell, sister, my dearest soul, as I hope to prosper and hail. To Sulpicia Lepidina, wife of Cerialis, from Severa." (Tab. Vindol. II.291) Claudia Severa likely had someone write the correspondence for her as evidenced by the professional hand used for most of the message.

“In fact, the officer classes seem to have been engaged in a constant round of visits. Another letter from Claudia Severa informs Lepidina that Brocchus will always let her come to Vindolanda to visit whenever she can, while several accounts by the household slaves indicate that Brocchus had donated tunics to the Cerialis household in the past, and in return had dined on several occasions, both with and without his friend Niger, on which occasions chickens were slaughtered. Finally, a cryptic line at the end of one list of accounts informs us that on 25 June: 'The lords have remained at Briga'. |::|

“On a more personal note, a certain Velde(d)ius, who had secured a promotion to act as groom of the governor down in London, visited his 'brother and old messmate' Chrauttius en route to Housesteads. He probably stayed in the mansio, since he was on official business of some sort, and may have dropped off the shears which Chrauttius had asked him to get for him in the letter, which he discarded whilst he was there. He also left behind a leather offcut with his name inscribed upon it, and may have owned the magnificent chamfron which was found nearby. The two of them probably exchanged news about their 'sister', Thuttena, and various old messmates whom Chrauttius had mentioned in his letter. Veldedius then went on to Housesteads, where he died in unknown circumstances and an official tombstone was erected, with his name slightly mis-spelled, though it is still likely to have been the same man.” (Tab. Vindol. II.310). |::|

Artifacts at Vindolanda

Artifacts also reveal details about everyday life. A first-century A.D. bronze modius (measuring cup) found at Carvoran fort near Vindolanda, this was used to measure the soldiers’ grain rations. Excavations at the Vindolanda site have unearthed flatware, jewelry, armor and items with images of gods. The Corbridge Lanx, a fourth-century A.D. silver tray, depicts several gods, but only three have been conclusively identified: Diana with a bow, Minerva with a helmet, and Apollo with sitting at his feet. A relief shows the winged goddess Victory with Neptune, god of the sea, and Mars, god of war. [Source Adrian Goldsworthy, National Geographic History, June 8, 2023]

At Vindolanda there are the remains of at least nine forts over 14 levels. “When the Romans would leave, they would knock down timber forts, and cover the area with turf and clay, sealing the layers underneath,” British Museum curator Barbara Birley told CNN. “Because it happened so many times, the bottom five or six layers are sealed in anaerobic conditions, so things don’t decay. When we get down there, we get wooden objects, textiles, anything organic.”

Julia Buckley of CNN wrote: Vindolanda has the largest collection of Roman textiles from a single site in western Europe, as well as the largest leather collection of any site in the Roman empire — including 5,000 shoes, and even a broken leather flip-flop. “We probably had a population of 3,000 to 6,000 depending on the period, so 5,000 is a lot,” says Birley...the shoes evoke the conditions of the wet borderlands. “Women’s and children’s shoes are hobnailed — you needed it in the mucky frontier dirt tracks. They’re very evocative.” There’s even a wig made from a local plant, hair moss, which is said to repel midges — the scourge of Scotland during the summer. A centurion’s helmet is also crested with hairmoss — the ancient equivalent of spraying yourself with insect repellent. [Source: Julia Buckley, CNN, May 26, 2024]

Archaeologist Andrew Birley told Archaeology magazine: “The biggest thing we can do here is to connect where people lived with their discard sites,” he says. This allows archaeologists to track individuals around the site, see how they used certain spaces, and map out all the artifacts associated with them. Birley says, “We have a context for everything, which is key. All the artifacts are surrounded by a supporting cast of materials. For example, if you are looking at the commander’s house, you don’t just have the house, but also the whole family’s shoes.” In fact, more than 6,500 discarded shoes have been found at Vindolanda — though there are only two complete pairs. “Roman leather is like plastic. They use it until they can’t fix it anymore, and then do everything they can to get rid of it. But in these anaerobic conditions, it survives for millennia,” says Birley. “The shoes allow us to do some very cool things, such as deconstruct the myth that the Roman army was an entirely male world. Just like the modern army, the fighting soldier is actually in the minority. When we find a child’s shoe, for example, it’s another nail in the coffin of the male preserve.” [Source: Jarrett A. Lobell, Archaeology magazine, May-June 2017]

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Rome sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Late Antiquity sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; “Outlines of Roman History” by William C. Morey, Ph.D., D.C.L. New York, American Book Company (1901) ; “The Private Life of the Romans” by Harold Whetstone Johnston, Revised by Mary Johnston, Scott, Foresman and Company (1903, 1932); BBC Ancient Rome bbc.co.uk/history/ ; Project Gutenberg gutenberg.org ; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Live Science, Discover magazine, Archaeology magazine, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, The New Yorker, Wikipedia, Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopedia.com and various other books, websites and publications.

Last updated October 2024