Background

It is cold in England, even in April. I am travelling from Florida to the north of England. I have put up some pictures from last April of Katie and I all bundled up. Compare our choice of clothing to the Brits. You would think it was below freezing. Well, to us, it was! I am going back this April the same week as when Katie and I went last year. The weather for this week is lows in the 30's and highs in the upper 40's. Did it get that cold in Florida this year? I have plenty of warm clothes and the hot tea at the morning and afternoon breaks hits the spot. Enjoy the few pictures from last year.

Vindolanda

The fort at Vindolanda was constructed in the 80's AD as part of a frontier system established by the Roman military. Agricola, probably the best known Roman commander for the early years of Roman conquest in England, is said to have either created the frontier or consolidated it, during his four years in England. The early fort was constructed of earth and timber and went through a few construction phases before being finished in stone. The present fort platform and stone remains that visitors can view comes from the 4th century AD and is in the classic Roman "playing card" shape. When the Emperor Hadrian visited England in the early 2nd century AD the frontier that Vindolanda was a part of seems to have been a major boundary zone with two classic Roman roads heading north into the lowlands of present Scotland and south into England and another, the Stanegate, connecting the frontier forts to each other, running east-west. Hadrian decided to have a wall built along the Stanegate frontier but did not incorporate Vindolanda into the Wall itself. Vindolanda is sited around a mile south of the Wall and may not have been as important in the operations along the frontier as it once was. The fort was occupied almost continuously from its inception until the 4th century AD, though, so it was not entirely abandoned to decay. There's the history lesson for today.

Today, Vindolanda is best known for the writing tablets that come up in excavations that are sometimes 10 feet or more below the modern land surface. The tablets are wood and preserved in a waterlogged, oxygen-free environment. When infrared pictures are developed of the tablets the remnants of Roman writing often show up. All sorts of information has come from the tablets. A great book to read about how Vindolanda may have been, based on the tablets is by Robin Birley and is called "Band of Brothers". Just a week until I'm digging. I'm not counting or anything!