A Morning Walk at Vindolanda

I went for a walk around Vindolanda for Sunday morning. There is a public footpath along the creek near the museum and then another path along the southern boundary of the property that leads from the creek to the west, uphill. The walk along the southern edge of Vindolanda gives a different perspective to the view of the fort and settlement. A deep gully that has constant water flow for most of it creates a natural border that would be difficult to cross without a bridge or causeway. A stone causeway was discovered during excavation work in the early 70's that may have been a crossing point in Roman times reused by later farmers and the like. The ground rises as you head west until the gully gives out and you are just beyond the western limits of the Vindolanda property. The way the land lays further west of where excavations are already progressing in Area B lends to more archaeology awaiting discovery. But now that area is the home of a herd of cattle that have to share their field with walkers like myself and crazy offroad motor bikes that use a north/south path as a way to get cross country. And it is legal. They are noisy, dusty, and often spook the cattle. I have been digging on a Saturady when a whole group of bikes roars by and it destroys the natural setting of the area. It is a shame that the bikes are allowed to tear through the fields but not much can be done about it. While on my hike around Vindolanda I was able to take a few pictures of the lone deer that frequents the fields. There were a couple of other deer a few years ago, one still roaming around on just three legs. The three legged one seems to not be around anymore, though. The other picture is of a couple of horses in a small field near the museum that were taking a break. I guess they even thought 70F must be pretty hot!

I had to put this picture in to show all those volunteers who helped dig six feet down to find the stone fort one wall for the last three weeks had the more difficult work. By the end of yesterday Area A's crew had found the continuation of the wall lying just below the topsoil! It is six course high at its greatest and seem to show a hint of a turn in roughly the area where Robin had us place his marker. There isn't much more room to dig to the north as the water and telephone lines cross the area. It is great to see the wall show so quickly and I hope to see lots more of it by the end of the week. I'll be stopping by daily to get the update.