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WonderArchaeological writing fact

The Vindolanda tablets are thin sheets of wood written on in ink around AD 100 at a Roman fort in northern England. Their letters, lists and army records show everyday life on the empire's frontier.

Vindolanda, Northumberland, c. AD 100

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The story behind the card

The first tablets turned up in March 1973, when the archaeologist Robin Birley, alerted by a student excavator, Keith Liddell, noticed that what looked like wood shavings had writing inside: two stuck-together pieces peeled apart to reveal ink. More than 1,700 have now been found, preserved in damp, oxygen-poor ground. Most are slightly older than Hadrian's Wall, which was begun nearby in AD 122. They include a cavalry officer's polite request for more beer for his men, a note about underpants sent to a soldier, and a birthday invitation from Claudia Severa to her friend Sulpicia Lepidina. A scribe wrote most of it, but Severa added the closing greeting herself, one of the earliest known examples of writing in Latin by a woman. Most of the tablets are held at the British Museum.

Türkçe oku
Vindolanda tabletleri, MS 100 civarında kuzey İngiltere'deki bir Roma kalesinde incecik tahta levhalara mürekkeple yazılmış belgelerdir. Mektuplar, listeler ve ordu kayıtları, imparatorluğun sınırındaki gündelik hayatı ilk elden anlatır.
Vindolanda, Northumberland, MS 100 civarı

İlk tabletler Mart 1973'te bulundu. Arkeolog Robin Birley, öğrenci kazıcı Keith Liddell'in dikkat çekmesiyle, talaş sanılan parçaların içinde yazı olduğunu fark etti: birbirine yapışmış iki parça ayrılınca mürekkep ortaya çıkmıştı. Bugüne kadar 1.700'den fazla tablet bulundu; hepsi nemli, oksijensiz toprakta korunmuştu. Çoğu, MS 122'de yakınında yapımına başlanan Hadrian Duvarı'ndan biraz eskidir. Aralarında bir süvari subayının adamları için kibarca daha fazla bira istediği bir mektup, bir askere gönderilen iç çamaşırından söz eden bir not ve Claudia Severa'nın arkadaşı Sulpicia Lepidina'ya yazdığı bir doğum günü daveti var. Davetin büyük kısmını bir kâtip yazmış, ama kapanıştaki selamı Severa kendi eliyle eklemiş; bu, bir kadının Latince yazısının bilinen en eski örneklerinden biridir. Tabletlerin çoğu British Museum'da saklanıyor.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Vindolanda tablets
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