In recent weeks, excavations at Vindolanda have brought to light a growing collection of finds, each adding another layer to the story of this frontier Roman fort.
As teams worked through successive layers, they uncovered a mix of everyday objects and finely made items, each offering a direct link to different periods of activity across its long occupation.
One discovery drew immediate attention. Marina, on her first volunteer visit, uncovered a large iron key while working through the remains of a later building. The structure dates to a period after AD 410, when Roman administration had already withdrawn from Britain.
The key is heavily corroded, but its form is still easy to pick out. It is the kind of object that speaks quietly but clearly—someone once used it to lock a door, secure a chest, or protect something of value. Finds like this suggest that activity at Vindolanda did not simply stop with the end of Roman rule.
From a separate area, a copper-alloy ligula came up from a 4th-century floor layer. Small and neatly shaped, it looks like a narrow spoon. In Roman use, it had several roles, including medical ones. One of those uses involved cleaning the ear, a detail that tends to surprise modern audiences.
Pottery fragments added another layer to the day’s work. A sherd from a Nene Valley beaker was identified among the finds. Made in the region of modern Cambridgeshire, this type of pottery is known for its thin fabric and decorative finish. The piece shows barbotine work, where liquid clay is applied to create raised patterns. Scenes of hunting, plants, or figures were common.
A fragment of a face pot also emerged from earlier levels, dating to the 3rd century. The piece shows part of a human face formed in clay. These vessels are well known but still not fully explained. Some may have had a decorative role, others something more symbolic. More fragments could help clarify that, and the same area will continue to be explored.
An iron spearhead—sometimes described as a lance head—was also recovered. It is a reminder of the military side of the site, which once housed troops along the northern frontier.
Vindolanda itself has a long and layered past. It started as a Roman auxiliary fort before Hadrian’s Wall was built and remained in use for several centuries. Evidence from previous excavations show that occupation lasted from around AD 85 to about AD 370.
The fort lies near Bardon Mill in Northumberland and once overlooked the Stanegate, the road linking the River Tyne with the Solway Firth. It is also known for the Vindolanda tablets, thin wooden writing tablets with ink text, counted among the earliest surviving handwritten records in Britain.
Sources : Vindolana Trust
