 What is the truth about the Roman fort of Vindalanda just south of Hadrian's Wall? Who were the Roman soldiers stationed here? What lives did they live? And what secrets have we uncovered from this site? I will answer these and many other questions in this video and I will also take you to one of the most scenic parts of Hadrian's Wall later in the videos to stick about for that. Now firstly, what actually is Vindalanda? Well Vindalanda was a Roman auxiliary fort just south of Hadrian's Wall in Northern England which was predated by decades. Vindalanda was under Roman occupation from roughly 85 AD to 370 AD. For reference, construction on Hadrian's Wall began in 122 AD. Making Vindalanda a fascinating time machine into pre-Hadrian Britain. We know that the Romans used the word Vindalanda themselves for the fort, with it meaning white lawns or white fields. It is estimated that only 27% of Vindalanda has been excavated, with early excavations beginning in the 1830s. I will discuss some of the incredible and surprising finds later in the video. Vindalanda itself actually comprises nine forts built on top of each other. The first Vindalanda fort was part of an earlier Roman frontier system called the Staingate Frontier. The Romans built a road across Northern England that linked strategic forts at Calaiso in the west and Corbridge in the east, with the likes of Vindalanda in the centre. With the building of Hadrian's Wall, however, these Staingate forts were amalgamated into the new defensive system. But who were the Roman soldiers stationed at Vindalanda? Well, for those paying attention earlier, this site was a Roman auxiliary fort, meaning that most of the soldiers stationed here were non-Sithson troops from places such as modern-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. We know that from the early 3rd century, the Cohors Quarta Gallorum Equata, or the 4th part Mounted Cohort of Gauls, was stationed at Vindalanda. A unit of around 600 men made up of around 480 infantry and about 120 cavalry. This unit was probably razed from Gallia lung denensis, a Roman province and parts of northern France today, which before Caesar's conquest of Gaul, was part of the home of Celtic civilisation in the ancient world. It seems as well that local Britons were also incorporated into the unit. As an inscription reads, The troops from Gaul dedicate the statue to the goddess Gallia with the full support of the British-born troops. Also among the troops were basque-speaking soldiers from the Iberian Peninsula. This was not just a military position, however. And Vicus, a self-governing village, developed to the west of the fort. It contained several rows of buildings, each containing several one-room chambers. The village included normal places that we see today, such as a butcher shop and a traveller's inn. To the south of the fort was a thermal, a large imperial bath complex that would have been used by many of the individuals on the site. Now the king won't be happy. A variety of meat was eaten at Vindolanda, including pork, venison, beef, chicken and even swans. How could they? A lot of the food here was grown and produced locally, but there were imports for things like wine, fish sauce, olive oil and even pepper. As far as some of the best finds at the site, they include leather boxing gloves, a wooden toilet seat, the hand of God and a predator's child shoe. Earning the name predator, because it looks quite like an Adidas predator football boot, or soccer for our American friends, the likes of David Beckham used to wear. The Vindolanda tablets are probably the top find, however. They are a set of wooden leaf tablets that were at the time of their discovery in the 1970s, the oldest surviving hundred documents in Britain, replaced only by the Bloomberg tablets, with the London offices of Bloomberg built on the site of the ancient temple of Mithras, part of a cult in ancient Rome. As well as being beautiful, the Vindolanda tablets offer a fascinating glimpse into Roman life at the fort. They are written on fragments of thin, postcard-sized wooden leaf tablets with a carbon-based ink, and detail a wide range of messages. From military affairs to personal messages, to and from members of the garrison at Vindolanda, their families and their slaves. One of the most interesting and relatable tablets is Tablet 291. Written around 100 AD by Claudia Severa, the wife of a commander of a nearby fort, to her friend Salpicea Lipidina, who was the wife of Flavius Serialis, prefect of the 9th cohort of Bat of Ions, inviting her to a birthday party. The invitation is one of the earliest known examples of writing in Latin by a woman. There are two handwritten styles in the Tablet, with the majority of the text written on a professional hand thought to be a household scribe, and with closing greetings, personally handed by Claudia herself. On the lower right hand side, the tablets are written in Roman cursive script, and they seem to indicate that there was a high degree of literacy in the Roman army. The tablets have also given us a glimpse into how the Romans talked about the native Britons. Briton Cully, meaning Little Britons, was found on one of the Vindolanda tablets, which was a derogatory term used by the Romans to describe the locals. But why are so many items preserved so well, and how did the Romans send these tablets to each other? Very quickly, if you value these videos, please consider supporting this channel on Patreon, and you'll get ad-free content and other benefits in return. The link will be in the description below. Thank you. In relation to the first question, there are a few factors that mean that many of the items are preserved really, really well. The main one is that the ground has anaerobic conditions, which means there was no oxygen in some of the layers. Roman builders spread clay and turf over demolished buildings before starting new building programs on a previously used site. This effectively capped the underlying layer, preserving everything left beneath it. This has meant that so many items have survived in near-perfect condition. At the higher Vindolanda levels, however, the conditions are not anaerobic. The organic things do not survive at this level, and metals are highly corroded, for instance, due to the presence of oxygen and bacteria. In relation to the second question, two postal services were available under the empire, one public and one private. The Cursus Publicus, founded by Augustus, carried the mail of officials by really throughout the Roman road system. Unlike today, being a post-person in ancient Rome was actually quite dangerous, as they were often a target for enemies given the sense of material they were often carrying. Private mail of the well-to-do was carried by the Taballari, an organisation of slaves or freedmen employed as couriers for a price. Vindolanda did not exist on its own, however, and it connected to other Roman positions. There was a Roman signal station very close by to Vindolanda at Barcom Hill. Given it was on such a high ground, the Romans would have had a great viewpoint to warn of any potential attacks from the local Britons. There is also evidence of an Iron Age hill fort at this site, suggesting it may have been a stronghold of pre-Roman peoples as well. And now... So this is the steel rig section of Hadrian's Wall, and as you can see it's absolutely stunning. As I mentioned earlier, construction on Hadrian's Wall began decades after the first Roman fort at Vindolanda was built, and it was a remarkable engineering feat, stretching 73 miles right across Northern England today. Construction on the wall began in 122 AD. It was obviously also a more advanced frontier for the Romans. It must have instilled a real sense of awe amongst the locals. It was built, as the biographer of Hadrian famously said, to separate the Romans from the barbarians. Ironic considering that the Romans were the foreign occupying force on these lands. But who were these so-called barbarians? And the answer may not be as obvious as some of you may be thinking. To find out, please click here. Thanks for watching. Please subscribe and hit the bell to support this work through Patreon. The link will be in the description below. Thanks again for watching, and I'll see you next time.