Vindolanda lies just to the south and west of Housesteads. It is a short drive from the main military road and because of this it tends to be less busy than the other popular archaeological sites. Vindolanda was actually established before the main Wall was built in 122 AD and became an auxiliary fort which also had a substantial element of civilian accommodation.
Immediately after parking you have the ticket office and a small audio visual display room which will introduce you to the main site. When you leave the buiding you then have the fort laid out before you across a large relatively flat area. There are a number of separate excavations and each one will have a story board to explain what you are looking at. Towards the south end there is a timber reconstruction of a Roman fort along the Wall.
This picture of the Granary and the stores building gives a good idea of what the excavations look like. They all have a small storyboard and you can follow the paths around the site.
One of the interesting facts which you will learn here is that the Romans who lived here actually rarely came from Rome. Basically they recruited soldiers and auxiliaries from across their empire. For instance you will often see Batavians from Holland being referred to.
There is also a reconstruction of a timber fort.
This picture shows the outside of the museum at Chesterholm. It sits in a small valley at the eastern end of Vindolanda and used to be the manor house where Robin Birley, the driving force behind the excavations, lived.
There is a small coffee shop, book shop and some display cases here.After walking round the site and seeing all the stonework it is well worth seeing some of the small items which were discovered as well.
Vindolanda and Chesterholm are, of course, famous for being the source of the Roman writing tablets. These were found during excavation of a ditch used, by the Romans, for dumping waster materials. The anaerobic conditions within the waste helped to preserve the papyrii which were used as paper.
It is also worth noting that Vindolanda is actually 5 timber forts built is succession and then followed by two stone forts. The final buildings were constructed during the reign of the Emperor Severus.
Cottages close to Vindolanda.
Holmhead farm is actually alongside the wall and beside Thirwall castle.
Resources.
The main authority on Vindolanda is the official website. You can also find good information at these webpages.
One of the greatest treasures in Britain comes from here. The discovery of writing paper which covers the daily life of Romans who along the Wall provides a fascinating insight into their lives. You can read more about this here.
This web page provides a concise summary of the development of the fort and how it changed once the Wall itself was built to the north.
Picture gallery of Vindolanda.
See the various displays and excavations as you walk around the site.
