Vindolanda
Chesterholm, Northumberland, England
Military bathhouse at Vindolanda
Shown within Northumberland
Type	Roman fort
Coordinates	grid reference NY7766
Current condition	Ruined
Open to the public	Yes
Controlled by	Vindolanda Trust

Vindolanda^[1] was a Roman auxiliary fort (castrum) just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England. Located near the modern village of Bardon Mill, it guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth. It is noted for the Vindolanda tablets, among the most important finds of military and private correspondence (written on wooden tablets) found anywhere in the Roman Empire.

Early accounts[link]

The first post-Roman record of the ruins at Vindolanda was made by the antiquarian William Camden, in his Britannia (1586). Occasional travellers reached the site over the next two hundred years, and the accounts they left are useful because they predate much of the stone-stealing that has damaged the site. The military bath-house was still partly roofed when Christopher Hunter visited the site in 1702. In about 1715 an excise officer named John Warburton found an altar there, which he removed. In 1814 the first real archaeological work was begun, by the Rev. Anthony Hedley. Hedley died in 1835, before writing up his discoveries. Little more was done for a long time, although in 1914 a workman found another altar at the site, set up by the civilians living at the fort in honour of the Divine House and Vulcan. Several names for the site are used in the early records, including Chesters on Caudley, Little Chesters, the Bower, and Chesterholm; the altar found in 1914 confirmed that the true Roman name for the site was "Vindolanda", which had been in dispute as one early source referred to it as "Vindolana".^[2]

Garrison[link]

The garrison were auxiliary infantry or cavalry units, not components of Roman legions. From the early third century AD onwards, this was the Fourth Cohort of Gauls. It had been presumed that this title was by this time purely nominal, with auxiliary troops being recruited locally, but an inscription found in a recent season of excavations suggests that native Gauls were still to be found in the regiment and that they liked to distinguish themselves from British soldiers.^[3] The inscription reads:

CIVES GALLI
DE GALLIAE
CONCORDES
QUE BRITANNI

Of which a free translation would be "The troops from Gaul dedicate this statue to the goddess Gallia with the full support of the British-born troops".^[3]

Fort and town[link]

The fort was originally constructed in turf and timber before Hadrian's Wall was built around 122 AD,^[4] and was repaired and rebuilt several times. The site was probably in full operation from about 92 AD onwards, with the first evidence for construction on the site dating from 85 AD. Later, apparently after a period of abandonment when the garrison transferred to a fort on the Wall itself (probably Vercovicium, now known as Housesteads), a new stone fort was built approximately on the same site. This fort, and the civilian community abutting it, called a vicus, remained in existence until the end of the Roman period in Britain in 410. Scattered finds suggest that some type of settlement, possibly including an early church, survived well into the fifth century.

The vicus contains several rows of buildings, each containing several one-room chambers. Most of them are not connected to the existing drainage system. The one that is may have been a butchery where, for health reasons, an efficient drain would have been important.

To the south of the fort are the remains of a large Roman bath.

Along the interior side of the south wall of the stone fort, several semi-circular stone structures of indeterminate nature and design are located.

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Excavation[link]

In the 1930s, the house at Chesterholm where the museum is now located was purchased by archaeologist Eric Birley, who was interested in excavating the site. The excavations have been continued by his sons, Robin and Anthony, and his grandson, Andrew Birley, into the present day. They are undertaken each summer, and some of the archaeological deposits reach depths of six meters. The anoxic conditions at these depths have preserved thousands of artifacts that normally disintegrate in the ground,^[5] thus providing an opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of Roman life – military and otherwise – on the northern frontier.

In 2010, the remains of a girl thought to be between the ages of 8 and 10 years old, with her hands tied, were uncovered in a shallow pit in what was the barrack room. She is believed to have been murdered about 1,800 years ago.^[6]

Along with ongoing excavations (in season) and excavated remains, a full size replica of a section of Hadrian's Wall in both stone and timber can be seen on the site.

Site museum[link]

Gardens outside the museum

The Vindolanda site museum conserves and displays finds from the site. The museum is set in gardens, which include full-sized reconstructions of a Roman temple, a Roman shop, Roman house and Northumbrian croft, all with audio presentations. Exhibits include Roman boots, shoes, armour, jewellery and coins, infra-red photographs of the writing tablets and, from 2011, a small selection of the tablets themselves, on loan from the British Museum. 2011 saw the reopening of the refurbished museum at Vindolanda, and also the Roman Army Museum at Carvoran, after 6.3 million pounds had been spent on revamping these museums with a Heritage Lottery Grant.

A spectacular find in 2006 was the richly detailed bronze and silver brooch (fibula) modeled with the figure of Mars, on which Quintus Sollonius, a Gaul to judge by his name, had carefully punched his name before he lost it in the early second century; nothing comparably fine has been recovered along the Wall.^[7]

Vindolanda Trust[link]

In 1970, the Vindolanda Trust, a registered charity, was founded to administer the site and its museum, and in 1997, the Trust took over the running of the Roman Army Museum at Carvoran, another Hadrian's Wall fort, which it had acquired in 1972. Current trustees include the Rt Hon Dr David Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere.

See also[link]

• Vindolanda tablets
• History of Northumberland
• Minimus, Latin textbooks for primary-school children, using stories based in Vindolanda
• Vercovicium, an auxiliary fort nearby at Housesteads.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Birley, R., Vindolanda : a Roman frontier post on Hadrian's Wall, London: Thames and Hudson, (1977)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vindolanda

• Vindolanda Trust
• BBC page on Vindolanda
• Directions and further details about Vindolanda and the remaining sections of Hadrian's Wall
• Hadrian's Wall Discussion Forum

v t e Forts of Hadrian's Wall Wall Forts (East to West) Segedunum Pons Aelius Condercum Vindobala Onnum Cilurnum Procolita Vercovicium Aesica Magnis Banna Camboglanna Uxelodunum Aballava Coggabata Maia Outpost Forts Habitancum Fanum Cocidi Stanegate Forts Corstopitum Newbrough Vindolanda Haltwhistle Burn Magnis Throp Nether Denton Castle Hill Boothby Brampton Old Church Luguvalium Supply Forts Alauna Arbeia Coria Vindomora

v t e Roman visitor sites in the UK Villas Bignor • Brading • Chedworth • Crofton • Dover Painted House • Great Witcombe • Littlecote • Lullingstone • Fishbourne • Newport • Piddington • Rockbourne • Wroxeter Forts & Military Arbeia • Binchester • Birdoswald • Caerleon • Chesters • Housesteads • Lunt • Carvoran Roman Army Museum • Pevensey Castle • Portchester Castle • Richborough • Segedunum • Vindolanda Towns Aldborough Roman Site • Corbridge • Silchester • Wroxeter Roman Museums Canterbury Roman Museum • Carvoran Roman Army Museum • Corinium Museum • Jewry Wall Museum • Ribchester • Senhouse Roman Museum • Trimontium Trust (Melrose) • Verulamium Museum Other sites Bath Roman Baths • Caerleon Roman Baths • Verulamium Roman Theatre • Welwyn Roman Baths • York Roman Baths

Geoff Eales (c.1950-) is a Welsh jazz pianist and composer.^[1]

Musical education[link]

Born in Aberbargoed in the south Wales valleys, his musical education began at the age of eight, in the late 1950s. His father Horace, pianist in a well-known local dance band, taught him to play the 12-bar blues. He was also introduced to piano masters Erroll Garner, George Shearing and Oscar Peterson, as well as Bud Powell, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

Eales also underwent a more conventional musical education while a pupil at Lewis School Pengam, learning classical piano and the French horn. He played the latter with the Glamorgan Youth Orchestra and, in 1968, with the National Youth Orchestra of Wales.^[1] He achieved a first class honours and a masters degree at Cardiff University and in 1980 was awarded his doctorate in music for a thesis on structure in the symphonic works of Aaron Copland^[2].

Career[link]

Throughout his long and distinguished career Geoff Eales has worked with pop stars, country singers, opera divas, variety artists, and played on countless sound tracks, TV shows and jingles, been a featured soloist with symphony orchestras and has composed chamber music, symphonies and concertos.

Early in his career he cruised the world on a Greek liner. For four months he was based in the jazz capital of the world, New Orleans where he played with many American jazzmen such as Buddy Tate, Jimmy McPartland, Earl Warren and Major Holley. He then moved to London, where he joined Joe Loss' band. The following year he became the pianist in the BBC Big Band, where he remained for over four years.

For the next 15 years Eales worked with an array of conductors, composers and singers including Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin, Jerry Goldsmith, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rosemary Clooney, Adelaide Hall, Tammy Wynette, Shirley Bassey, Andy Williams, Kiri Te Kanawa and José Carreras.^[1]

By the end of the 1990s he felt the need to return to jazz, since when has performed at some of the world's leading jazz clubs, such as The Blue Note Clubs in Osaka and Fukuoka, New York's Birdland (jazz club), The Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, Louisville's Jazz Factory and London's Ronnie Scott's, and at many major jazz festivals.

His work has met with critical acclaim, such as:

and :

One of the world's most respected jazz critics, Dave Gelly has called him "phenomenally accomplished" in The Observer in 2005.^[5]

Discography[link]

• Mountains Of Fire (Black Box, 1999)
• Red Letter Days (Black Box, 2001)
• Facing The Muse (Mainstem, 2002)
• Synergy (Basho, 2004)
• The Homecoming (33 Jazz, 2006)
• Jazz Piano Legends (2007)
• Epicentre (33 Records, 2007)
• Master of the Game (Edition, 2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Geoff Eales biography from BBC Wales
• http://www.riverfrontjazz.co.uk/Performers/geoff_eales.htm
• http://www.jazzpianolegends.com/geoff_eales_trio.php
• http://www.musicweb-international.com/jazz/2008/Eales_J2C0701.htm

Andrew Robin Birley (born 28 October 1974) is the Director of Excavations on the site of Vindolanda and the son of Robin Birley and grandson of Eric Birley, who founded the department of Archaeology at Durham University. He graduated from the University of Leicester in the summer of 1996, he has been working on the site for 18 years, ten of which have been in full time employment by the Vindolanda Trust. Andrew is responsible for the day to day running of the excavations and the welfare of the volunteers while on the site. He began work towards obtaining his PhD in 2004 which he completed in 2010. Andrew has appeared in a number of television programmes about Roman Britain and archaeology for the BBC, the History Channel, National Geographic and the Discovery Channel.

Published works include relevant contributions to the Vindolanda Excavation Reports from 1997 to 2009, the 'Eyeopener' series, 'Following the Eagle', as well as a fascicule on Roman locks and keys from the site of Vindolanda.

External links[link]

• Entry on Birley family genealogy

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