As promised, the first of the new improvements to the site is up! You'll notice a new section under "Getting Pithy" called "A Vindolanda Primer." A lot of folks offered great suggestions for a place to get up to speed with what Vindolanda's all about. With a little luck, this new section will become that space.

For starters, I've put together a very brief background on samian ware, especially the forms & styles that are found at Vindolanda. If you wanted to know more about those beautiful glossy red pieces of pottery that often pop up, this page is a good start. Other types of pottery, as well as coins, etc., will follow... at some point.

The next piece to go up will be a variation of Andy's "20 questions" that he likes to start diggers off with at the beginning of a week. You know -- what is Vindolanda, how did it relate to Hadrian's Wall, when was it occupied, what were the phases. Hopefully it'll be a great way to get your head in the game. Coming soon!

- Harry

All this ancient stuff is cool, Andy/Justin Rule OK, and all that, but could we get some truly important info, such as:


Where are the good Indian restaurants?

(There are at least two in Hexham, so there.)

Not sure they have been excavated yet, though perhaps the mansio had one
:lol:

Duncan

Interesting thought, Duncan. I feel a master's thesis coming on:

Vindolanda Vindaloo:

An Exploration of Dravidian Haute Cuisine at Hadrian's Wall in the Middle Imperial Period

(Every thesis must utilize a colon in its title, and furrin words like 'Haute Cuisine' are always good, too.)

I'm surprised no-one has picked up on this derivation before. Why wasn't it mentioned in the Timewatch programme? All that stuff about "white lawns" is clearly ridiculous. Lots of soldiers vomiting up their vindaloo sounds much more likely to me.

Thanks very much for the samian ware briefing paper, Harry. It's great.
Marilyn

I quite like this idea..

with an early press release somewhere on the lines of

Preliminary study of newly uncovered evidence has suggested a Dravidian influence at the Roman Frontier fort of Vindolanda, which highlights an hitherto unsuspected level of sophistication amongst Roman Auxilliary troops.

Etyomologists are currently in debate over the exact meaning of the name of Vindolanda, once thought to mean White Lawns, which under the new interpretation actually means Vindo [Vindaloo] Landa [Lands], in modern parlance where the curry is found or Curry House.

This has sparked a new speculation upon the exact role of Roman Auxilliary Forts in the militarised zones, with some proposing that these are not forts in the traditional Roman sense but instead Franchise Forts, supplying an exotic suppliment to the common soldier's diet.

The findings are suggesting that the Samian ware so commonly found was actually a part of this "Pret et Porter" culture, with form Drag 36 tentatively identified as a Bhaji side dish, Drag 37 as a communal rice bowl, and Drag 31 identified as the Vindaloo dish....with perhaps Drag 11 as an ice cream (Kulfi) dish

The volunteers at the Vindolanda trust are currently engaging in experimental archaeology in an attempt to prove the theory.