WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK 135
November.IthasbeenlikenedtoGlaston-
buryFestivalforthespeedwithwhichplaces
go.TheexcavationseasonstartsinApriland
lastsuntilOctober.Volunteerscomefortwo
weeksandforma group,eachgroupcom-
prising 25 members.“Peopleshowupfrom
allovertheworldandfromallwalksoflife,”
saysMartaAlberti,a red-haired,enthusiastic
archaeologistfromMilan (bywayofNew-
castleUniversity)whois showingmearound
ontheeveofthe 2019 season.“American,
Australians; young, old – it’s an amazing
mix,likeinRomantimes.”
The current dig location takes in the
northerndefences ofthe site. It’s a bright
butbriskday;gloveswouldbenicebutthe
toolsAlbertiprovidesmewithdon’tinclude
those.InsteadI havea spade,a foamknee
restanda wheelbarrow.“Theexcavationis
stratigraphic– weareliterallydiggingdown
throughthelayersofhistory,”sheexplains.
“Thecurrent level dates to the beginning
ofthethirdcentury[Severanperiod],when
EmperorSeptimiusSeverusleda campaign
to subdue local tribes, following which a
fortletherewasdemolished to make way for
a newtown.”
FromthetoplevelofVindolanda,you’d
needtodigsomesevenmetresintotaltoget
downtothe‘natural’,orpre-Roman,layer.
“We start by carefully digging out squares of
earth,1ftby1ft,andplacingeachina sepa-
ratewheelbarrow,”continuesAlberti.“That’s
your worktable. Kneeling beside it, you
gentlybreaktheearthapartwithyourfin-
gertips.”Sheshowsmehow. Now I see why
glovesaren’tanoption.
I’d been expecting touse a trowel but
Alberti explainsthat scrapingcandamage
items,especiallyhandwrittentablets– more
sothanbypressingdownwitha spadeedge,
whichwouldatleastinvolvea cleanbreak.
Slowly I work the rich black earthin the
wheelbarrow between my fingertips. The
soil here is damp and anaerobic (devoid
ofoxygen),helpingtopreserveitems.Asit
breaks apart, I feel somethingsmoothyet
withjaggededges.Thelightcatchesthepale
object.“Lookslikea pieceofanimalbone,”
Alberti tells me. “It’s definitely Roman. It
wouldn’t be in this location otherwise.”ADEEPERUNDERSTANDING
IfI’dfeltanydisappointmentatnotfinding
somethingmoreexotic,I needn’thave.“Even
the less glamorous itemscan change our
understandingofhistory,”Albertisays.“One
find allowedus toconcludethat theyhad
vetshere.It involveda dog’sskull– possibly
a huntingdog–thathadbeendrilledinto,
almostcertainlytotreata toothabscess.Or
take the children’s clogs dug up in 2017: theywould have beenusedin the bathhouses.
Togetherwithevidenceofbirthdayparties,
theyshowthatlifeherewasa morefamily-
orientedplacethanpreviouslythought.”
Onevolunteerwhomadea verysignifi-
cant find isSarah Baker, a music teacher
from Birmingham.Hermotherhadtaught
Latin,predisposing Bakertoaninterestin
the Romans. Bakervolunteered at Vindo-
landaduringthe 2017 season,a vintageyear
forthenumberandqualityoffinds.Inkeep-
ing with the family-friendly customs now
knowntohaveexistedhere,shecamewith
herdaughter,Phoebe,whowasthen 16 and
whohassincegoneontostudy archaeology
atLiverpoolUniversity.
Baker had been a volunteer excavator
here in 2016 andhadcampedforthetwo
weeks;in2017,sheandherdaughterstayed
inanAirbnbrental.“It’sphysicallydemand-
ingmanualwork,allday,”shecautions. “It’s
importanttoplanoutyourstay.”
Oneafternoon,shewasdigginginanarea
that hadbeenusedasa cavalrybarracks.
The original rooms included stables for
horsesandlivingaccommodation.Nearthe
endofthisphaseoftheexcavation,Baker
glimpsed a dull grey edge of somethingThelivingquartersatVindolanda, which at one time
held more than 1,000 soldiers