- This event has passed.
Experiencing the Roman army: the Vindolanda writing tablets and Roman frontier culture
Wednesday 24th June 4.10pm Performing Arts
Shrewsbury High School
Experiencing the Roman army: the Vindolanda writing tablets and Roman frontier culture
Dr John Pearce, King’s College, London
The writing tablets from the Roman fort at Vindolanda, just south of Hadrian’s Wall, are the most significant archaeological find from any Roman frontier in the last half century. They comprise ink documents with enormously diverse content, from military memos to party invitations, written by, to and about the soldiers stationed there. The lives of these auxiliaries can thus be glimpsed in a way rarely possible for the Roman army. Drawing also on the results of digital imaging, this talk will consider the insights the tablets give into the experience of soldiers on a frontier. In particular it will examine the ways in which men recruited in northern Gaul became ‘Romans’ during their military service and how far the culture of their homeland endured in this distant posting.
All welcome! Free!