INTRODUCTION TO VINDOLANDA

Each year, Dr. Deb spends approximately one month assisting the researchers at Vindolanda, a world-heritage archaeological site in northern England. Vindolanda is a fort and village complex built during the Roman occupation of the British Isles, nearly 2000 years ago.

Vindolanda is a bit of a hidden treasure. It's one of the world's most archaeologically productive Roman sites, yet relatively few people have heard of it. From it come Britain's greatest archaeological treasure, the Vindolanda Tablets: original records of Roman life in a frontier province, handwritten at the same time the early fathers of the Christian church were still alive.

At Vindolanda, you can tour the ruins, walk the very pavements trodden by Roman legions, and visit two of the most interesting antiquities museums in existence. You can combine your visit to Vindolanda with hiking Hadrian's Wall, the English equivalent of the Appalachian Trail. At the end of the day, there are warm and welcoming pubs and inns. The whole is set in the most wild and scenic upland country that England has to offer, with the Lake District and its mountain views and world-class fishing close by.

Click on the buttons at right to view Dr. Deb's personal Vindolanda journal, or to read the article about Vindolanda that was published in Equus Magazine.

Would you like to visit? Vindolanda has a fabulous website at www.vindolanda.com. There you will find complete directions and help in making all the necessary reservations. You can come as a visitor or you can even volunteer to be an excavator and join in on making some exciting discoveries.

There's a good deal of horse-related information at Vindolanda. Dr. Deb works there to identify, catalog, and perform forensic and zooarchaeological research on animal bones. Click on one of the two Vindolanda PDF's to see the whole story!