The Vindolanda writing tablets

by Alan K. Bowman, J. David Thomas

The Vindolanda writing-tablets cast a unique light upon the role of the occupying Roman forces who organized the frontier region between England and Scotland, just before Hadrian's Wall was built. This substantial work of palaeography includes editions, with translation and commentary, of all the tablets which contain significant amounts of text; and also brief descriptions of those which cannot be read, or contain very little writing, and brief re-editions of all the texts published earlier in Bowman and Thomas. The introduction to this work analyzes recent evidence provided by the tablets, revealing Roman life and literacy on the frontier, and examines the nature and importance of these remarkable documents.

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Alan Bowman is Principal of Brasenose College and Emeritus Camden Professor of Ancient History at Oxford University. His research interests focus on papyrology, the Vindolanda Writing-Tablets, and the social and economic history of Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt and the Roman Empire.

Reviews

[DeLace Munger · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are essentially scholarly translations of the tablets found at the Roman ruins of Vindolanda along Hadrian's Wall in Britain. So I didn't check them out looking for a real page turner but I did find them to be fascinating and highly educational. I found perusing the bits and pieces of letter, military reports and requistion orders to be extremely entertaining. The authors include every last little detail which is obviously intimidating if you have no interest in Latin but just focusing on the words and the notes explaining some of the possible context makes for informative reading for anyone with a passion for Roman history.