Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort (castrum) just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, which it pre-dated. Archaeological excavations of the site show it was under Roman occupation from roughly 85 AD to 370 AD. Located near the modern village of Bardon Mill in Northumberland, it guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth. It is noted for the Vindolanda tablets, a set of wooden leaf-tablets that were, at the time of their discovery, the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain.
The year 1974 in archaeology involved some significant events.
The year 1972 in archaeology involved some significant events.
Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1935.
Eric Barff Birley,, was a British historian and archaeologist, particularly associated with the excavation of the forts of Hadrian's Wall, notably at Vindolanda.
Magnis or Magna was a Roman fort near Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain. Its ruins are now known as Carvoran Roman Fort and are located near Carvoran, Northumberland, in northern England. It was built on the Stanegate frontier and Roman road, linking Coria (Corbridge) in the east to Luguvalium (Carlisle) in the west, before the building of Hadrian's Wall.
The Vindolanda tablets were, at the time of their discovery, the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain. They are a rich source of information about life on the northern frontier of Roman Britain. Written on fragments of thin, postcard-sized wooden leaf-tablets with carbon-based ink, the tablets date to the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Although similar records on papyrus were known from elsewhere in the Roman Empire, wooden tablets with ink text had not been recovered until 1973, when archaeologist Robin Birley, his attention being drawn by student excavator Keith Liddell, discovered some at the site of Vindolanda, a Roman fort in northern England.
Robin Edgar Birley was a British archaeologist. He was the Director of Excavations at the Roman site of Vindolanda and head of the Vindolanda research committee. He was the son of Eric Birley and Margaret "Peggy" Birley and brother of Anthony Birley. His wife Patricia Birley, son Andrew Birley, and daughter-in-law Barbara Birley are also published authors on Roman Vindolanda.
Anthony Richard Birley was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic. He was the son of Margaret Isabel (Goodlet) and historian and archaeologist Eric Birley.
Coria was a fort and town 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. It was strategically located on the junction of a major Roman north–south road with the River Tyne and the Roman Stanegate road, which was also the first frontier line which ran east–west between Coria and Luguvalium. Corbridge Roman Site is in the village of Corbridge in the county of Northumberland.
Patricia Selina Birley is an archaeologist and was the director of the Vindolanda Trust from 2002 to 2015.
Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths encompass the archaeological ruins and sites of the Legionary Fortress of Isca Augusta spread across the town of Caerleon, near the city of Newport, South Wales. Notable for being one of only three permanent legionary fortresses from Roman Britain, Caerleon has provided a unique opportunity to study the archaeology of a Roman Legionary fortress, less affected by the medieval and subsequent urban activity of most such fortresses. Having attracted the attention of eminent archaeologists throughout the 20th century it now has four major public archaeological venues, including the museum run by Cadw, called 'Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths', featuring the excavated fortress bath-house. Also open to the public is the most complete excavated amphitheatre in Britain, a series of barracks and the National Roman Legion Museum. The fortress and its surrounding civil settlement have been the subject of continuing major archaeological investigations into the 21st century.
Brian Dobson was an English archaeologist, teacher and scholar. His specialisms were Hadrian's Wall and the Roman Army. He studied under Eric Birley and is a member of the so-called 'Durham School' of archaeology. He was a Reader Emeritus of Durham University.
David John Breeze, OBE, FSA, FRSE, HonFSAScot, Hon MIFA is a British archaeologist, teacher and scholar of Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall and the Roman army. He studied under Eric Birley and is a member of the so-called "Durham School" of archaeology. He was a close friend and colleague of the late Dr Brian Dobson.
The Congress of Roman Frontier Studies or Limes Congress is one of the most important conferences on archaeology in Europe. The conference takes place on a triennial basis, although there have been some exceptions. The first congress was held in Durham in 1949; the most recent one took place in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, in 2022.
Vincent Gaffney is a British archaeologist and the Anniversary Chair in Landscape Archaeology at the University of Bradford.
Brenda Swinbank was an English archaeologist. She was one of the first women in Britain to become a professional archaeologist, specialising in the study of Hadrian's Wall, and was instrumental in bringing to publication excavations under York Minster.
Barbara Allison Birley is an archaeologist and museum curator working at the Roman fort of Vindolanda, near Hadrian's Wall.
Paul Thomas Bidwell was a British archaeologist specialising in Roman Britain, Roman pottery, Hadrian's Wall and the Roman army in Britain.
Margaret "Peggy" Isobel Birley, née Goodlet was an archaeologist who worked at the Roman forts of Housesteads and Vindolanda.
