Vindolanda and Hadrians Wall

On Tuesday morning we got the bus to Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort established in 85 AD. The name ‘Vindolanda’ means ‘white fort’ or ‘white plain’ because there was frost on the ground when it was named.
The Museum has a large collection of objects which have been found from archaeological excavations - the collection includes a large number of shoes (7000 Roman shoes) and writing tablets. Over the past year they have uncovered 400 leather shoes and 13 writing tablets. Other artefacts on display in the Museum include jewellery, beads, pottery, and hair combs and pins.
First we were given a tour of the fort including the archaeological site, and we saw the volunteers excavating.

We went into the activity room where Archaeological Illustrator (cool title) Mark gave us a lesson on the techniques of drawing artefacts (such as pottery). An illustration of an artefact can bring out more detail than a photograph can. For example, by incorporating techniques such as ‘stippling’ (using small dots to create shading) or lines, we can mimic the aesthetic qualities and material.
He took of us through the factors to consider such as where the light falls, perspective (how many
views the artefact requires), and measurement. There are a number of tools which we used in trying
to illustrate our artefact including a set square and profile gauge. First everyone tried to draw a mug, and then we could choose another fragment of pottery.
I found the lesson really interesting even though the actual drawing techniques are a bit challenging and complex.

                                     

For lunch a historic chef cooked for us some Roman food.
After leaving Vindolanda in the afternoon, we got dropped off at one section of Hadrians Wall and got some photos.