A small number of old roman letters have been found sent from person to person. Many of these were between families, so soldiers could write home and had a way of sending messages there. This tells us that the army was extremely important to soldiers, as they would often have to be split up from their partner to travel with the army. Writing equipment has also been found at Vindolanda, such as styluses, wax tablets and wooden writing boards.
Training ground foundations have been unearthed, containing practice weaponry, such as swords and shields. However, the practice equipment was made roughly twice as heavy, to build up strength in the soldiers as quickly as possible. For safety purposes, it was made of wood instead of metal, to reduce the risk of injury to the soldiers in training. These swords have been found at Vindolanda. There has also been a cow skull with holes in it, caused by target practice, found at Vindolanda. At Housesteads, the sides of the water tank are worn down, by the constant sword and dagger sharpening. Finally, the basilica at Birdoswald is thought to have been a covered training area.
Beds have been found in barracks which show us just how cramped barracks were – large numbers of people would have to fit into a small room – comfort was not a big concern with the roman army. This meant the maximum amount of people could fit in a barracks, thereby enlarging the number of soldiers per fort. We can see the size of the barracks at Chesters and Housesteads.
Within the barracks, roman coins have been found hidden under floorboards, indicating Roman soldiers would be wary of theft, most likely from other soldiers. Lorica – a type of strip metal armour – has been found, which seems to be a further development from scale and chain mail, which was far less effective in protecting a soldier. However, the lorica needed another person to secure it at the back, which meant soldiers wearing it would have to help each other out when putting it on. Coins have been found in Hadrian’s Wall, and at places like Vindolanda.
Shards of domestic pottery have been unearthed, found in a huge number of Roman sites, which as we can see from marks at the bottom would be used for cooking, suspended above a fire or in the embers of one. Samian pottery was the type used with military and civilian Romans, as it had an extremely large trade in forts – it was originally produced in Italy and Gaul, but some was also produced in Britain. We can tell the maker by the inscription on it – M or MA meant ‘manu’ – by the hand of – and FEC meant ‘fecit’ – made it.
A writing tablet in Vindolanda tells us over an 8 day period soldiers were supplied with lard, pork fat, bacon lard, olive oil, ham, venison, pork, eggs, bread, beans, lentils, honey and semolina. Remains of the bones of animals some of the meats in this list came from have been uncovered, again giving us an insight into the roman diet. For example, chicken bones and cow skulls have been discovered in many forts such as at Chesters and near to Vindolanda. Obviously this shows that the roman soldier’s diet consisted of mostly meat, but also with a few vegetables too. Bread making facilities have also been found in many of the larger forts, showing us how they made bread and that it was obviously a large part of their diet. Also, at Vindolanda, there is a painted inscription on an amphora showing it held olive oil from Southern Spain.
Many pairs of shoes had been unearthed, presumably which were either in too poor condition to wear or which came off in the mud. The Romans had many types of shoes, such as bath house clogs and sandals. The shape of the shoes Romans were issued with were built to be flexible but sturdy – they had studs on the bottom to stop the soles wearing out. However, the fact that so many of the studs are missing shows us that they came out easily and would have to be replaced frequently. This is another part of the upkeep of the soldier’s equipment, along with tasks such as keeping one’s armour clean and shiny. The fact that these shoes have large gaps in shows us that the Romans would have worn socks with them too, to avoid their feet becoming extremely cold. These socks have also been unearthed.
Weaponry was also a large part of the roman life, as soldiers would be training extremely often to keep in shape. Slingshots would be used to throw small lead or stone balls, both of which have been found in many forts such as Housesteads. An accurate slinger could kill a man at around one hundred metres, but this would require a great deal of practice. Soldiers would also have their own personal weapons, such as daggers and javelins, some of which would not have been issued from the army. Exquisite and elaborate daggers have been discovered, which would have been purchased from merchants, and possibly used in self defence from thieves. Helmets have also been discovered, with various plumes for higher ranking soldiers, which would again need to be taken care of.
Huge numbers of old arrow and javelin heads have been found. Many old roman coins have also been found, some in leather wallets, and many other leather items such as tents have been found. Roman shoes were also made of leather, which shows us that leather would be a big part of roman trade. Many primitive security devices have been found, such as locks, keys and boxes with locks on have been found. However, considering when this is, these security devices are incredibly advanced for their time. This again shows us that the Romans were cautious and careful with their possessions. There is also an indoor training ground at Birdoswald, the only one found in a fort at Hadrian’s Wall. This shows us just how important training was, since even when it was raining they would be training.
It is also possible to see the life expectancy of an average soldier, through the gravestones which have been discovered near Hadrian’s Wall. For example, the tombstone of ‘Titus Annius’, which was discovered at Vindolanda, and tells us he died in war.
We can also tell a lot about the leisure time of the Roman soldiers, and how it was usually spent. Pots have been found near Corbridge, which depict hunting scenes, something many Romans would have done in their spare time. As mentioned above, many would spend time in the bathhouses. Board games and dice have been found near Segedunum, and show us that many Romans would gamble in their spare time. Many of the dice uncovered are weighted, showing us that some of the Romans may have been cheating the locals out of their money, or vice-versa.
Finally, the Vindolanda tablets have told us a huge deal about Hadrian’s Wall. They include letters to families back home, requests to send items, gossip, requests for leave, bargaining over food prices, invitations to parties, Duty rotas and finally, accounts. They were, of course, discovered at Vindolanda.
This shows that the life of a Roman soldier revolved mainly around the 3 aspects of training and fighting, enforced by the Roman army, relationship, be they family, friend or lover, and leisure, which was spent differently for every individual soldier.
