Vindolanda is home to the world famous Vindolanda Writing Tablets, voted as Britain's top archaeological treasure by the British Museum, these thin hand written wooden notes have revealed an astonishing amount of first-hand information from the people who lived at this site 2000 years ago. The first Vindolanda tablet was uncovered on 23rd March 1973. Here we have collected together a selection of our articles and resources about the writing tablets to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their discovery.
News: Oct 2019 More of Britain's top treasure are now on display at Vindolanda. Discovered in the summer of 2017 four new writing tablets are to be displayed in the Vindolanda Museum from spring 2020. Read more
Video Blog Curator for the Vindolanda Trust, Barbara Birley, takes us through the process of conserving and photographing the Vindolanda Writing tablets so that they can be read, translated and the secrets they hold revealed. Read more
Junior Blogs What are writing tablets? Where are they found? See some examples of the different writing tablets found at Vindolanda and what we can we learn from them. Read more
Activity The archaeologists at Vindolanda have found this mysterious ink writing tablet, covered in scrawled words. They need you to help them solve the mystery of what this tablet says, it may hold important clues to the past. Can you help? Read more
Finding the first Vindolanda Writing Tablet: A personal recollection of the most astonishing discovery on 23 March 1973, by Patricia Birley. Read more