The tablets are found on floor surfaces and pits in the Vindolanda pre-Hadrianic excavation levels. It is possible that any Vindolanda building of this date may have a discarded tablet lying in it. The remains of a major bonfire was discovered in the road outside the commander’s house in period III, AD97 to 105. The bonfire contained the charred remains of around 300 writing tablets. They were mainly the correspondence of the Commanding Officer, Flavius Cerialis. It is possible they were being burned before the garrison left to fight in the Dacian wars. The tablets are made of specially prepared birch and alder wood and the ink writing covers one surface with the address on the opposite side. They are about the size of a modern postcard and about 1mm thick. The tablets are conserved and photographed, with infrared photography, at Vindolanda. After initial research they are then sent to The British Museum in London for specialist storage. Vindolanda’s Museum has a comprehensive display about including 9 fascinating tablets on loan from the British Museum.