Archaeology & History for Everyone
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Visit Roman Vindolanda today and you will find one of the North East’s most famous and not to be missed tourist attractions lying in the beautiful landscape of Hadrian's Wall Country. Formerly a key military post on the northern frontier of Britain, Vindolanda is the home of Britain's 'Top Treasure' - the Vindolanda Writing Tablets - and is one Europe's most important Roman archaeological sites, with live excavations taking place every year.
Open daily from 9:30am, see website for seasonal closing hours (last admission one hour before closing)
Tickets available online and on the door.
- Hearing Impaired
- Guide Dogs
- Wheelchair Accessible
- Visually Impaired
Address
Chesterholm Museum, Bardon Mill, Northumberland, NE47 7JN
Telephone
+44 (0)1434 344277
As one of Europe’s most important Roman archaeological sites Roman Vindolanda Fort is a must see. It houses a unique collection in the museum and has a fantastic site to explore. Sitting on the Stanegate Road, just south of Hadrian’s Wall, Vindolanda is owned by the Vindolanda Charitable Trust. The on-site museum is filled with artefacts solely found whilst excavating at Vindolanda.
Vindolanda Roman Fort
The site has nine forts (built on top of each other) creating exciting archaeology beneath what you can see today. You can explore a stone fort dating to the third century with impressive standing remains. Inside the fort walls are the remains of the headquarters building, the Commanding Officer’s house, barracks and more. Beyond the fort walls is a settlement with a main street, houses, shops, a tavern and a bathhouse. As an auxiliary fort, soldiers from all over the Roman Empire including Belgium, Germany and France would have lived here.
Excavations take place on the site every year and attract hundreds of volunteers from all over the world. You can see the live excavations taking place Mon – Fri weather permitting between April and September. The site has special soil conditions, which preserve certain artefacts amazingly.
Vindolanda Museum
After exploring the fort it’s time to visit the museum, down the hill from the fort. Our museum displays stunning objects found during the excavations in order to tell the story of the people of Vindolanda. These include a remarkable collection of wooden items, leather shoes, equipment, tools, jewellery, pottery, carved stone and religious artefacts.
The Vindolanda Writing Tablets
The top find from the site are the Vindolanda writing tablets – voted Britain’s ‘Top Treasure’. You can see some of these on display and learn about their discovery in the museum. These small wooden postcard sized documents are records of daily life of people who used to live here. These include letters, a birthday party invitation, requests for payment, lists of supplies and soldiers deployed.
This site contains astonishing Roman remains, superbly preserved artefacts and exciting live excavations. Vindolanda Roman Fort allows you to connect with the people who once called this place their home.
Complete a perfect day out on Hadrian’s Wall with a trip to Vindolanda’s sister site the Roman Army Museum.
