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Life and Letters on the Roman Frontier: Vindolanda and its people
 
 
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Life and Letters on the Roman Frontier: Vindolanda and its people (Paperback)

by Alan K. Bowman (Author) "Despite the very great advances brought by increased archaeological activity in recent years, the poverty of evidence for the period in the history of Roman..." (more)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 179 pages
  • Publisher: British Museum Press; 2nd Revised edition edition (26 Jan 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0714122467
  • ISBN-13: 978-0714122465
  • Product Dimensions: 24 x 17 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 220,624 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #100 in  Books > History > Essays, Journals, Letters & True Accounts > Classical, Early & Medieval

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Product Description

Product Description

"Clodius Super to his Cerialis, greetings. I ask that you send the things which I need for the use of my boys...which you well know I cannot properly get hold of here..." So writes a Roman soldier stationed on the wild northern frontier of England around AD 100. In 1973, the first discoveries were made of the now famous wooden tablets - 300 letters and documents that had survived 2000 years - at the fort of Vindolanda. Painstakingly deciphered by Alan Bowman and David Thomas they have contributed a wealth of evidence for daily life in the Roman Empire. From the military documents we learn of the strength and activities of the units stationed at Vindolanda. The accounts testify to the lifestyle of officers and ordinary soldiers, with payments for pepper and oil, towels and tallow, boots and beer. Then there are snapshots of domestic life in letters between the officer's wives, including a birthday invitation. Most fascinating of all is the evidence for a high degree of literacy in the Roman army, when even a common soldier receives a letter from home promising him a parcel of socks. In this revised, expanded and updated edition, Alan Bowman's lively summary of this evidence is followed by the text of 50 key tablets, in Latin and in translation, bringing the reader very close to the actual people who inhabited Vindolanda in AD 100.
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First Sentence
Despite the very great advances brought by increased archaeological activity in recent years, the poverty of evidence for the period in the history of Roman Britain which lies between the end of Agricola's governorship and the construction of Hadrians Wall (c. AD 85-122) has been striking by comparison with later periods in Britain, and with other provinces of the Roman empire. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Life and Letters on the Roman Frontier: Vindolanda and its people
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for any Roman enthusiast, 1 Feb 2005
By A Customer
The Vindolanda tablets are one of the most extraordinary collections of Roman documents to survive into modern times, and Bowman's book truly does them justice.

The slightly longer first part of the books deals with what the tablets can tell us about Roman life on the northern British frontier. This section is scholarly, but written in a clear, easy to read style that leaves it accessible to the more general reader and makes it clear just how valuable the tablets are.

The plates at the back, with photographs of artefacts from the site - whether an astonishingly well preserved woman's slipper or a selection of the tablets themselves - are of great interest.

However, it is the transcripts and translations of the tablets that are the most fascinating aspects. Here you may see a wealth of information, from the mundane (accounts on buying corn), the military (notes on the fighting styles of the "wretched Britons") to the surprisingly familiar (a birthday party invitation). Such documents bring you truly close to the people living on this remote outpost nearly two thousand years ago. In this respect they are far more valuable that the histories of Tacitus or Suetonius, for they are shorn of all pretence or bias, and cover the day to day aspects of life that the Roman Historians never bothered to chronicle. Their presentation is well executed, with the Latin and English shown together so that anyone who cares to can check the accuracy of the translation - though the author has taken care to note any discrepancies or doubts.

The range of material is such that this is not merely a book of significance to enthusiasts of the Roman Army, but also to those with an interest in social history

All in all, possibly one of the most important, and certainly one of the most valuable books on this period, and all at a very reasonable price.

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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, insightful and useful for everybody, 11 Jul 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Life and Letters on the Roman Frontier: Vindolanda and Its People (Paperback)
This book gave me my first proper in depth look at life on the Roman Frontier. With it's carefuly selected information and it's help with technical terminology it makes for an in depth and highly insightful read. I thought that as an A level student I may find this book intimidating but when it arrived I found that it was an easy read offering concise informtion at every step. Each chapter is detailed and offers information that really relates to the title of the book. The scripts that the book comments on provide interesting evidence into life on the frontier, everything from civilian gossip and lifestyle to military records and strength reports. This book is briliantly written and highly interesting, I would recommend it to anybody with an interest in Roman Britain. The carefuly explained information with interesting conclusions provide a valid point of view that can be taken into account and gives us information that can be used by everybody from an A level student to a university student or just somebdy with a good interest in the subject.
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4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, 29 Jun 2009
By Hester Bee (the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
This was both informative and easy to read and provided excellent background information before our visit to the site of Vindolanda.
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