Just got back from the Roman site at Vindolanda and the writing tablets are still blowing my mind

I was walking around the museum there and they have so many of those thin wood tablets with ink writing from almost 2,000 years ago. The one that got me was a birthday party invite from a woman named Claudia Severa to her friend Sulpicia Lepidina. It's wild to read a personal note like that from the edge of the Roman Empire. Has anyone else seen a find that felt super personal like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

elliotm572mo ago

Remember seeing a grocery list on a broken piece of pot in a museum case. Hits different than a sword or a coin, makes you picture the person who just needed olive oil. That stuff sticks with you.

felix4142mo agoMost Upvoted

Ever see those old Roman graffiti about everyday gripes? Same feeling! It's like a direct line to someone just having a normal day, way more than any fancy statue. Makes the past feel real, not just dates in a book.

ryanm602mo ago

Makes you wonder what future people will see as our "normal day" graffiti. Probably angry tweets about bad wifi.

max2239d ago

Hell yeah, real talk though? I used to be that guy who walked through museums just glancing at the fancy armor and statues, like who cares about some old shopping list. But then I saw this little lead curse tablet from Bath, someone wrote a prayer asking the gods to basically destroy a dude who stole their cloak. It's so petty and human, totally changed how I see stuff. @ryanm60 you're spot on about the angry tweets, that's exactly the vibe. It just makes you realize people back then were dealing with the same small annoyances we are, you know? It's like a secret window into their actual life.