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That the Vindolanda tablets have provided us with an extraordinarily stimulating body of evidence is a truism, if ever there was one. But in particular, these inscribed scraps of wood offer the rare and tantalizing opportunity to compare many aspects of daily life (largely military, but also civilian) in the far northwestern corner of the Roman Empire with conceivably similar goings-on elsewhere.

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The Roman fort–village complex at Vindolanda in northern England has yielded extensive well-preserved remains of domestic dogs, Canis familiaris. Herein, we pose the questions—did the Romans breed for distinctive dog morphotypes, or were dogs breeding panmictically; and if dogs were bred, was it for functionality. We address these questions utilizing remains that are correlated to age and context; morphometric analysis; dental wear stage; bone pathology; pawprints impressed in tiles, and contemporary written records and artwork. All age classes of dogs are represented. There is no evidence that dogs were butchered for food; survivorship curves suggest the typical U-shaped distribution found in populations at equilibrium. Small, medium-sized, and large dogs are represented with frequency changing over time and corresponding to change in the region of origin of the resident military cohort. Husbandry is confirmed on an individual with healed wounds and with the discovery of a beehive-shaped wattle doghouse. Dogs were used extensively in hunting wild game and bred for that activity. By integrating many diverse kinds of data we are able reconstruct biotypes of Roman dogs, greatly facilitating the interpretation of their functionality. Resúmen: El complexo Romano en Vindolanda (Inglaterra norteño) ha producía muchos restos bien preservado de perro domesticado, Canis familiaris. Aquí, investigamos que los Romanos crían perros de morfologias diferentes, o sea los perros se propagan panmictamente. También preguntamos que si los Romanos criaban perros—¿era para servir en functiones particulares? Investigamos utilizando restos correlados de edad y contexto; analysis morfometrico; etapa de egotar dental; patologías de restos; las pisadas de perros procedentes de ladrillos y tejas; y arte y documentos escritos contemporaneos. Toda clase de edad de los perros estan representados en la muestra de Vindolanda. No hayevidencia que perros mataban por comida; curvas de survivando muestra una distribución de forma 'U', que es ...

Museums have an ethical code of research and education, and 3D imaging has great potential in helping to achieve some of these objectives by providing accurate replications without barriers to access. Digital and printed models may remove object authenticity, but they do provide direct encounters with heritage and archaeological science whilst preserving the archaeological record. To demonstrate the potential for 3D imaging in archaeology and public engagement, this paper investigated an Ox cranium used for target practice at Vindolanda, Northumberland, UK. Vindolanda is a World Heritage Site on the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, known for its exceptional preservation of artefacts. The trauma type, shaping, impact direction and mortem period were identified, followed by comparisons and physical fits with weaponry used by the military at Vindolanda. The digital and printed models provide effective tools for displaying this evidence within the context of Roman archery to the public. The cranium had evidence of repeated target practice from arrows and potentially lances. The fragmentation of the trauma was angled internally, showing that the arrows were aimed from the front and toward the facial area of the Ox. The high-precision of the archers had separated the lower right portion of the facial area from the rest of the cranium. Several arrowhead sites and two lance head sites overlapped with little additional destruction, showing that some weapons were removed and retargeted. These features provide supporting evidence of individuals in the Roman military at Vindolanda actively participating in high-level archery target practice. The success of this pilot study will be developed to produce 3D models of the crania recovered from Vindolanda for the public to directly interact with this complex, contextual information for deep and effective learning.

The Roman fort-village complex at Vindolanda in northern England has yielded extensive well-preserved remains of domestic dogs, Canis familiaris. Herein, we pose the questions—did the Romans breed for distinctive dog morphotypes, or were dogs breeding panmictically; and if dogs were bred, was it for functionality. We address these questions utilizing remains that are correlated to age and context; morphometric analysis; dental wear stage; bone pathology; pawprints impressed in tiles, and contemporary written records and artwork. All age classes of dogs are represented. There is no evidence that dogs were butchered for food; survivorship curves suggest the typical U-shaped distribution found in populations at equilibrium. Small, medium-sized, and large dogs are represented with frequency changing over time and corresponding to change in the region of origin of the resident military cohort. Husbandry is confirmed on an individual with healed wounds and with the discovery of a beehive-shaped wattle doghouse. Dogs were used extensively in hunting wild game and bred for that activity. By integrating many diverse kinds of data we are able reconstruct biotypes of Roman dogs, greatly facilitating the interpretation of their functionality. ; El fuerte-poblado romano de Vindolanda en el norte de Inglaterra fue ocupado desde el 50 al 415 A.D. y ha proporcionado una importante colección de restos bien conservados de perro, Canis familiaris. En este trabajo se contesta a las preguntas acerca de si los romanos criaron perros con el propósito de obtener morfotipos específicos o si aquellos perros se cruzaron libremente y de modo aleatorio (panmixis). También, si los perros fueron criados, si tal cría respondía a razones funcionales. Utilizando restos caninos bien contextualizados, respondemos estas preguntas incorporando análisis morfométricos, estadíos de desgaste dentario, patologías óseas, huellas impresas en cerámica (tejas) y registros documentales e iconográficos. Todas las cohortes de perro se encontraban aquí documentadas y no existen evidencias de que los perros fuesen consumidos. Las curvas de supervivencia son las clásicas con forma de U constatadas en poblaciones en equilibrio. Se constatan asímismo perros pequeños, medianos y grandes cuyas frecuencias variaron según el lugar de origen de las guarniciones que se sucedieron en el asentamiento. El cuidado de los canes lo confirma una perrera con forma de colmena y un individuo con heridas cicatrizadas. Los perros fueron usados para la caza y criados con tal fin. Integrando todas las fuentes de datos se han podido reconstruir los biotipos caninos de los romanos, infiriendo con ello su funcionalidad.

International audience ; Die Entdeckung von Schreibtäfelchen an römischen Fundstellen in Britannien (besonders in Vindolanda ) hat die Erforschung des Schriftgebrauchs in den verschiedenen Bereichen dieser Provinz regelrecht revolutioniert. Die aus der Untersuchung der Texte gewonnenen ersten Beobachtungen lassen sich durch eine Analyse des archäologischen Kontexts vertiefen, aus dem die Funde stammen. Es ist nicht verwunderlich, daβ sie hauptsächlich an Militärplätzen und in London verbreitet sind, denn an diesen Orten ist von einer stärkeren Alphabetisierung auszugehen. Allerdings belegt ihre weitere Verbreitung auch Schriftgebrauch im ländlichen Bereich, und zwar deutlicher als man dies bisher vermutet hat. Eine detaillierte Untersuchung zur Feinchronologie dürfte für die Interpretation der verschiedenenen Gruppen von Schriftdokumenten und für das Verständnis der Organisation der Archive hilfreich sein. Man muβ sich aber auch über groβe Hindernisse im Klaren sein, die einer solchenVorgehensweise im Wege stehen. ; Discoveries of writing tablets from Roman Britain, in particular of the Vindolanda writing tablets, have revolutionized analysis of the use of documents among individual communities in the province. The insights gained from the study of the texts may be developed by further study of the archaeological contexts in which writing tablets have been found. The bias in the distribution to military sites and London is not surprising, since higher levels of literacy might be anticipated. However the distribution also suggests a wider use of documents in rural contexts than has hitherto been proposed. Detailed analysis of depositional processes also promises to assist the interpretation of individual groups of documents and the investigation of the organization of archives, but significant obstacles to such analyses must be acknowledged. ; La découverte des tablettes à écrire dans des sites britto-romains, surtout à Vindolanda , a révolutionné l'étude de l'utilisation de l'écrit dans les diverses communautés ...