Vindolanda Tablets

The Vindolanda tablets are a collection of postcard sized wooden leaf tablets recovered from the Roman fort of Vindolanda in northern England, inscribed in carbon based ink and dating mostly to the late first and early second centuries AD, around the time Hadrian's Wall was built nearby. Archaeologist Robin Birley discovered the first tablets in 1973, the earliest such ink on wood writing ever recovered from Roman Britain, and excavation has since produced more than 1,700 examples. The tablets mix official military paperwork with private letters exchanged among the soldiers, their commanders, and their families, including an invitation to a birthday party held around the year 100 that is thought to be the oldest surviving document written in Latin by a woman. Most of the collection is now held in Room 49 of the British Museum in London.