Two Roman Cavalry Swords and Two Toy Swords Amongst Treasures Found at Frontier Fort

Ancient Origins

Evidence of both work and play have been found at a Roman fort near Hadrian’s Wall in the UK. Two Roman swords as well as two wooden toy swords have been found in ongoing investigations which are uncovering a barracks area. Lead archaeologist, Dr Andrew Birley, said the finds were like "winning the lottery" reported the BBC.

Historical Vindolanda
The finds have been made in the last few weeks in a barracks area at the Vindolanda Roman fort archaeological dig in Northumberland, England. The fort has been a rich source of historical Roman artifacts for many years and remarkable past finds have included a huge hoard of shoes and two caches of Roman letters. The fort was abandoned when the Romans retreated from Britain around the 4th century AD and what has been found to have been left behind provides unique insight into the daily life led by the Roman soldiers and their families that occupied the fort.

 The First Sword
The first of the full-size metal swords to be found was unearthed by a delighted volunteer, Rupert Bainbridge, who was digging in the corner of one of the living spaces that had been excavated, reported Past Horizons. The sword was slowly extracted, with first the tip of the sword’s blade being revealed and then the wooden scabbard becoming obvious. Once uncovered completely, it was found to be a complete full-length iron sword with a damaged, bent point. It is likely this damage led to the sword being discarded.

The first sword to be found had a bent end (Image: The Vindolanda Trust)

 It might be thought that finding swords at a fort where a garrison of hundreds of soldiers lived would not be so uncommon. But swords were valuable possessions and not readily left. The rarity of such a find is clearly portrayed by the words reported by experienced Dr Birley who has been researching at Vindolanda for many years.

“You can work as an archaeologist your entire life on Roman military sites and, even at Vindolanda, we never expect or imagine to see such a rare and special object as this. It felt like the team had won a form of an archaeological lottery.”

Sword Number Two
After the first find the dig continued with fresh volunteers and was spurred on by Birley’s inexhaustible enthusiasm. Within just a few weeks another sword was discovered in the room adjacent to the first. This one was without the accompaniment of wooden handle, pommel or scabbard but the blade and tang was in excellent shape.

Sword Two with complete well-preserved blade (Image: The Vindolanda Trust)

Well, you can imagine the reaction of the animated Dr Birley who seemed genuinely astounded by the finds. He commented as reported by Past Horizons:

 “You don’t expect to have this kind of experience twice in one month so this was both a delightful moment and a historical puzzle. You can imagine the circumstances where you could conceive leaving one sword behind rare as it is…. but two?”

 Both swords found were for cavalry use – thin and short with a sharp blade for slashing from horseback.

Evacuation of a Complete Community
One of the most remarkable characteristics of Vindolanda is that it gives evidence of the life of a whole community, not just the soldiers. A good example of this comes with the find of two toy wooden swords. They serve to remind us that this place was inhabited by whole families including the soldier’s off-spring. This complex wasn’t only soldiers living, waiting, training and fighting rebels – there were children playing amongst them too.

One of the ancient toy wooden swords, with a gemstone in its pommel (The Vindolanda Trust)

The two wooden toy swords were found in another room and are said to be pretty similar to toy swords on sale at souvenir shops near Hadrian’s Wall today. Other everyday items that have been found recently include ink writing tablets on wood, bath clogs, leather shoes (from men, women and children), stylus pens, knives, combs, hairpins, brooches and pottery. The letters are particularly telling of the daily life, as has been reported in a previous Ancient Origins article on the finds. As would be expected of a fort that was quickly abandoned, a wide assortment of other weapons including cavalry lances, arrowheads and ballista bolts were left on the barrack room floors.

The rare conditions of oxygen free soil have allowed a lot of wooden items to be preserved where they would have disappeared due to decay in other areas. Some impressive shiny finds are the copper-alloy cavalry and horse fitments for saddles, junction straps and harnesses which were also left behind. These remain in such fine condition that they still shine like gold and are almost completely free from corrosion.

Cavalry Junction strap after conservation. (Image: The Vindolanda Trust)

Why was this Vindolanda Barracks Abandoned?
Although Vindolanda fort was occupied until the 9th century after which it was left for good, the Roman garrisons were long gone centuries before. In fact, these artifacts survived so well because they were hidden by a layer of concrete that was laid by the Romans about 30 years after these barracks had been abandoned reports the Guardian. It seems the Roman presence here to some extent ebbed and flowed. Successive garrisons have built on top of their predecessors at the site. From the sheer amount of possessions that have been found to have been left behind at this level of excavations it is obvious that the inhabitants had a distinct lack of time to pack their bags. But what would make a garrison of the mighty Roman Empire turn tale and flee?

The words of Dr Birley as reported by the Guardian might give us a clue.

“The swords are the icing on the cake for what is a truly remarkable discovery of one of the most comprehensive and important collections from the intimate lives of people living on the edge of the Roman Empire at a time of rebellion and war.”

This fort was right at the far frontier of the Roman Empire and the battle against the British rebels had already been long and hard by the time these barracks were constructed in around 105 AD. It seems possible from the repeated abandonment that the Romans suffered several defeats here and the outpost forces had to be replenished several times. The rebels on this frontier were so troublesome that about a century later, after his visit in 122 AD, the Emperor Hadrian decreed that the best way to deal with the situation was to build a wall that probably either aimed to keep the rebels out or at least to control immigration and smuggling.

Whatever the causes of abandonment, the result archaeologically is that at the deepest levels of the excavation are being found some of the best-preserved and most exciting artifacts.

Top image: Samian ware pottery that was found at the site at the end of last month (The Vindolanda Trust)

 By Gary Manners

Millennium Old Structure Unearthed at Medieval Pictish Fort in Scotland

Ancient Origins

Archaeologists have recently uncovered the traces of a millennium old building at the location of the Pictish fort of Burghead in Moray, Scotland. The fort dates back to the time of Alfred the Great and was thought to have been largely destroyed by 19th century development.

 Notable Pictish Fort Unearthed
Experts have concluded that the fort was possibly a major source of power for the Pictish kingdom between 500 and 1000. Many notable Pictish artifacts including the Burghead Bull carvings and a mysterious underground well were discovered in the area during the 1800s, but since then it had long been speculated most of the Pictish remains were destroyed when a new town was built on top of the fort at this time. The University of Aberdeen archaeologists overseeing the dig at Burghead Fort near Lossiemouth in Moray, however, have a different opinion and the dig they started in 2015 at Burghead is now uncovering many important clues about the Picts as Live Science reports.

Archaeologists have recently unearthed the traces of an ancient Pictish fort in Scotland underneath an 1800s-era town. (Credit: University of Aberdeen)

The team recently unearthed a Pictish 1,100-year-old longhouse within the fort. Not much is known about Pictish architecture so the new finding could provide very significant information as to the character of Pictish domestic architecture and the nature of activity at major forts such as Burghead. Professor Gordon Noble, Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, stated as Live Science reports, “Beneath the 19th century debris, we have started to find significant Pictish remains. We appear to have found a Pictish longhouse. This is important because Burghead is likely to have been one of the key royal centers of Northern Pictland and understanding the nature of settlement within the fort is key to understanding how power was materialized within these important fortified sites.”

Excavation site at Burghead (Credit: University of Aberdeen)

Coin of Alfred the Great Found Within the Building
Within the floor layers of the building, an Anglo-Saxon coin of Alfred the Great was found, a fact that indicates the age of the house and fort as the coin dates to the late ninth century when Viking raiders and settlers were leading to drastic changes within Pictish society. Dr. Gordon Noble told Heritage Daily, “There is a lovely stone-built hearth in one end of the building and the Anglo-Saxon coin shows the building dates towards the end of the use of the fort based on previous dating. The coin is also interesting as it shows that the fort occupants were able to tap into long-distance trade networks. The coin is also pierced, perhaps for wearing; it shows that the occupants of the fort in this non-monetary economy literally wore their wealth. Overall these findings suggest that there is still valuable information that can be recovered from Burghead which would tell us more about this society at a significant time for northern Scotland – just as Norse settlers were consolidating their power in Shetland and Orkney and launching attacks on mainland Scotland.”

A coin dated to the era of Alfred the Great was found in the remains of a Pictish fort in Scotland. (Credit: University of Aberdeen)

What do we Really Know about the Picts?
Truth is that we don’t know many things about the Picts, as not much has remained from their peculiar and enigmatic civilization. For that matter, we don’t really know what they called themselves since it was the Romans who “baptized” them Picts (meaning painted people), due to the many characteristic tattoos they had painted all over their bodies.

As a previous Ancient Origins article reports, the Picts have often suffered from the biases of the times, which led to the overgeneralization of their society. Roman historians usually portrayed the Picts as warriors and savages, but contemporary historians are not entirely sure if their Roman counterparts were being as objective as they should with their descriptions. As much as they are known for their body art, the Picts are also known for the variety and quantity of sculpture and artwork that they left, a proficiency that defies their early reputation as uncivilized warriors.

A Pictish Man Holding a Human Head by Theodore de Bry (Public Domain)

Bruce Mann, an archaeologist for Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology Service, said about the new finding as Live Science reported, “Burghead Fort has long been recognized as being an important seat of power during the Early Medieval period, and is known as the largest fort of its type in Scotland. Its significance has just increased again with this discovery. The fact that we have surviving buildings and floor levels from this date is just incredible, and the universities’ work is shedding light on what is too often mistakenly called the ‘Dark Ages’,” implying that the Picts were not as uncivilized as the Romans depicted them to be and have most likely left enough culture behind them, that we just haven’t discovered yet. The dig has been carried out in conjunction with the Burghead Headland Trust and with support from Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology Service.

Top image: Burghead, recognized as an important seat of power during the Early Medieval Period (Credit: University of Aberdeen)

By Theodoros Karasavvas

Kumbhalgarh: The Great Wall You Have Never Heard Of (and it is NOT in China)

Ancient Origins

The wall that encircles the ancient fort of Kumbhalgarh is one of the biggest secrets in India, and possibly the entire planet. Guarding a massive fort that contains over 300 ancient temples, the little-known wall was said to be constructed almost 500 years ago in tandem with Kumbhalgarh Fort itself. However, a retired archaeologist now suggests another immense wall may be even older.

Historians Refer to it as the “Great Wall” of India
Most of us are aware of the Great Wall of China, but apparently, many also ignore a massive wall that stands tall in India. The fort of Kumbhalgarh is the second most significant fort of Rajasthan after Chittorgarh and extends to the amazing length of 36 kilometers (22.5 miles).

The wall that surrounds it, which history buffs love calling the “Great Wall of India”, is speculated to be 80 kilometers (50 miles) long, a fact that would make it India’s longest fortification and the second longest wall worldwide, only behind China’s.

Kumbhalgarh Fort and wall. (CC BY SA 3.0)

Ιn 2013, at the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Kumbhalgarh Fort, alongside five different fortifications of Rajasthan, was proudly pronounced a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the gathering Hill Forts of Rajasthan. However, it still remains widely unknown for some reason, despite its massive construction and beautiful architecture.

At its widest sections, the wall is 15 meters (49.2 ft.) thick, and impressively built with thousands of stone bricks and decorative flourishes along the top - making this just as attractive as a tourist destination as it once was effective as a deterrent.

 The Wall’s History and Mysteries Work on Kumbhalgarh only began in 1443, nearly fifty years before Columbus sailed the Atlantic Ocean and discovered another, even larger, wall in China. Situated in the state of Rajasthan in the west of India, constructions started by the local Maharana, Rana Kumbha in that year.

Walls of the Kumbhalgarh Fort. (Shivam Chaturvedi/CC BY SA 3.0)

It took over a century to construct the wall and it was later enlarged in the 19th century. The Kumbhalgarh Fort, protected by the massive wall, was built high on a hill so it could dominate and observe the landscape from a distance. Altogether the wall has seven gateways, and it is believed that during the reign of the Maharana, the wall held so many lamps that it enabled the local farmers to work both day and night.

Even more precious to the inhabitants of Kumbhalgarh, the wall mainly protected over 360 temples.

Jain Temple in the Kumbalgarh fortress. (CC BY SA 4.0)

Now, Narayan Vyas, a man who made several surveys of a wall between Bhopal and Jabalpur after retiring from the Archaeological Survey of India a decade ago, believes that that the temple relics and the wall could be even older than most historians think, dating somewhere from the 10th to 11th century AD, when warrior clans ruled the heart of India

Two entwined snakes stand at one end of the wall, near Gorakhpur, India. (Pratik Chorge/HT PHOTO)

He told Hindustan Times, “This could have been the border of the Parmar kingdom,” referring to the Rajputs that dominated west-central India between the 9th and 13th centuries. He suggests that the wall may have been used to mark their territory against the Kalachuris, “They fought a lot, and the wall was probably a Parmar effort to keep them out.”

Vyas also admits that this is just speculation for now and that further research is needed in order to prove these theories to be historically accurate, “All we need is evidence to confirm what we suspect – that we’ve found the remnants of a 1,000-year-old realm,” Vyas says.

Questions

Rahman Ali, a historian who has written a book on the Parmar sites and visited them in 1975, might admit that he didn’t examine it too closely, but says that the wall still didn’t look Parmar to him. He states:

“There is a tendency to ascribe everything old from this region to the Parmars, but the dynasty would have been crumbling in the 12th century, not building massive walls. The standardized stone barricades may be much younger, perhaps even 17th-century British-made; but these areas weren’t important to the Raj. Why would they build a long wall and abandon it?”

Examining the immense wall. (Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

Is it India’s Great Wall? Although the mystery remains and heated debates between historians may have only started, it is certain that locals are extremely proud of this giant structure and their history. They are also optimistic for the area’s future when it comes to tourism.

Top Image: Aerial view of a portion of the Kumbhalgarh wall. Source: Heman kumar meena/CC BY SA 3.0

By Theodoros Karasavvas