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New Writing-Tablets from Vindolanda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2011

Alan K. Bowman
Affiliation:
Christ Church, Oxford
J. David Thomas
Affiliation:
University of Durham

Extract

This article offers preliminary editions of three texts discovered at Vindolanda in the excavations of 1993. These seasons produced a total of about 400 ink tablets and 46 stilus tablets. Added to the yields of the earlier seasons of the 1990s, we estimate that there are between 70 and 80 substantial new ink texts which we hope to publish within the next three years.

Type
Articles
Information
Britannia , Volume 27 , November 1996 , pp. 299 - 328
Copyright
Copyright © Alan K. Bowman and J. David Thomas 1996. Exclusive Licence to Publish: The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

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References

page 299 note 1 We are grateful to the Vindolanda Trust and the British Museum for permission to publish these texts. We are again appreciative of the help and information provided by Dr Robin Birley, of the excellent photographs supplied by Alison Rutherford, and of the support and co-operation of Dr T.W. Potter of the Department of Prehistoric and Romano-British Antiquities, The British Museum. We have benefited greatly from the advice of Professor J.N. Adams, Professor A.R. Birley, and Dr J.-P. Wild, and of others who have participated in seminars at which we have presented these documents, particularly those held at Oxford on 23/24 February, 1996.

References in bold type are to the texts as numbered in Tab.Vindol. II.

In addition to standard abbreviations for lexica etc., the following abbreviations are used:

CEL: P. Cugusi, Corpus epistularum latinarum papyris, tabulis, ostracis seruatarum (1992).

CGL: G. Goetz, Corpus glossariorum latinorum (1965).

ChLA: A. Bruckner and R. Marichal, Chartae latinae antiquiores (1954–).

CPL: R. Cavenaile, Corpus papyrorum latinarum (1958).

Ed.Diocl.: S. Lauffer, Diokletians Preisedikt (1971).

LC: I. Kajanto, The Latin Cognomina (1965).

LVL: O. Gradenwitz, Laterculi uocum latinarum (1904).

NPEL: A. Mócsy, Nomenclator prouinciarum Europae latinarum et Galliae Cisalpinae, Dissertationes Pannonicae III. 1 (1983).

PME: H. Devijver, Prosopographia militiarum equestrium quae fuerunt ab Augusta ad Gallienum (1976–87).

PNRB: A.L.F. Rivet and C. Smith, The Place-names of Roman Britain (1979).

RMR: R.O. Fink, Roman Military Records on Papyrus (1971).

RNGCL: H. Solin and O. Salomies, Repertorium nominum gentilium et cognominum latinorum (1988).

Tab.Sulis: R.S.O. Tomlin, ‘The Curse Tablets’, in B. Cunliffe (ed.), The Temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath, Volume 2. The Finds from the Sacred Spring, Oxford Univ. Comm. Arch. Monograph 16 (1988), 4-277.

Tab.Vindol.Y. A.K. Bowman and J.D. Thomas, Vindolanda: The Latin Writing-Tablets, Britannia Monograph 4 (1983)

Tab.Vindol.II: A.K. Bowman and J.D. Thomas, The Vindolanda Writing-Tablets (Tabulae Vindolandenses II) (1994). VRR I: Vindolanda Research Reports, New Series. Vol. I. The Early Wooden Forts. Introduction and Analysis of the Structures (1994).

VRR II: Vindolanda Research Reports, New Series. Vol. II. Reports on the Auxiliaries, the Writing-Tablets, Inscriptions, Brands and Graffiti. By E. Birley, R.E. Birley, A.R. Birley (1993).

VRR III: Vindolanda Research Reports, New Series. Vol. III. Preliminary Reports on the Leather, Textiles, Environmental Evidence and Dendrochronology (1993).

page 299 note 2 Editions of four texts discovered in 1991: Birley, A. and Birley, R., ‘Four new writing-tablets from Vindolanda,’ ZPE 100 (1994), 431–45Google Scholar, Taf.XXV–XXVI. For some suggested improvements to N0.4 (Inv.91.1022) see Appendix.

page 300 note 3 The present authors hope to be able to publish those of the stilus tablets which have legible texts in collaboration with Dr R.S.O. Tomlin.

page 300 note 4 See VRR I, Tab.Vindol.il, pp. 17–21.

page 307 note 1 The reading should be (denarios) xii (octantem) (assem i). As in 1398.13, 19–22, the abbreviation m may not stand for m(odius). Since it is erased and the commodity does not survive, it is not very helpful.

page 307 note 2 The reading of the fractions is difficult. The last part looks like (octantem) (assem i), but that seems to be preceded by two horizontal ticks which elsewhere in this account would seem to represent 2 asses.

page 307 note 3 Reading (denarii) s(emissem) (octantem).

page 307 note 4 Reading p(ondo) i a(sses) xi s(emissem).

page 307 note 5 Reading (denarii) (octantem) (assem i).