Vindolanda 2026 - Day Two

Another day of "The Archaeology of Archaeology", sifting through refill layers after that 1980 excavation.  This had been carried out by a fellow named Paul Bidwell, so I decided to start a small "Bidwell Shrine" with artifacts left behind by he and his workers

Dixie cup.  Broken tea cup.  Looks like the top of a beer can.  Guess the boss must not have been watching the lads too closely....

As you can see from the photo, nice weather held for another day.  I got my customary morning walk to the site in, and happily find that the passing of another year has not made the hills steeper.

Next up is tbd, but we are probably done with the drudge work and on to actual archaelogy tomorrow, weather permitting.

Here's a barracks room that needs some attention.  The better walls are from 213 AD on to maybe 400 AD.  The curved "thing" from about 208.  The stuff under it is obviously earlier.  Layers and layers, the bottom layer dates to before 100 AD, but we won't be going there this year.

Vindolanda 2026 - Day One

Back to work.   

Day One was part orientation, part drudge work.  The are of current interest had a brief and somewhat chaotic excavation in 1980.  They backfilled the area, leaving a layer of plastic where they had stopped downward progress.

If cleaning up stuff that should have no artifacts in it sounds tedious, well it is to some extent.  But it is a necessary chore and should only take a day or two.  Plus, I found a nail.

Weather better than expected, and even a tedious day of digging at Vindolanda is a treasure.

Of course certain traditions must be upheld.  There is a spot where in 2010 a child's body was discovered under the floor of a barracks room.  Foul play most foul in the First Century AD.

On my first day I always lay a few flowers on the site.  Digging as I am at a later date the wild flowers are particularly beautiful...

Looking 2000 years into the past and 40 into the Future

Writing things in advance poses a challenge.  This applies particularly when you are jumping time zones and anticipating events yet to come.  Presumably at time of posting in the Western Lands I'll  be awake and starting my walk up the hill to Vindolanda for the first day of excavating.  I assume the effects of Jet Lag Drinks Hour will be shaken off by plenty of black coffee and sheer determination.  

I never know exactly who will be on hand for the digging crew.  Oh, the core group of The Anaerobes have been accounted for.  Some will be there.  Others are dealing with publishers, with nappies that need changing, with life in LA.  Who knows, perhaps our young friend Will might turn up.  He excavated for one year back in 2016, at which time I imagined his return to the site.....in 2066.  So how are my predictions holding up at the ten year mark?  Here's what I imagined him saying:

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 "Stop yer whinin' ya mewling cubs.  Why I started digging here long before we had HoverBarrows and back when your fancy Excavator's Spa and Therapy Centre was nothin' more 'an a hut with mud on the floor." (1) 

"Ah, we had some times back then, we did.  The Terrible Ancients still strode the land.  Their pint glasses held a gallon and every spade they threw filled a barrow.  Gone they are now, all over the edge of the spoil heap to wherever we all tumble"

"Except....except maybe The Old Badger.  They say that years ago - this would be after Her Ladyship passed of course - he was tricked into entering a Care Centre.  The day after his hundredth birthday party he opened his eyes and looked about slyly." (2)

"He mumbled something about walking to Vindolanda, but of course none of the nursing staff paid him much mind.  That was their mistake because before they knew it he had tossed the blanket off his lap and jumped up wearing a pair of old hiking boots he had been hiding somewhere." (3)

"He was out door before they knew it and hasn't been seen since."

"I've watched for him every May since then, but I'm getting a bit rusty myself and turn the task over to you now.  Oh, m' Lads, Lassies and Othertypes, (4) you may think he'll never get here, but I wouldn't bet against him.  It's a long walk and the road is not straight.  But I never knew him to give up on a thing he set his mind to."

"Yes, he's overdue, but when he felt like walking he never would consider accepting a ride."

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Our young friend Will went to Cambridge and has gone on to a career in comedy.  He's toured the US, he's been to fringe fests.  He's hard to find on social media, but actually did - here I'm being serious for once - win the 2025 UK Pun Competition.  I think he'd approve of this future version of himself.

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 1. Nailed this one.  A couple years later they built a very swanky, futuristic excavation centre.  This is my third "hut", and I like it the least.

2. My father in law made it to 103, both my parents to mid 90's.  So who knows.  And of course my Badger Trowelsworthy alter ego did strike that strange bargain with the Old Gypsy Woman...

3. Easy enough to pull off.  I still retire a pair of boots every three years or so and could start stashing them strategically any old time.

4. Was I prescient ten years ago anticipating the explosion of pronouns?  

Back to The Bowes

It's that time again.

Wheels up for the traditional two weeks of excavating at Vindolanda.  This is for Period IV, so a little later than usual.  I've been to P II once or twice, it can be rather chilly.  I've only been to IV once, that great year where I got to stay for two sessions.  

Many of the usual crew of folks will be on hand.  Selection of a digging time is not done in isolation.

So at some point in the weird time shifting of international travel I'll be arriving at my home away from home, The Bowes.

I actually can't recall when I first stepped in the place.  It was one of the years I traveled alone, and decided to take the train out of Newcastle.  I got off at Bardon Mill, and had a goodly walk ahead of me.  I distinctly remember thinking it would be good to fortify myself with a pint before slogging a couple of miles with all my kit.  This would have been roughly eleven years ago, back when we were still staying at The Twice Brewed Inn.  But did I actually do this or just think about it?  When you've been traveling for 18 straight hours and across six or seven time zones the details get fuzzy.

But for sure a year or so later several of us did stop in.  Big Steve, former barkeep at the Twicey, was now in charge at The Bowes.  He showed us around.  At this point the bar area had been remodeled nicely.  The rooms upstairs, not so much.  They were still very 1960's.  Steve said he'd get us a "diggers rate".  I thought it was a great opportunity.  Some of my cohorts were skeptical.

Fast forward a bit.  The Twice Brewed went full posh gastro pub, and the digger's discount rate there finally went away.  It was time for a change.  The Bowes had been fully remodeled, and we'd been there for a nice evening with great food.  I was all set to be staying there in 2020.  Then of course, Covid shut the world down.  No digging season in '20.  For '21 I just missed the slow, grudging loosening of restrictions.  Even in '22, my first year staying at The Bowes, there were still pesky requirements for testing and such.

This will be my/our fifth stay there.  I highly recommend it.  Friendly staff, really great food.  I like being able to enjoy a pint or two then just go up the stairs to my room.  

A fun day excavating - with or without finds - a nice walk back through English springtime. Then a spicy Masaman curry with a couple of pints.  It does not get much better than that...

I shall report back presently on assorted doing, including the annual Jet Lag Drinks Hour.

UK Prep - 2026

I have a travel check list.  Several of them actually.  

I keep my archaeology stuff ready to go, albeit no longer permanently packed in my carry on travel bag.  Since starting at Vindolanda I've been attending way more robotics events and it comes in handy for those.

Of late my collection of hunting garb and digging garb has started to intermingle.  They are both designed for layers on, layers off, although the former has more camo patterns.  I may bring along something bright yellow for visibility.  Some days I am crossing roads in early morning fog, and camo is not ideal.  Maybe this?

I wear low top hiking boots about 90% of the time.  With modern "quality" it takes me a month or two of trying pairs on to select one.  Then a couple of months to break them in.  I usually get about three years out of a pair.  I try to wear them until they are kaput, then "bin them".  I have at least once discarded a pair in the UK, sparing me some packing space.  Alas, my last pair started losing stitch cohesion in February, so I'm breaking in a new pain of Keenes.  They seem to have negotiated with my feet to a tolerant mutual understanding.

When in the UK I do lift things.  Barrows full of dirt and rock for instance.  I try to get ready for this.  Walking is good.  Working on the hunting land is good.  Recently I had a long bus trip back from a robotics tournament and in the days after noticed my back was complaining.  I admonished the malingering lumbo sacral regions and spent a few days moving rocks in our back yard pond feature.  That actually made things better.  

I also lift the occasional pint at the end of a digging day.  Prep for that also requires foresight.  Proper English ale is not easy to find in Wisconsin.  For a while I could get Lazy Monk Brewing's Scottish Ale.  Being close to the Border this is good enough.  And of course comes in the pint denomination which Bacchus intended for Mankind. 

Alas, it is a seasonal product.  At a store in the next town over I can get Boddington's Pub Ale.  It's not UK good, but will suffice.  

We generally bring a few US type treats over.  Girl Scout Thin Mints.  Maybe I'll bring a small bag of Dot's Pretzel sticks.  The UK has a bewildering assortment of snacks, biscuits, puddings and such but nothing quite like either of those very American junk foods.

That's most of the necessary prep.  Bank a few tall tales.  Avoid any discussion of whose political class is worst.

FIRST Robotics 2026 - Odds and Ends

We 3D print our own robot wheels.  They are made of some magic stuff called TPU.  Super grippy when you are running on carpet.  You do have to swap them out after a certain number of matches.  Used red one on the left, new black model on the right.

Our driver from a few years ago was a ferocious young lady who loved to play defense.  She sent a video message to the team for our pack up to State night.  Basically she said: "Stop being so wimpy on defense.  You have TPU wheels for a reason!!"

So at State our robot had a rather vigorous series of interactions with other robots and with solid objects.  The front bar (top one) took enough force that the 1/8 inch thick box tube deformed about 3/4 of an inch in its center.  Impressive, but it still did its job.  Below is an undamaged section of the same stuff sans powder coating.  Of course we carried a spare, but also straightened out this damaged part.  It has become a souvenir. 

Mascots of course.  State had more of them than the smaller district events.  

I suppose my new Facebook profile picture needs a little explaining.  The game pieces were these yellow balls.  They were produced by various suppliers, and in testing we found differences.  Weights were anywhere from 7 ounces to 8.5 or so, and they also differed a lot in "compliance", the degree to which they compress under pressure.  We labeled them for selective use when doing various shooter testing.

Being non compliant in various ways, and remarkably resistant to going squish under pressure, I of course had to mug with one of these.....

Fishing Opener 2026

 Remember to follow the rules.  Especially as the kid on the cover is extra cute.