Vindolanda 2016 Day Seven

Rocks.

Lots of 'em.

That is the theme today.

Some days are interesting for the small finds, those little bits and bobs that fall between the cracks of time and of pavements and show us what the Romans carried with them 1800 years ago.

Other days are interesting for the features, the unexpected walls and wells and floors that pop up where you were not expecting them.

And some days you just find random rocks.

If you are feeling imaginative you can make the above stuff into a road surface.

A few big random rocks ended up on top of all of this.  They had to be dealt with.

Stare at rocks long enough and you start to notice things.  Here we have an area where plow marks show up on the higher up stones.  You have to respect the determination of long ago farmers who tried and tried to coax crops out of the stoney ground up by the old Roman remains.

Stare a while longer and you will start to imagine things.  This rock caught my eye and I spent a good five minutes trying to convince myself that somebody had started to carve it into a small altar and had given up part way!

And so we reach the end of a Day of Random Rocks.  I spent more time than usual at the fence chatting with visitors.  Most are interested in what we are finding, while the more erudite are intrigued by dates and features.  And when trying to explain the subtle, addicting draw of Vindolanda I have to acknowledge both of these.

But some days it is more about the people.  I close with a shot taken at afternoon tea time.  Old friends...speaking in - from left to right - a Proper Public School accent, a labyrinthine "Geordie" language, and some kind of Lowland Scottish English.  Good times and good friends.

Even if I only understand about one quarter of what is said.