Back at the Digs

I've been back from the Vindolanda digs for a couple of months now.  But the work goes on.  Here's some clever small finds from Vindolanda and the sister site Magna.  

Here's an intaglio, a small carved semi precious stone that would be fitted into a ring.  These tend to drop off, especially in places like baths where the temperature might make metal expand more than the stone it was holding!

Here's a nifty belt buckle.  Some designs don't change much over the centuries.

Dice are a fairly common find, although I've not come across one yet.  Like most this one is made of bone.  Not infrequently these are "loaded" with either weighting or shaving of edges!

Sometimes really old craggy things turn up on site.  Here one such, Dr. Birley, holds a nifty bit of stonework.  It is felt to be a bit of household gods shrine.

You tend to find heavily encrusted iron "things".  Some sort of pan or ladle.  

Looking over these I can feel the warm sun, hear the distant bleating of sheep.  Makes me want a nice pint of celebratory ale.