Vindolanda: History and the Writing Tablets

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  • ウィンドランダ--イングランド北部のローマ軍要塞について
  • ウィンドランダ イングランド ホクブ ノ ローマグン ヨウサイ ニ ツイテ

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Vindolanda, in the north of England, is one of the most well-known Roman forts along Hadrian's Wall. The remains of the third and fourth century stone fort and civilian settlement are clearly visible. Vindolanda is very famous among scholars of Ancient History for the discovery of many wooden tablets. In the summer of 2002, the author of this paper visited Vindolanda again and met Dr. Robin Birley, the Director of Excavation. Getting more information on Vindolanda from this research trip, in this paper the author tries to explain the history of Vindolanda and to consider the structure and character of the world of the Roman soldiers on the northern frontier by analysing the Vindolanda writing tablets. His provisional conclusion is as follows : The world which the writing tablets show us is a space for Roman soldiers from other provinces. For the soldiers who acquired an identity that differentiated them from the indigenous Britons, whom regarded as "other", the Roman Empire embodied the norm for their life ; however, it exercised no exclusive rule that distinguished between the "Romans" and "others". Rather, the world of the Roman soldiers on the nothern frontier was a space where people with variable identities could live and work together.

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