The Vindolanda Trust

05/06/2026

Vindolanda Excavations | Photo Friday

Another two weeks have flown by, which means it’s Photo Friday for our Team in Green – Period 5 at Vindolanda!

What a fantastic group of volunteers, and just one part of our amazing volunteer community that makes the Vindolanda Trust such a special place.

As we celebrate Volunteers’ Week, we want to take a moment to thank every one of our volunteers: our Trustees, volunteer guides, excavation and post-excavation volunteers, activity volunteers, and our museum collections volunteers.

Whether you’re welcoming visitors, uncovering the past, caring for our collections, supporting activities or working behind the scenes, your dedication, enthusiasm, and generosity make an enormous difference. The time and skills you share help us achieve so much, and we are incredibly grateful for everything you do.

Thank you for being part of the Vindolanda Trust family.

https://www.vindolanda.com/volunteering

03/06/2026

Roman Magna | Chicken dinner

Great preservation of these chicken bones that were uncovered in the bath house drain at Roman Magna, it is going to be very exciting to see what else is in there too.

If you are interested in being part of the Magna excavations (it is a 2-week commitment) take a look at our last minute availability as a few more places have been added for the summer. ⬇️

https://www.vindolanda.com/late-availability-excavation-places-with-the-vindolanda-trust

We’d love to see you at the trench edge if you’re visiting our Roman Army Museum. You can also keep up to date by watching our video updates, the latest video is on our YouTube channel now ⬇️

2026 Magna Excavation update #2
https://youtu.be/YfIY1CJ3IdE

02/06/2026

Roman Vindolanda | Tuesday is Shoesday!

To celebrate the Unearthing Vindolanda: Footwear from the Edge of the Roman Empire exhibition at the Bata Shoe Museum, we’re once again turning Tuesday into Shoesday.

Each week, “Shoesday” highlights remarkable Roman footwear from our collection. With nearly 5,000 ancient shoes discovered at Vindolanda, we could keep this series going for quite some time.

At #5: The Wide Ones

For everyone with wide feet, this is the ancient Roman sandal for you!

Based on surviving examples, sandals seem to have been especially popular among women and girls during the 1st and 2nd centuries. By the 3rd century sandals begin appearing in much larger sizes. Some, like the example pictured here, have a distinctive paddle-like shape with an almost straight edge at the end of the toes, suggesting that men’s fashions had increasingly embraced sandal wear as well.

Although the uppers of this sandal have not survived, the sole reveals an important clue: a slot cut into the insole where a toe thong would have been attached. This identifies it as a flip-flop style sandal, a familiar design today that has a history stretching back nearly two millennia.

Shoesday is all about celebrating shoes — ancient and modern alike.

01/06/2026

WE’RE HIRING – CUSTOMER SERVICE ROLES (2026 SEASON)

Join the team at Vindolanda & the Roman Army Museum!
We’re looking for friendly, enthusiastic people to join us as Museum Shop & Café Assistants for the 2026 season.

Location: Vindolanda (Bardon Mill) & Roman Army Museum (Carvoran)
Pay: £12.75 per hour
Contract: Seasonal (July – Oct 2026, with possible winter work)
Hours: Part-time (2–3 days per week, includes weekends)

About the role
You’ll be at the heart of our visitor experience—welcoming guests, selling admission tickets, sharing information, and helping them enjoy our historic sites.

Key duties include:

Selling admission tickets for Vindolanda & the Roman Army Museum.
Welcoming visitors and answering enquiries
Serving customers in the shop and café
Preparing and serving food & drinks
Keeping work areas clean and presentable
Working as part of a friendly team

We’re looking for people who:

Have great customer service and communication skills
Enjoy working with the public
Can stay calm under pressure
Are team players with a positive attitude
Are flexible and willing to learn

Previous retail or café experience is a bonus—but not essential!

To find out more and apply, visit:
www.vindolanda.com/work-for-us
Send completed application forms to: [email protected]

Be part of our award winning team and help bring history to life for
thousands of visitors each year!

Find out about any opportunities to join the award winning teams at Vindolanda and the Roman Army Museum.

26/05/2026

Lovely find in the pottery bag for the post excavation team today. A sherd of samian with a stamp and graffiti. Fantastic.

26/05/2026

To celebrate the Unearthing Vindolanda: Footwear from the Edge of the Roman Empire exhibition at the Bata Shoe Museum, we’re once again turning Tuesday into Shoesday.

Each week, “Shoesday” highlights remarkable Roman footwear from our collection. With nearly 5,000 ancient shoes discovered at Vindolanda, we could keep this series going for quite some time.

At #4: The designer shoe

Affectionately known as the “Lepidina Sandal”, this is one of the finest shoes ever uncovered at Vindolanda. The sandal is perfectly preserved with several sole layers and the upper intact.

With today’s hot weather, it feels especially fitting to share this remarkable find. Nearly 1,900 years ago, a Roman lady may have chosen this beautifully crafted leather summer sandal for a day just like this.

Stamped with the maker’s name — Lucius Aebutius Thales — it may even represent one of history’s earliest examples of a designer shoe label. You can see this wonderful artefacts on display in the Vindolanda museum.

Shoesday is all about celebrating shoes, ancient and modern alike.

22/05/2026

Vindolanda Excavations | Photo Friday ☀️

Another two weeks have flown by which means it’s Photo Friday for our team in green (with a splash of orange!).

Our Period 4 team, pictured here on a wonderful day on site, have made fantastic progress and should be incredibly proud of everything they’ve achieved.

On Bank Holiday Monday, we welcome our Period 5 team to Vindolanda and excavations continue at Roman Magna. Here’s to the next chapter of discoveries!

21/05/2026

Join us for a special evening with Dr Elizabeth Greene and Dr Andrew Birley at the official launch of The Roman Footwear from Vindolanda.

Taking place at the Roman Army Museum on Tuesday 2 June at 5:30pm, the in person event will also include an exclusive opportunity to view part of the remarkable Vindolanda shoe collection with Curator Barbara Birley and see some of the Roman Magna shoes now on display in the museum.

Please note this is a ticketed event and advance booking is required. Your ticket also includes admission to the Roman Army Museum. Friends of Vindolanda are welcome to attend free of charge, but must reserve a Friends ticket in advance. Book using the link below.

https://bit.ly/4upUl8A

20/05/2026

Magna Excavations | Jet Bead

A surprise discovery for our post-excavation team working at Roman Magna today. This little jet bead was found hidden in a soil sample bucket. All of our sample locations are carefully recorded so we know exactly where on site this bead came from (a drain!).

Don’t forget you can keep up to date with the excavations at Magna by reading the Dig Diary ⬇️

https://romanarmymuseum.com/magnafort/magna-dig-diary-2026/

19/05/2026

To celebrate the Unearthing Vindolanda: Footwear from the Edge of the Roman Empire exhibition at the Bata Shoe Museum, we’re once again turning Tuesday into Shoesday.

Each week, “Shoesday” highlights remarkable Roman footwear from our collection. With nearly 5,000 ancient shoes discovered at Vindolanda, we could keep this series going for quite some time.

At #3: The Baby Boot

The baby boot pictured here is one of the most emotive artefacts in our collection. It was uncovered in the Period 3 praetorium — the commanding officer’s residence of Flavius Cerialis, prefect of the ninth cohort of Batavians and his wife Sulpicia Lepidina. The child who wore it was likely only eight to twelve months old, barely walking.

This tiny boot with an intricate fishnet upper and hobnails tells us something important about the expectations of dress within an elite family. Even the footwear of an infant served as a visible marker of social status.

Shoesday is all about celebrating shoes — ancient and modern alike.