remarkable Roman documents found in London

On Wednesday (1st June), the news was released of the discovery and deciphering of a group of remarkable Roman documents in London – on Twitter and in the BBC news: see ‘UK’s oldest hand-written document “at Roman London dig”‘ at www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-36415563 . The documents are in the form of wooden writing tablets and they are being deciphered by expert Dr Roger Tomlin who interpreted the graffito which we discovered in 2015 on the site of Colchester’s Roman circus. Over 400 documents have been recovered in London, of which 87 have, so far, been deciphered: one includes the word ‘Londinio’ for London, and another actually includes a date, ie the 8th January AD 57. Another, apparently, includes a reference to Verulamium (St Albans). The tablet which includes the name of London has been archaeologically dated, by its context, to AD 65/70-80: this is now the earliest known documentary reference to London and it pre-dates the reference to London in the Annals written by Roman historian Tacitus, which date to about AD 77-79. MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) think that the document which includes the date of AD 57 also pre-dates the Roman writing tablets from Vindolanda on Hadrian’s Wall and is, therefore, the earliest ‘intrinsically-dated’ document found in Britain. The London tablets are from the River Walbrook and will form part of an exhibition in London in 2017.

Roman wooden writing tablets would have had a surface of black wax which was incised with a stylus: only the wooden tablets now survive with some of the heavier scratched marks. Other tablets are more like wooden postcards and examples of these have been recovered from Vindolanda and other Roman sites in Britain. The tablets from Vindolanda date to AD 85-130. Over 200 Roman pens have also been excavated at Vindolanda: ‘… The writing tablets are perhaps Vindolanda’s greatest discovery and have been previously voted by experts and the public alike as “Britain’s Top Treasure”…’ (at www.vindolanda.com/roman-vindolanda/writing-tablets ). You can read about each of the Vindolanda writing tablets online at http://vindolanda.csad.ox.ac.uk/ and at http://vto2.classics.ox.ac.uk/  . The tablets from London and Vindolanda include legal documents, private letters, schoolwork, a party invitation, and a military list.

Colchester has produced a number of Roman inscriptions but no Roman documents… However, we have excavated several Roman iron styli here, ie two from our Culver Street site and two from our Gilberd School site (now the Sixth Form College, excavated 1971-85); one stylus, from our Butt Road site (excavated 1971-9) may have been a pen and a stylus in one. Although Colchester has not produced any Roman documents, it is referred to in a number of ancient texts. The Roman town of Colchester was recorded by Pliny the Elder in AD 77-79 and, later, was described by Tacitus as having been founded in AD 49. The Roman town here was, moreover, preceded by the Roman legionary fortress, which was founded in about AD 44. Before any Roman occupation at Colchester, the Iron Age settlement of Camulodunum was well established here and there is documentary evidence for Camulodunum. Tacitus states that, in AD 61, Colchester (a colonia) and St Albans (a municipium) were chartered Roman towns while London was only a trading-post! There is also a 2nd-century inscription in Rome which includes the full name of the Roman town of Colchester, ie ‘… colonia Victricensis which is at Camulodunum in Britannia …’ (‘… coloniae Victricensis quae est in Brittannia Camaloduni …’).

References to ‘Camulodunum’ (Colchester) in ancient texts are listed in Roman Colchester, a large-format booklet which was published by Colchester Borough Council in 1980. These are: Ptolemy (‘Camulodunum’ on map in Geography, ii.3), Pliny (‘Camulodunum’, in Natural history, ii.77), Dio Cassius (‘Camulodunum’ in History, lx.21.4), with oblique references by Suetonius and Seneca, and four references by Tacitus (including ‘Camulodunum’ in Annals, xii.32 and Annals, xiv.31) *. Three other sources include references to Colchester, ie as ‘Colonia’, as ‘Camuloduno’, and as ‘colonia’. (Julius Caesar, in the Gallic wars, describes a settlement in Britain which is probably Camulodunum but is not named.)

The image shows the inscription with the reference to ‘coloniae Victricensis‘, from the Trust’s popular book City of Victory – the story of Colchester, Britain’s first Roman town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Annals, xii.32: ‘… neither severity nor clemency converted the Silurian tribe [in Britain], which continued the struggle and had to be repressed by the establishment of a legionary camp. To facilitate that result, a colony was settled on conquered lands at Camulodunum by a strong detachment of [Roman army] veterans, who were to serve as a bulwark against revolt and to habituate the friendly natives to their legal obligations …’ – at http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Tacitus/Annals/12A*.html
Annals, xiv.31: ‘… [the Iceni tribe] incited to rebellion the Trinobantes and others, who, not yet broken by servitude, had entered into a secret and treasonable compact to resume their independence. The bitterest animosity was felt against the [Roman army] veterans; who, fresh from their settlement in the colony of Camulodunum, were acting as though they had received a free gift of the entire country, driving the natives from their homes, ejecting them from their lands, — they styled them “captives” and “slaves,” — and abetted in their fury by the troops, with their similar mode of life and their hopes of equal indulgence …’ –  at http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Tacitus/Annals/14B*.html
History, lx.21.4: ‘… [the Roman emperor] Claudius … sailed down the river to Ostia, and from there followed the coast to Massilia; thence, advancing partly by land and partly along the rivers, he came to the ocean and crossed over to Britain, where he joined the legions that were waiting for him near the Thames. Taking over the command of these, he crossed the stream, and engaging the barbarians, who had gathered at his approach, he defeated them and captured Camulodunum, the capital of Cynobellinus [Cunobelin]. Thereupon he won over numerous tribes, in some cases by capitulation, in others by force, and was saluted as imperator several times …’ – at http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/60*.html
Natural history, II.77 – ‘… in Mona [Anglesey], which is about 200 miles from Camelodunum, a town of Britain …’ – www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D77

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