International audienceThis chapter presents the main ideas and constructs of the book and uses the triplet (system of principles, methodologies, set of paradigmatic questions) for describing the theories involved. In Part II (Chaps. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7), the diversity of five theoretical approaches is presented; these approaches are compared and systematically put into a dialogue throughout the book. In Part III (Chaps. 9, 10, 11, and 12), four case studies of networking practices between these approaches show how this dialogue can take place. Chapter 8 and Part IV (Chaps. 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17) provide methodological discussions and reflections on the presented networking practices
Since 2009, work has been carried out in the North Field at Vindolanda, a Roman military fort in the frontier zone of Roman Britain. The excavations have been directed by the Vindolanda Trust, in conjunction with a team from the University of Western Ontario. Based on these first seasons, some significant preliminary conclusions about this area of the site can be made, which will be important in moving forward with further excavations and for future interpretations of the early occupation of this region by the Roman army. The North Field appears to have been occupied already in the last quarter of the first century and may prove with further excavation to contain a fort that pre-dates “Period I” at Vindolanda, settled in ad 85. The field also appears to have been an area of significant activity in the second and third centuries. Large stone structures and a fortified ditch enclosed at least part of the space in this period. These buildings were part of the thriving third-century extramural settlement explored extensively elsewhere at Vindolanda over the past decades. The findings from these five seasons (2009–2010 and 2012–2014) have led to further excavation campaigns in the North Field, which will continue for several more field seasons. This article disseminates the results of the exploratory trenches as the research moves forward with further excavation.
The most recent work at Vindolanda has produced some startling results which both support and challenge our standing interpretations of some aspects of the frontier zone in Roman Britain. These include the timeline for the development of forts on the frontier, the foundation of extramural settlements and the relationship between fort and extramural settlement. The work raises questions not only about Vindolanda but more generally about the formation of the frontier itself and the interpretation of the archaeology of other sites.
An unusual copper-alloy fragment was recovered during excavations at Vindolanda in 2008. It has been identified as part of a calendar or water clock. A very similar fragment was found near Hambledon in Hampshire in 2017. Further investigation of the Vindolanda and Hambledon fragments and of similar objects from Frankfurt, Salzburg and Grand reveals that the Vindolanda and Hambledon fragments were once attached to clepsydrae to form time-keeping devices that are unattested in ancient sources, but that might be called ‘calendrical clepsydrae’.1 The links between similar artefacts and deities associated with water and healing are explored and evidence for a shrine located near sulphur springs in the Allen Valley is also discussed. The Vindolanda calendrical clepsydra is placed within this social and religious context.
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