What Did Roman Soldiers Actually Write Home About v2 effects

Roman soldiers on the edge of the empire didn't write home about battles. They wrote about socks, beer, money, and friends who never wrote back. Northern Britain, around AD 100. At a fort called Vindolanda, ordinary soldiers wrote letters on slices of wood as thin as a postcard. Most of those letters ended up in a rubbish dump. And the waterlogged mud kept them safe for nineteen centuries. In this video, you'll discover: Why an officer begged his commander for beer How a letter about socks and underpants changed what historians thought about the Roman army The money worries, debts and pay deductions that followed every soldier A strength report that counted men off duty with sore eyes A birthday invitation written partly by Claudia Severa, believed to be among the earliest known Latin handwriting by a woman Whether Chrauttius ever got an answer from his old friend From Vindolanda to Roman Egypt and Arabia, this is the human side of the Roman army, told through their own letters. SOURCES Vindolanda Tablets (Vindolanda Tablets Online, British Museum) Tacitus, Annals and Agricola Vegetius, De Re Militari Papyrus letters of Apion, Claudius Terentianus and Julius Apollinaris Bloomberg London tablets (Roman London) If you enjoy the human side of history, subscribe for more stories like this. #RomanHistory #AncientRome #HistoryDocumentary