Location: Kemps General Store & Kemps Books

Location: Kemps General Store & Kemps Books

Salvete (welcome) to Kemps! This is a shop full of adventures and big ideas. Can you spot empty letters and notebooks waiting to be written in?

Ever wondered how the Romans wrote things down? The people at Malton Roman Fort probably used a wooden tablet and ink – your everyday Roman paper and pen!

Surviving messages found at Vindolanda Fort in Northumberland prove that letter writing was important for the smooth running of military and family life. They needed to be able to arrange parties, get sick leave and ask superiors for more beer!

 

A fragmented wooden tablet with cursive Latin text inscribed in ink. The message is a birthday invitation.
Figure 1. A 2,000 year old birthday invitation between wives of fort officers found in the fort at Vindolanda, south of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland (British Museum 2024).