Deep along the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire, just south of what would become Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, stood the fort of Vindolanda . In the waterlogged, oxygen-free layers of the fort’s ancient rubbish pits, modern archaeologists stumbled upon an unprecedented historical goldmine: hundreds of thin, wooden leaves covered in cursive Latin ink handwriting. Known as the Vindolanda Tablets , these fragile documents are the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain. Unl