Africans at Vindolanda?

[mcbishop]

So where did this 'African horsemen' idea come from? Is there any more evidence for them? Surely the reputable Mr Birley didn't just come up with the idea off the top of his head?

You'll find it aired in Robin Birley's recent book* on the site amongst three other theories about them:

The late Professor John Mann believed that the Severan forces might have included some North African Native levies, brought to Britain by the African emperor to assist regular forces in their assault on the revolting Maeatae and Caledonians (Birley 2009, 138)

The book is well worth a read. Many ideas about Vindolanda have changed over the years, but hell, I used to change my ideas about a site whilst I was digging it - I would suspect any archaeologist who didn't.

Mike Bishop

*Birley, R. 2009: Vindolanda a Roman Frontier Fort on Hadrian's Wall, Cirencester: Amberley [ISBN 9781848682108]