Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
Archaeologists work at a place in England called Vindolanda. It was once a Roman fort, very long ago.
A man named Dr. Andrew Birley found a carved stone under the floor of an old building.
The stone shows a picture of a Roman guardian spirit called a Genius. It is holding two objects.
The stone is about 1,600 years old. It stayed safe under the floor for all that time.
- archaeologist
- A scientist who studies old objects and places
- fort
- A strong building used by soldiers for protection
- carve
- To cut a shape or picture into a hard material like stone
- guardian spirit
- A protective being believed to watch over a place or person
- floor
- The flat surface people walk on inside a building
- object
- A thing that can be seen and touched
- safe
- Protected from harm
- Roman
- Belonging to ancient Rome and its empire
Level 2 — Elementary
Dr. Andrew Birley, director of excavations at the Roman site of Vindolanda in northern England, has uncovered a carved stone relief of a Genius, a Roman guardian spirit, hidden beneath the floor of a fourth-century barrack building.
One floor stone looked unusually rounded, and when Birley lifted it and turned it over, he found the carved face and body of a Roman figure on the other side.
The relief measures 44 centimeters tall, 23 centimeters wide, and 8 centimeters deep. It shows the Genius holding a cornucopia, a horn-shaped symbol of abundance, in one hand and a patera, a shallow bowl used in religious ceremonies, in the other.
Protected by the stonework placed above it, the carving survived for more than 1,600 years with much of its detail still visible. Archaeologists believe it was deliberately buried in that spot long ago.
- excavation
- The careful digging up of an archaeological site
- relief (art)
- A carved image that stands out from a flat background
- barrack
- A building used to house soldiers
- cornucopia
- A horn-shaped symbol representing abundance and plenty
- patera
- A shallow bowl used in ancient religious rituals
- deliberately
- On purpose; intentionally
- stonework
- Structures or surfaces built from stone
- detail (artistic)
- Small, fine features of a design or carving
Level 3 — Intermediate
Dr. Andrew Birley, director of excavations at the Roman fort of Vindolanda in Northumberland, has uncovered a sandstone relief depicting a Genius, a Roman protective spirit, concealed beneath the floor of a fourth-century barrack building.
The discovery came about when one floor stone appeared unusually rounded; upon lifting and turning it over, Birley found that its weathered walking surface gave way to the carved face and body of a Roman figure on the reverse side.
Measuring 44 centimeters high, 23 centimeters wide, and 8 centimeters deep, the relief depicts the Genius holding a cornucopia in one hand and a patera, a shallow bowl used in religious rites, in the other, iconography consistent with figures meant to embody the protective spirit of a place.
While inscriptions invoking a Genius are documented at numerous sites across Roman Britain, surviving stone reliefs of the figure are considerably rarer, and this example is regarded as especially significant because it was recovered from a securely recorded archaeological context rather than as an isolated stone reused in later construction.
- conceal
- To hide something from view
- weathered
- Worn or changed in appearance by long exposure to the elements
- reverse side
- The opposite or back face of an object
- iconography
- The visual symbols and images used to represent a subject
- embody
- To represent or express an idea in physical form
- invoke
- To call upon or appeal to, especially in a religious or ritual sense
- archaeological context
- The precise location and surrounding conditions in which an item is found
- isolated (find)
- Found alone, without clear connection to its original setting
Level 4 — Advanced
Dr. Andrew Birley, director of excavations at the Roman fort of Vindolanda in Northumberland, has brought to light a sandstone relief depicting a Genius, the protective tutelary spirit of a place in Roman religion, concealed beneath the floor of a fourth-century barrack building.
The discovery arose incidentally, when a single floor stone exhibited an unusually rounded profile; upon being lifted and inverted, its weathered walking surface gave way to reveal the carved visage and torso of a Roman figure on the reverse, a survival owed to the protective stonework subsequently laid above it.
Measuring 44 by 23 by 8 centimeters, the relief depicts the Genius bearing a cornucopia in one hand and a patera, a shallow libation vessel, in the other, an iconographic pairing conventionally associated with figures invoked to safeguard a particular locale.
Although epigraphic invocations of a Genius survive in considerable number across Roman Britain, sculpted stone reliefs of the figure are markedly scarcer, and specialists consulted on the find, who reached unanimous agreement on its identification within hours of reviewing photographs, regard this example as unusually valuable precisely because it was recovered from a securely documented archaeological context rather than as spolia reused in later construction.
- tutelary spirit
- A guardian or protective spirit associated with a specific place or person
- incidentally
- Occurring by chance, as a minor part of something else
- visage
- A person's face, especially as depicted in art
- torso
- The trunk of the human body, excluding the head and limbs
- libation vessel
- A container used to pour liquid offerings in religious ritual
- epigraphic
- Relating to inscriptions carved on stone or other hard surfaces
- unanimous
- Fully agreed upon by everyone involved
- spolia
- Older architectural or sculptural material reused in later construction
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