Magna Dig Diary 2025
Welcome to the 2025 season of excavations at Magna Roman Fort. Here in this Dig Diary we will post regular updates on the current excavations and post excavation taking place on site. You will hear from our archaeologists and volunteers as they share news and thoughts about what is being uncovered, the challenges and the highlights of the excavation season.
If you’d like to catch up on what was uncovered in Year 1 & 2 of the Magna Project you can read our 2023 Dig Diary, 2024 Dig Diary, and check out updates on our YouTube channel.
Who you’ll hear from (guest volunteers will sign off with their first name and “volunteer”):
Rachel: Senior Archaeologist for the Magna Project
Franki: Geoarchaeologist for the Magna Project
Sophie: Activity & Diversity Officer for the Magna Project
Cristina: Vindolanda Trust Pottery Specialist
Sonya: Vindolanda Trust Communications Manager
Want to check on a specific period? Use the links below to take you to the start of each period of excavations. The latest posts are at the top of the page.
Period 1: 14th – 25th April 2025
Period 2: 28th April – 9th May 2025
Period 3: 12th May – 23rd May 2025
Period 4: 26th May – 6th June 2025
6th June #VolunteersWeek
It’s the final day of Period 4, and the team have done an incredible job over the past couple of weeks. A well deserved, celebratory Photo Friday – even in the rain! As we look forward to welcoming Period 5 on Monday, we’re reflecting on some exciting finds from this week. Sophie
The weather may be cooling down here in Northumberland, but things are definitely heating up in the trench with some exciting finds starting to come from the lower fills of the first fort ditch.
One of this week’s highlights was a wooden comb, found not long after the team started digging out the next layer of ditch fill. Although broken with only one end found (so far!), almost all of the fine teeth have survived. These demonstrate a high level of craftmanship, being cut into the block of boxwood along faint guidelines. Finds like this provide a tangible link to the Romans living here at Magna as they are so immediately recognisable and relatable to our modern lives; some things really never do change!
Not all of our star finds are organic however, as yesterday we found the corner of a marble make-up palette. These flat, rectangular palettes would have been used to mix together dry pigments with a fat or oil to form a paste that could then be applied to the lips, eyes or face. Different coloured pigments could be used to create things like lipstick, blush, and eyeliner. Objects like this remind us that not everyone at Magna was a soldier in the Roman army and that there were plenty of women living in and around the fort as well. Rachel
4th June #VolunteersWeek
We’re continuing the second week of Period 4 at Magna with excitement and energy as we dig down into the northern defensive ditches just outside the north wall of the fort. Excavating into these rich, anaerobic layers is giving us new insights into the site’s past and every bucketful brings these stories to light!
However, none of this would be possible without our incredible volunteers. From the dedicated excavators and post-excavators to our passionate guides and activity volunteers, the Vindolanda Trust is powered by an amazing community of people who give their time, skills, and enthusiasm so generously.
This #VolunteersWeek, we want to say a HUGE thank you to every one of you. Whether you’re in the trenches helping us uncover the past, working behind the scenes to process our finds, or bringing the site to life for our visitors – you are the driving force of this project, and we are so grateful.
If you’re visiting us this week, come by the trenches, take a tour, and help us celebrate the amazing impact our volunteers make every single day. We couldn’t do it without you! Sophie
29th May
It’s been a great week here at Magna as we welcomed our wonderful Period 4 crew to the trench on Monday! With trowels in hand, they’ve hit the ground running, de-turfing the remaining areas and continuing to excavate down into the fort ditches. To catch up with what has been happening on the excavations so far, check out our recent video update here.
Among our team is Judith, a familiar face from the 2024 season, who’s returned to Magna this year. Reflecting on her experience, she shared what it’s been like on these first few days back in the trenches. Sophie
I am writing this as a returning volunteer. Last year, we dug an area which , we were told this morning, is consistent with a possible Tannery site. All that you can see today is infill and regrowth.
We were introduced to this years trench. It contains some very exciting military ditches, you can see the organic soils in filling the ditch are clearly different in colour and texture from the side edges of the ditch. Whether we still feel that confident when we start to dig, is another matter!
However, that is for another day. This afternoon‘s work was tough removal. We put our backs into it (literally) and finished the job. Tomorrow, I expect that we will be clear cleaning back, hopefully to see part of a cobbled road.
It’s great to be back. Morale among the diggers is very high. Bring it on! Judith
23rd May
Huge thank you to our Period 3 crew for all their fantastic work over the past couple of weeks!
21st May
The discoveries continue as we delve ever deeper into the anaerobic fills of the first fort ditch, with both organic and inorganic finds being found by our eagle-eyed team as they sort through the soil. There have been several different styles of pottery and two wooden tent pegs but the real star finds this week has been our first two shoes!
While we mentioned shoes in the last dig diary these were fragmentary pieces that can only provide limited information when analysed. The two that were found on Monday are more complete and can tell us much more about shoe manufacturing techniques and the individuals who may have worn them in the past.
The first shoe to come out seems to have all of its sole layers intact, along with part of the heel area still attached and most of the hobnails in the outer sole. This gives us a really good look at how Roman shoes were made: multiple layers of leather were used to form the sole, held together with thongs, stitching and hobnails. These also reinforced the outer surface for walking and are found on many styles of shoe. Sadly, the toe area is missing meaning that we can only estimate its original size, but it was still clear this would have been a large shoe when complete.
Jo, one of our period three volunteers, describes the moment when she discovered this incredible find…
It’s always exciting to find anything that hasn’t been touched for 2000 years but a shoe is such a personal item; it really puts you in touch with the people who used to live at the fort. Getting wet and muddy and digging in the wet is just a bonus!
There was no doubt about the size of the second shoe we recovered from the very base of the ditch, was intact from toe to heel and immediately drew impressed gasps from volunteers and staff alike. Although in this case only one of the several sole layers, the sheer size of the shoe and guesses about who could have worn it dominated the conversation. Measuring in at 32cm long, the equivalent of UK men’s size 12-14 in modern footwear, could this one be the largest in the Vindolanda Trust collection? We certainly look forward to finding out!
These finds are just a few more examples of the artefacts and information at risk from our changing climate so we are very grateful to still have the chance to find such personal connections to the past. Here’s hoping for many more as we continuing excavating the fort and its ditches! Rachel
19th May
Today marks the halfway point of Period 3, and the crew are making solid progress into the anaerobic deposits of the northern ditches here at Magna Fort. These ditch fills continue to deliver some exciting finds – including the remains of leather shoes! Don’t miss the picture of a fabulous (and very tiny!) leather shoe over on our Facebook page.
But it’s not all about the shoes… Digging into the secrets buried beneath Magna is what keeps our volunteer, Dylan, coming back year after year. This is his third season with us here at Magna, so take a moment to read his reflections on why Magna keeps calling him back. Sophie
May rolls around once more and I make my fifth annual pilgrimage north to dig amongst the remains of our forebears. For the 3rd year Magna fort and its surroundings demand more attention to detail than the sister fort at Vindolanda that bewitched me with its sheer quantity of finds and breathtaking artefacts.
De turfing is “good for the soul “ they say and sure enough it is. Within a day a Roman road is exposed, going in a curious direction apparently. Not seen for 18 centuries maybe. Another puzzle for the experts to deliberate over. I’m happy to keep brushing. This adds to the wealth of knowledge for this part of our country. Being part of this process is very special and what volunteering, for me, is all about.
The first ditch North of the fort already deeply excavated by previous groups offers us the opportunity to excavate anaerobic material. This is a privilege, if ever there was one. A wooden tent peg emerges clearly whittled with a very sharp knife. It glistens fresh and bright in the sunlight for the first time in 18 centuries.
Even if artefacts aren’t found there are fronds of moss, pieces of wood and bark to marvel at. A bright green beetle carapace no more the 2 millimetres across catching the bright sun and casting a fresh jewel like iridescence beautiful to behold.
Ditch number three north of the fort is under that dry expanse of featureless earth recently manicured before the procedural photograph. What secrets does it hold? We’ll find out soon enough.
The walk back to the car park after another tiring but endlessly satisfying day. The birds and the breeze and the leaves on the tall trees whisper their memories to each other as another day comes to an end. Dylan
16th May
This week we focused on completing the excavations of our first and second ditches, finally breaking into the proper anaerobic deposits. Our first ditch has been a pool of bright green algae for a little while, but our lucky volunteers were able to drain this water and get into the ditch fills.
This scrap of leather from the lowest fill of the ditch shows that the anaerobic deposits are not in the best condition. Although the leather has survived, it is dry, brittle, and quite fragmented.
Our second ditch has now been bottomed out and revealed segmented ankle-breakers at its base. These ankle breakers are unusual on two accounts: first, they are rather shallow compared to other such ditches; second, ankle breakers are not usually segmented. As such this feature will require further research to see if we can find any similar examples from the Roman Empire.
While this sunny weather is much appreciated as we dig, the lack of rain is causing concern. This month-long dry spell is contributing to the underground changes affecting the preservation of organic material remains here at Magna and Vindolanda. At Magna, the lack of rain has caused the groundwater level to drop considerably. When the groundwater level drops changes occur in the soil environment. These changes can impact upon basic soil chemistry (such as pH and REDOX), and upon microorganisms living in it. The changing environmental conditions can in turn impact on the archaeological artefacts and reduce the preservations of organic material remains such as wood, leather and textiles.
The knowledge we are gaining from our environmental monitoring is critical to understanding the impact of climate change. So although nice, this abnormally lovely warm spring, may be harmful to the continual preservation of our organic finds at Magna and Vindolanda. Fortunately, we have Wall-E, our weather station and probe array, to monitor these changes in the soil environment as they occur. Our continuous monitoring can help us develop future mitigation plans so we can salvage as much archaeology as possible. We are working with Dr. Gillian Taylor, Associate Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Teesside University and Vice Chair of the Vindolanda Board of Directors/Trustees, to help develop these strategies to preserve the remaining anaerobic deposits at Magna and Vindolanda. – Franki
12th May
We had an exciting end to period 2, and they’ve set period 3 up to have some amazing finds during their time with us. Last week, we found our first bit of scrap leather, which was likely a heel stiffener for a shoe. This bodes well for our current two ditches, and we hope to exponentially expand our collection of leather artifacts by the end of this week. We also had our first wooden object come out of the ground, likely a bucket stave or tent peg. To add onto all of this, we had our first bead of the season, a small, gilded glass bead that required eagle eyes to spot, as it was sadly a bit broken. Nevertheless, we are beginning to get a taste of what these ditches truly have to offer – and we’ve only partially excavated two of our possible six ditches! Period 3 begins today with the customary initiation of de-turfing more of the trench, but then tomorrow we’ll get right into it with further excavation in the anaerobic ditches. Franki
9th May
Another two weeks have simply flown past and here is our fabulous Period 2 team gathered together for a very relaxed photo Friday! On Monday we welcome Period 3 to the trenches as we continue to dig deeper into the ditches. – Sonya
7th May
As we approach the one-month mark of the 2025 excavations there have been plenty of changes happening in the trench, answering some questions and, as is always the case in archaeology, raising plenty of new ones. The mystery of the fort wall has been solved at the south end of the trench: our previous suspicions that it has been extensively robbed out have been confirmed as only a band of mortar and rubble survive to show where it would have stood. We also have an explanation for the nearby rubble deposits we were investigating as well. These have proved to be the Roman backfill of an earlier ditch, underneath the latest fort wall. This is our first glimpse into the different phases of Magna fort and we will be exploring this further later in the season.
Not all of our discoveries have been what we were hoping for though, as two new field drains (one rubble, one ceramic pipe) have been uncovered hidden in the fills of the second fort ditch. Luckily the rubble drain is not flowing anymore, and the ceramic pipe is very close to the west edge of the trench where we are cutting steps to access the deeper part of the trench, meaning we don’t have to disturb it and risk a flood!
We are hoping to start excavating some semi-anaerobic deposits in the first fort ditch later today and we will be keeping our eyes peeled for our first organic finds, possibly some leather shoes to add to last year’s collection or even some wooden objects. Either way we will be sure to keep the dig diary updated with what we find – Rachel
If you follow @TheVindolandaTrust on Facebook you’ll have seen a lovely sherd of Samian pottery that we uncovered this week at Magna. We love sharing our photos of new discoveries. This one didn’t make the cut for our Facebook page but we thought we would share it in the diary for some true behind the scenes shots…we’ve accidentally given this ancient cup a pair of legs! – Sonya
2nd May
Time really does fly when you’re having fun, as somehow we are already halfway through Period 2! The team have been making excellent progress in the trench, starting the week with some de-turfing to double the width of the excavation area. They have since been getting stuck into excavating the upper fills of the fort ditches and removing the collapsed rubble of the fort wall in this new section; with the work of Period 1 acting as a very useful guide.
The fort wall is still largely missing in action, it looks like the previous landowners and farmers have done a thorough job removing the stone for their own building projects. There are some mysterious areas of rubble close to the line of the wall which we need to investigate further, and it may be that the foundations are waiting for us down there.
As soon as we have reached the same contexts all across the trench we will be continuing down into the ditches where the promise of anaerobic deposits awaits. I can’t wait to see what we will learn about the ancient inhabitants of Magna fort through the material they’ve thrown away in the ditches and what surprises might be waiting for us. Rachel
28th April
Today we kicked off the start of our Period 2 excavation season with some fantastic new volunteers, and we couldn’t be more excited to have them join us in the trenches!
If you’ve been following our Dig Diaries from previous seasons, you’ll know that this isn’t just a place for the archaeological team to update you on our progress. It’s also a chance for our incredible volunteers to reflect on their experiences, whether they’re returning for their fiftieth season or joining us for their very first excavation with the Vindolanda Trust. Speaking of which, Graham, one of our Period 1 volunteers, has shared a beautiful poem that really captures the essence of his time here at Magna over the past two weeks… Sophie
Am empty plot with humps and bumps
Is this our field of dreams?
Just grab a spade, enjoy yourself
Our trusty Rachel beams.
So on we go, with trowel in hand
At last we have the weather
We move the stones, clean up the loose
But still no sign of treasure.
Day after day we toil and sweat
But wait, we hear a call.
Some ancient ring or pot perhaps
But no it’s just a WALL!
Deep in their ditch, they clean the fill
With none to share their troubles
For fellow friends are busy too
Up to their eyes in cobbles.
Is this a berm, we are confused
So Franki brings a barrow.
Just trowel away and soon you’ll see
Berm today and gone tomorrow!
A plan is hatched to end our woes
We’ll make the trench quite tidy
And then when no one’s watching us
We’ll run away on Friday.
25th April
Meet our amazing Period 1 volunteer crew who’ve officially launched Year 3 of the Magna Project with buckets of energy (and quite a bit of mud!) They have been hard at work over the past two weeks, as we have moved into our new excavation area for 2025 at the northern fort walls and defensive ditches here at Magna. A huge thank you to our Period 1 team for getting the season off to a fantastic start! We can’t wait to welcome our Period 2 volunteers on Monday.
As regular readers of our Dig Diary will know, our updates often include a mix of excavation highlights and reflections on the famously changeable Northumbrian weather. But, there is a reason for all our weather chat – it ties into our broader research on how climate change is affecting buried archaeology.
Interested in learning more? Join us for a one-day conference at the Roman Army Museum and Magna Fort, where we’ll be exploring the theme of climate change and its impact on archaeology. From the unique conditions at Magna Roman Fort to the broader frontier landscape of Hadrian’s Wall, it will be a fascinating day of discussion and discovery.
Tickets are available for both in-person and online attendance – book yours here! Sophie
22nd April
Another sunny excavation day at Magna, and we are already seeing some interesting features within our excavation area. Up near the fort wall, we’re chasing a potential robber trench where resourceful individuals might have taken the well-made Roman facing stones to help construct their own buildings (maybe even bits of Carvoran farm). Luckily, they left behind plenty of Roman pottery and animal bones for us to find in their wake. Additionally, it seems like the upper layer of our first fort ditch contains some of these facing stones which were likely pulled into the ditch by ploughing at some point in time. We’re keen to record and then remove these stones to see if they might have any inscriptions or graffiti on them. Unfortunately, it looks like we won’t have any facing stones from the most recent stone fort left in situ – but there is still hope for the earlier forts beneath the ‘visible’ one.
Moreover, we got our first taste of waterlogged soil today, which means the anaerobic is not far off. This year we should have anaerobic deposits within all fort ditches in our excavation area, which means that there is large potential for organic material artifacts like leather shoes and wooden objects. This group of volunteers have moved a lot of dirt to get us to where we are now, and I am keen to see what else they can uncover in their final three days of excavation! Franki
18th April
We have reached the end of our first week of excavation and already we have made a lot of progress, even if some wet weather tried to slow us down on Wednesday. We can now see two of the defensive ditches that were dug to the north of Magna fort, along with areas of cobbling laid in the spaces between them. The surface at the north end of the trench is much flatter and made of smaller cobbles than the one between the first and second ditch, suggesting this could be a road running around the outside of the fort.
At the other end of the trench, we are also on a mission to find the fort wall. Currently this area is covered by a deep layer of rubble created by the collapse of the Roman fort wall and more recent dry stone field wall, meaning there are a lot of rocks to shift. However, this should have protected the underlying archaeology from later damage so there should be some intact Roman features waiting as our reward!
We are still finding a variety of Roman pottery and have had a few animal bones starting to come up, things I’m sure we’ll find a lot more of in the coming weeks as we start going down inside the ditches to see what the Romans have thrown into them over the centuries. Rachel
15th April
We have officially broke ground on the 2025 Magna excavation season! Our Period 1 volunteers arrived yesterday to cold but dry weather, and they began stripping off the turf in the afternoon. Unlike the past two excavation seasons, where we were able to use a mini 360 excavator to get rid of the grass, we must de-turf by hand this year because the archaeology is so close to the surface. We’re beginning our excavations near the north stone wall of the latest rendition of Magna fort and then continuing north across the fort rampart and ditches. The first ditch is very prominent in the landscape, although it does, unfortunately, have a Victorian stone field drain cutting through it. Nevertheless, we’re confident that the deposits underneath this stone drain are relatively untouched.
Already, we’ve found nice sherds of black burnished ware, mortaria, and even a bit of Samian.
This bodes well for us as we continue to get rid of the previously plowed topsoil, and into the secure Roman contexts. With less than two full days under our belts right now, I think we’re making great headway into an exciting summer! Franki
13th April 2025
In exciting news – soil sampling for the 2025 season has begun! Last week, Rebecca (archaeology assistant for the Trust) and myself took a series of topsoil samples for elemental analysis. These samples will be processed with a pXRF (portable X-Ray Fluorescence) machine and could potentially give hints as to where important archaeological features are located. As we begin uncovering different layers of occupation within our trench, we will take more soil samples like these so as to build a comprehensive survey of the elemental makeup of the soil across the ditches. Franki
11th April 2025
You may have heard the exciting news that excavations have officially started at our sister site of Vindolanda this week, which means there’s only a few days left until we will be back out in the trenches at Magna!
If you’ve visited the site recently for a sneak peek at where we’re digging, you might have spotted some of our field’s newest residents out exploring the excavation area. Don’t worry though, we haven’t seen any armed with trowels or bags of finds to show off to their friends!
We are busy doing the final preparations on and off site, making sure the spades are polished, and the biscuit barrel is stocked. We can’t wait to meet our first group of volunteers on Monday to get stuck into a new excavation area; and of course share our discoveries here in the dig diary. Rachel
1st April 2025
Spring has slowly but surely started to arrive in Northumberland and that means only one thing here at Magna: its nearly time to start excavating!
This year we will be moving into the fort field, opposite the new activity and archaeology centre, with a long trench stretching out from the north edge of the fort platform. Although it may look like an unassuming area of flat grass today, in the Roman period it would have been dominated by the northern ditches and ramparts of the last stone fort. There could be up to five of these waiting to be excavated, and potentially other archaeological features dating to different phases of the fort’s history. As with so much of the site, the ground here is frequently waterlogged and early trials in the 1970s showed that the anaerobic conditions needed to preserve organic material existed below the turf. This means there could be all sorts of exciting surprises preserved within the ditch fills, especially as the Romans often used the fort ditches as rubbish dumps!
The fences are up, the wheelbarrow fleet is assembled, and we can’t wait to welcome our first team of volunteers to get stuck in uncovering more of the history of Magna. All that’s left to do now is pray for some nice weather! Rachel
