The Vindolanda Trust received £6,550 funding from the Roman Research Trust in March 2025, to go towards work on their archive collections. This allowed the Trust’s Archivist, Bethany Goodman, to purchase the archival materials needed to rehouse two of their main collections: The Archive of Charlie Anderson (1909-1998), a Ministry of Works consolidation stonemason, and The Archive of Eric Birley (1906-1995), one of the early excavators at Vindolanda. The purchase of this material will help to ensure the long-term preservation of these unique archives. In addition, the funding allowed the foundation of an archive volunteer programme at the Trust, which will provide ongoing support to the Archivist. This included the purchase of a laptop and scanner needed for digitisation of the Charlie Anderson Archive. An archive internship was successfully trialled, opening the possibility for potential further opportunities in the future. The work of the archive intern and ongoing support of the archive volunteers has had significant impact on cataloguing progress and greatly contributed to the Trust’s goals of opening access to their archives. Overall, this funding was of incredible value in getting Vindolanda’s newly formed archive service off the ground, and the Trust is grateful for the support provided.
