MULLED SPICED WINE MADE LIFE SWEETER FOR ROMAN SOLDIERS AT HADRIAN'S WALL

NEW research has revealed how life was made a little sweeter for the Roman troops patrolling Hadrian’s Wall ... with hot mulled wine and honey mead.

Examination of the pottery collections at English Heritage’s Corbridge Roman Town and Housesteads fort in Northumberland has shown that as well as beer and wine, mead was also made and drunk.

Mead is a beverage created by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with various fruits or spices, and is thought to be the world’s oldest alcoholic drink.

In an age without sugar, the natural sweetness of honey would have been a welcome change of tipple from beer and ... if it could be afforded ... imported wine.

Cameron Moffett, English Heritage collections curator who carried out the research, said: "English Heritage's collections from Wroxeter Roman Town in Shropshire and Hadrian's Wall shows that mead was being made in the Roman period in Britain. 

"Once wine started being imported honey was also used to make mulsum, a popular sweetened wine drink.

"There's evidence of mead being consumed thousands of years ago and it was the power drink of ancient Europe before wine-making had developed."

And Dr Frances McIntosh, English Heritage curator of Hadrian's Wall and the North East, said that jars for storage of honey and of mead and mulsum, plus specific lids which would have been sealed in place with wax, have been identified in the Corbridge and Housestead collections.

"Cameron’s research identified 15 stoppers used to seal the jars used to make mead and mulsum, and 21 bungs used to seal the flagons and jars for temporary transport of the liquids," she said.

"It was probably also the case at Roman bases on the Wall such as Chesters and Birdoswald. While wine had to be imported, the advantage of mead was that all the ingredients were to hand."

Today, with a revival of interest in a craft ales and drinks like gin, mead is also making a comeback.

It was also the drink of choice for Vikings, and was given to newlyweds on what is now known as their "honeymoon".

Cameron said: "We've also found evidence of mead being produced and stored at Tintagel Castle, Cornwall, in the 5th and 6th Centuries AD for use in great feasting events."

MULLED SPICED WINE MADE LIFE SWEETER FOR ROMAN SOLDIERS AT HADRIAN'S WALL

NEW research has revealed how life was made a little sweeter for the Roman troops patrolling Hadrian’s Wall ... with hot mulled wine and honey mead.

Examination of the pottery collections at English Heritage’s Corbridge Roman Town and Housesteads fort in Northumberland has shown that as well as beer and wine, mead was also made and drunk.

Mead is a beverage created by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with various fruits or spices, and is thought to be the world’s oldest alcoholic drink.

In an age without sugar, the natural sweetness of honey would have been a welcome change of tipple from beer and ... if it could be afforded ... imported wine.

Cameron Moffett, English Heritage collections curator who carried out the research, said: "English Heritage's collections from Wroxeter Roman Town in Shropshire and Hadrian's Wall shows that mead was being made in the Roman period in Britain. 

"Once wine started being imported honey was also used to make mulsum, a popular sweetened wine drink.

"There's evidence of mead being consumed thousands of years ago and it was the power drink of ancient Europe before wine-making had developed."

And Dr Frances McIntosh, English Heritage curator of Hadrian's Wall and the North East, said that jars for storage of honey and of mead and mulsum, plus specific lids which would have been sealed in place with wax, have been identified in the Corbridge and Housestead collections.

"Cameron’s research identified 15 stoppers used to seal the jars used to make mead and mulsum, and 21 bungs used to seal the flagons and jars for temporary transport of the liquids," she said.

"It was probably also the case at Roman bases on the Wall such as Chesters and Birdoswald. While wine had to be imported, the advantage of mead was that all the ingredients were to hand."

Today, with a revival of interest in a craft ales and drinks like gin, mead is also making a comeback.

It was also the drink of choice for Vikings, and was given to newlyweds on what is now known as their "honeymoon".

Cameron said: "We've also found evidence of mead being produced and stored at Tintagel Castle, Cornwall, in the 5th and 6th Centuries AD for use in great feasting events."

MULLED SPICED WINE MADE LIFE SWEETER FOR ROMAN SOLDIERS AT HADRIAN'S WALL

NEW research has revealed how life was made a little sweeter for the Roman troops patrolling Hadrian’s Wall ... with hot mulled wine and honey mead.

Examination of the pottery collections at English Heritage’s Corbridge Roman Town and Housesteads fort in Northumberland has shown that as well as beer and wine, mead was also made and drunk.

Mead is a beverage created by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with various fruits or spices, and is thought to be the world’s oldest alcoholic drink.

In an age without sugar, the natural sweetness of honey would have been a welcome change of tipple from beer and ... if it could be afforded ... imported wine.

Cameron Moffett, English Heritage collections curator who carried out the research, said: "English Heritage's collections from Wroxeter Roman Town in Shropshire and Hadrian's Wall shows that mead was being made in the Roman period in Britain. 

"Once wine started being imported honey was also used to make mulsum, a popular sweetened wine drink.

"There's evidence of mead being consumed thousands of years ago and it was the power drink of ancient Europe before wine-making had developed."

And Dr Frances McIntosh, English Heritage curator of Hadrian's Wall and the North East, said that jars for storage of honey and of mead and mulsum, plus specific lids which would have been sealed in place with wax, have been identified in the Corbridge and Housestead collections.

"Cameron’s research identified 15 stoppers used to seal the jars used to make mead and mulsum, and 21 bungs used to seal the flagons and jars for temporary transport of the liquids," she said.

"It was probably also the case at Roman bases on the Wall such as Chesters and Birdoswald. While wine had to be imported, the advantage of mead was that all the ingredients were to hand."

Today, with a revival of interest in a craft ales and drinks like gin, mead is also making a comeback.

It was also the drink of choice for Vikings, and was given to newlyweds on what is now known as their "honeymoon".

Cameron said: "We've also found evidence of mead being produced and stored at Tintagel Castle, Cornwall, in the 5th and 6th Centuries AD for use in great feasting events." 

MULLED SPICED WINE MADE LIFE SWEETER FOR ROMAN SOLDIERS AT HADRIAN'S WALL

NEW research has revealed how life was made a little sweeter for the Roman troops patrolling Hadrian’s Wall ... with hot mulled wine and honey mead.

Examination of the pottery collections at English Heritage’s Corbridge Roman Town and Housesteads fort in Northumberland has shown that as well as beer and wine, mead was also made and drunk.

Mead is a beverage created by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with various fruits or spices, and is thought to be the world’s oldest alcoholic drink.

In an age without sugar, the natural sweetness of honey would have been a welcome change of tipple from beer and ... if it could be afforded ... imported wine.

Cameron Moffett, English Heritage collections curator who carried out the research, said: "English Heritage's collections from Wroxeter Roman Town in Shropshire and Hadrian's Wall shows that mead was being made in the Roman period in Britain. 

"Once wine started being imported honey was also used to make mulsum, a popular sweetened wine drink.

"There's evidence of mead being consumed thousands of years ago and it was the power drink of ancient Europe before wine-making had developed."

And Dr Frances McIntosh, English Heritage curator of Hadrian's Wall and the North East, said that jars for storage of honey and of mead and mulsum, plus specific lids which would have been sealed in place with wax, have been identified in the Corbridge and Housestead collections.

"Cameron’s research identified 15 stoppers used to seal the jars used to make mead and mulsum, and 21 bungs used to seal the flagons and jars for temporary transport of the liquids," she said.

"It was probably also the case at Roman bases on the Wall such as Chesters and Birdoswald. While wine had to be imported, the advantage of mead was that all the ingredients were to hand."

Today, with a revival of interest in a craft ales and drinks like gin, mead is also making a comeback.

It was also the drink of choice for Vikings, and was given to newlyweds on what is now known as their "honeymoon".

Cameron said: "We've also found evidence of mead being produced and stored at Tintagel Castle, Cornwall, in the 5th and 6th Centuries AD for use in great feasting events."

DID ANTINOUS SEE THIS GRAFFITI FOUND AT VINDOLANDA ROMAN FORT?

WE wonder if Antinous saw this explicit bit of graffiti if he accompanied his beloved emperor on a tour of Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain.

Vindolanda Roman Fort is famous for its huge cache of POSTCARDS and even for the world's oldest wooden TOILET SEAT and lots of graffiti has been found there, scrawled by soldiers into stone walls.

But nothing prepared archaeologists for the latest discovery: graffiti of a phallus with a vulgar graffiti insult carved into the rock around the image.

As well as the obvious explicit carved phallus, the face of the stone which measures 40cm wide by 15cm tall, is engraved with the words SECVNDINVS CACOR, an engraving which makes this graffiti a very personal insult.

Specialists in Roman epigraphy, Drs Alexander Meyer, Alex Mullen, and Roger Tomlin, recognised it as a mangled version of Secundinus cacator: "Secundinus, the shitter" with the image adding to the force of the written insult.

"The recovery of an inscription, a direct message from the past, is always a great event on a Roman excavation, but this one really raised our eyebrows when we deciphered the message on the stone," said Dr Andrew Birley, Director of Excavations and CEO of the Vindolanda Trust. 

"It’s author clearly had a big problem with Secundinus and was confident enough to announce their thoughts publicly on a stone. I have no doubt that Secundinus would have been less than amused to see this when he was wandering around the site over 1,700 years ago."

The Roman phallus is often seen as a good luck charm or symbol of fertility, a positive symbol. 

However, in this case the author has cleverly taken its meaning and subverted it to their own aims. Each letter has been carefully carved, which would have taken a while, leaving little doubt to the depth of feeling held. 

This fabulous bit of social commentary from the ancient past will amuse visitors for many years to come. 

It reminds us that while the Roman army could be extremely brutal, especially to the native population, they were not immune to hurling insults at each other. Centuries before printed papers or social media were available this would have been one of the best ways to get a lot of people noticing a point of view.

MULLED SPICED WINE MADE LIFE SWEETER FOR ROMAN SOLDIERS AT HADRIAN'S WALL

NEW research has revealed how life was made a little sweeter for the Roman troops patrolling Hadrian’s Wall ... with hot mulled wine and honey mead.

Examination of the pottery collections at English Heritage’s Corbridge Roman Town and Housesteads fort in Northumberland has shown that as well as beer and wine, mead was also made and drunk.

Mead is a beverage created by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with various fruits or spices, and is thought to be the world’s oldest alcoholic drink.

In an age without sugar, the natural sweetness of honey would have been a welcome change of tipple from beer and ... if it could be afforded ... imported wine.

Cameron Moffett, English Heritage collections curator who carried out the research, said: "English Heritage's collections from Wroxeter Roman Town in Shropshire and Hadrian's Wall shows that mead was being made in the Roman period in Britain. 

"Once wine started being imported honey was also used to make mulsum, a popular sweetened wine drink.

"There's evidence of mead being consumed thousands of years ago and it was the power drink of ancient Europe before wine-making had developed."

And Dr Frances McIntosh, English Heritage curator of Hadrian's Wall and the North East, said that jars for storage of honey and of mead and mulsum, plus specific lids which would have been sealed in place with wax, have been identified in the Corbridge and Housestead collections.

"Cameron’s research identified 15 stoppers used to seal the jars used to make mead and mulsum, and 21 bungs used to seal the flagons and jars for temporary transport of the liquids," she said.

"It was probably also the case at Roman bases on the Wall such as Chesters and Birdoswald. While wine had to be imported, the advantage of mead was that all the ingredients were to hand."

Today, with a revival of interest in a craft ales and drinks like gin, mead is also making a comeback.

It was also the drink of choice for Vikings, and was given to newlyweds on what is now known as their "honeymoon".

Cameron said: "We've also found evidence of mead being produced and stored at Tintagel Castle, Cornwall, in the 5th and 6th Centuries AD for use in great feasting events."

MULLED SPICED WINE MADE LIFE SWEETER FOR ROMAN SOLDIERS AT HADRIAN'S WALL

NEW research has revealed how life was made a little sweeter for the Roman troops patrolling Hadrian’s Wall ... with hot mulled wine and honey mead.

Examination of the pottery collections at English Heritage’s Corbridge Roman Town and Housesteads fort in Northumberland has shown that as well as beer and wine, mead was also made and drunk.

Mead is a beverage created by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with various fruits or spices, and is thought to be the world’s oldest alcoholic drink.

In an age without sugar, the natural sweetness of honey would have been a welcome change of tipple from beer and ... if it could be afforded ... imported wine.

Cameron Moffett, English Heritage collections curator who carried out the research, said: "English Heritage's collections from Wroxeter Roman Town in Shropshire and Hadrian's Wall shows that mead was being made in the Roman period in Britain. 

"Once wine started being imported honey was also used to make mulsum, a popular sweetened wine drink.

"There's evidence of mead being consumed thousands of years ago and it was the power drink of ancient Europe before wine-making had developed."

And Dr Frances McIntosh, English Heritage curator of Hadrian's Wall and the North East, said that jars for storage of honey and of mead and mulsum, plus specific lids which would have been sealed in place with wax, have been identified in the Corbridge and Housestead collections.

"Cameron’s research identified 15 stoppers used to seal the jars used to make mead and mulsum, and 21 bungs used to seal the flagons and jars for temporary transport of the liquids," she said.

"It was probably also the case at Roman bases on the Wall such as Chesters and Birdoswald. While wine had to be imported, the advantage of mead was that all the ingredients were to hand."

Today, with a revival of interest in a craft ales and drinks like gin, mead is also making a comeback.

It was also the drink of choice for Vikings, and was given to newlyweds on what is now known as their "honeymoon".

Cameron said: "We've also found evidence of mead being produced and stored at Tintagel Castle, Cornwall, in the 5th and 6th Centuries AD for use in great feasting events."