Roman leather toy mouse found in Vindolanda “bag of scraps”

The bag of scrap leather in which it was hidden inside was uncovered in 1993 during an excavation of a room

Vindolanda, which lies one mile south of Hadrian’s Wall, is known for its organic objects which includes the largest collection of leather boots and shoes in Roman Britain. In addition to the footwear the site has also revealed a substantial amount of tent panels, horse gear, patches, decorative embellishments, offcuts and scraps. With a tally of over 7,000 objects, the research of the collection is an ongoing process, it can take years afters the excavation for every scrap and offcut to be examined.

During lockdown, curatorial staff at Vindolanda have been taking a closer look at the vast reserve collection of leather. Whilst sifting through bags of offcuts and scraps, some of which contain hundreds of pieces, they found a piece of leather that had been fashioned into a small animal, resembling a mouse.

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(Credit: Vindolanda Trust)

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