L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano S e p a r a t i o n makes the heart grow fonder, so t h e o l d s a y i n g g o e s . A n d m o s t l i k e l y , a n y f a m i l y l i v i n g t h r o u g h o r w h o ' s l i v e d through a military member's deployment would concur. Human nature being human nature, it was much the same e v e n t w o t h o u s a n d y e a r s ago…that longing for and missing a loved one…and the concurrent desire to stay in touch. Not a problem these days with all the tech wizardry at our fingertips, but specula- tion was the only instrument f o r p e e r i n g i n t o a n c i e n t methods of long-distance communication until a fasci- nating discovery in 1973. It was the year 84 A.D. and the expansive Roman E m p i r e w a s c o n t i n u a l l y broadening its reach. An out- post was strategically placed near what is now the border o f G r e a t B r i t a i n a n d Scotland, but at the time marked the farthest northern reach of the Empire. The main intent of the garrison w a s d e f e n s e a l o n g t h e Stanegate Road, an impor- tant trade route (and a road still in existence today). It wasn't until about 40 years later that the construction of H a d r i a n ' s w a l l b e g a n roughly a mile north, solidi- fying the fort's necessity as a m a j o r s t r o n g h o l d f o r t h e wall. No one is sure when the outpost was given the name Vindolanda, but the discov- ery of a civilian alter in 1914 is inscribed with the name – evidence enough. Throughout the duration of Roman hold on the fort, as many as 9 reconstructions occurred as various leaders or natural disasters came along. Each new structure set the stage for the previous one's burial beneath the new fort. Architectural outlay, remnants of daily life, a virtu- al frozen moment in time became forever encased in thick, mucky turf, now sealed within an oxygen-free tomb safely guarded from the rav- ages of decay. Initial struc- t u r e s w e r e o f w o o d – grandiose in size – while later designs were of stone and much smaller…each a layer of life preserved and waiting for discovery. V i s i b l e r e m n a n t s d r e w occasional curiosity seekers throughout the ages, but true e x c a v a t i o n d i d n o t b e g i n until the 1930's when archae- ologist Eric Birley bought a nearby home to set up opera- tions. Birley's sons took the reins for continued work, and now his grandson Andrew presides over the yearly sum- mer digs. It wasn't until 1973, however, when what is one of t h e m o s t d r a m a t i c a n d i m p o r t a n t d i s c o v e r i e s occurred: the unearthing of w h a t i s n o w c a l l e d t h e Vindolanda Tablets. Robin Birley responded to the urgent summon of his s t u d e n t e x c a v a t o r K e i t h Liddell – something resem- bling wooden shavings had been uncovered. Work quick- l y s e t i n t o r e t r i e v e w h a t appeared to be a number of these thin wooden objects. One student, upon closely examining a subject, peeled apart the two sides – writing appeared…along with great excitement. By the time the f i n d s w e r e e x a m i n e d b y epigraphist Richard Wright, the wood had oxygenated and turned sooty black. Plan B in place, the tablets were subjected to infra-red light, r e v e a l i n g w h a t w o u l d become an unprecedented peek into ancient life at a Roman fort. The tablets were mostly uniform in size…thinly cut at about 0.25 – 3 mm thickness and measuring in size equi- table to a modern postcard. The wooden surfaces were treated in a manner to create a smooth writing surface, free of bumps and snags. Perforated in the middle, the wood could be folded and bound shut, the recipient's name and address written on the outside. These postcards were made from local oak, a l d e r o r b i r c h a n d t r a n - scribed upon with hollow wooden pens crested with iron nibs, often etched with elaborate designs, then filled with ink made from carbon, g u m A r a b i c , a n d w a t e r . R e m a r k a b l e i n t h e i r o w n r i g h t f o r t h e s e c r e t s t h e y belayed, the tablets also rep- r e s e n t e d t h e f i r s t k n o w n examples of ink letters from the Roman period. What did they say? Who wrote them? Why were they written? Human curiosity about other humans is ever- present…let's look at some examples! Perhaps what has become the most famous is a note written to Sulpicia Lepidina, the wife of fort commander Flavius Cerialis. A cordial i n v i t a t i o n f r o m C l a u d i a Severa, the wife of a nearby fort's commander, invites her to a birthday party: "On 11 September, sister, for the day of celebration of my birthday, I give you a warm invitation to make sure that you come to us, to make the day more e n j o y a b l e f o r m e b y y o u r arrival… Give my greetings to your Cerialis. My Aelius and my little son send their greet- ings." These postcards were not just sent by high position individuals; soldiers, work- LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE The Tablets of Vindolanda: 2000- year-old Roman soldiers' postcards PAULA REYNOLDS a hyperactive immune sys- tem that leads to autoim- mune disease is totally dif- ferent in nature, pattern a n d d y n a m i c s t h a n t h a t resulting from failed regu- lation of an immune system w h o s e T c e l l s h a v e b e e n 'exhausted' by SARS-Cov2 infection (cf., Issues 1, 3, 4). In brief, there is no bio- logic reason to expect that HCQ will have any benefit w h a t s o e v e r o n p a t i e n t s with CoViD-19. In fact, its d a n g e r o u s s i d e - e f f e c t s – e . g . , c a r d i a c a r r h y t h m i a leading to catastrophic fail- ure – imply serious risk, p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r e l d e r l y patients at risk for cardio- v a s c u l a r d i s e a s e , o v e r - weight and diabetes. To take HCQ for CoViD- 19 is unfounded and rests on no clinical trial findings of efficacy. In fact, it is not safe, and may actually be toxic. To take HCQ as a preventive against SARS- C o v 2 i s r e c k l e s s a s i t i s ludicrous – it is as if you were taking Tylenol today to prevent knee pain fol- lowing your soccer match next Saturday. Seriously?! T w o f i n a l w o r d s a b o u t vaccine development: The g r e a t e s t v a c c i n e s u c c e s s story, possibly after Edward Jenner's discovery of vac- cines in the mid 1790's, was the development of the polio vaccine in the 1950's. The p o l i o v i r u s i s , a s S A R S - Cov2, an RNA virus, but it is much simpler in structure. Yet, it took over a decade to produce, test, develop and distribute world-wide an effective anti-polio vaccine. HIV, another RNA virus, d i s c o v e r e d c l o s e t o f o u r decades ago, still today does not have a vaccine despite the public health urgency, the international political w i l l , a n d t h e m a s s i v e amount of funding that has b e e n d e d i c a t e d t o t h a t endeavor. What, but hope alone, makes us predict that we will have a vaccine for Covid within two years or sooner? Hope is not a plan, espe- cially not in healthcare or public health. D o t t . F r a n c e s c o C h i a p p e l l i , P r o f . E m e r . UCLA Center for the Health S c i e n c e s . F o r c o m m e n t s , questions or the Italian ver- sion of these few thoughts, please contact: Chiappelli. research @gmail.com Continued from page 16 Continued to page 20 The Vindolanda Tablets give us an insight into the life of Roman soldiers, almost 2000 years ago (Photo: Michel Val/Wikimedia)

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