The Murder Mystery Clues The information here can be discovered by pupils as they explore the website. Pupils can collect and record this evidence and make a presentation on their solution to the crime. The Temple This is a popular spot. Those with prayers and hopes enter the temple here and cast coins into the well as an offering to the local spirits. You throw a coin in and pray for help in your investigation. A beggar is sitting nearby and he says, "Throw some coins in this direction and I will answer your prayer." The beggar explains that he used to sit and beg for money near the shop of Burcanius. About 5 days ago he heard a soldier arguing with the shopkeeper. The soldier had borrowed money from Burcanius and refused to repay it. Burcanius had sent his wife to the principia to complain.The soldier threatened to "GET EVEN." The Mansio The mansio is the inn at the vicus where government officials and messengers stay. There is a messenger here that you recognise from the praetorium. He was collecting a written message from the commander, to be delivered to the officer in charge of the fort at Pons Aelius. The messenger seems to know the contents of the letter. He tells you that the commander wants to be notified if "the shopkeeper/moneylender Burcanius, or his wife, try to cross the River Tyne, at the fort." The Mithraeum You are standing beside the entrance to the temple of Mithras. Inside you can make out the shadowy figure of a junior officer that you have seen before. He is standing with a lighted candle in his hand and, every now and then, you can make out a few words of what he is saying..... "...to the Great Lord Mithras....Master of all...the honour of the garrison...do not condone murder, but it had to be done when I heard .... best kept a secret ... close ranks ... an army matter ... snooping slaves to be dealt with." The Baths A junior officer is standing in the changing area here. A statue of the goddess FORTUNATA sits in a recess in the wall. The officer thanks her for looking after his possessions whilst he was in the bath. He looks refreshed - until he see's you ! He frowns and says, "I hear that you are sticking your nose in where it is not wanted. This is an army matter. BE WARNED OR YOU TOO COULD DISAPPEAR." The Cemetery You are standing beside a gravestone, outside the walls of the fort. A funeral procession is passing. The professional mourners are doing a Šgood job ! Salmanes, the Jewish trader, comes up to you and says, "My friend, Šgive up on this investigation. I have been threatened and I know Šnothing. If you know something, then your life is in danger." He Šexplains that about 5 days ago, well into the night, he came across a Šsoldier with a cut and bleeding arm, near the shop of Burcanius. He Šhad been warned by the soldier to tell no-one about this. The East Gate You are standing beside the East Gate of the fort. Romulus is on patrol here. You know him quite well and usually speak to him whenever you meet. He is a well known gambler. He usually loses, but says that playing dice relieves the boredom of gate duty. He has a girlfriend and a baby in the VICUS. Today he looks happy. "I had a good turn on the dice last night. Twenty SESTERCII", he says. "You might be a good gambler, but you are not a good soldier", you reply. "Were you up late after your night of gambling, or did you deliberately forget your sword this morning ?" He looks startled and then says, "No, it snapped on the training ground yesterday. I reported it to Bassus. It will mean a fine, but who cares ? My winnings will more than cover it." A Walkway along the Wall The soldier Bassus is standing here on a walkway along the wall. He is talking to a fellow soldier who is saying, "No sir. There were no accidents with weapons on the training ground yesterday." NOTE : Bassus is in charge of one of the barrack blocks. He is the leader of 8 men - or CONTUBERNIUM - who share the same block. A House in the Vicus A woman is standing outside the house. Her name is Ursa. She is the girlfriend of Romulus. You tell her that you have heard that Romulus had some good look on the dice. She looks confused and then angry. She says, "He won money dicing and did not tell me ! Not a penny has come to this house ! Wait until I see him !" Blacksmiths The blacksmith is shoeing a horse that has just been brought to him from the parade ground. His shop is opposite that of Burcannius and you ask him if he saw anything suspicious. "No, I did not see the shopkeeper departing, although I have a feeling that his leaving had something to do with soldiers from the fort. Just recently one soldier was paying regular late night visits to the shop. I think that he was having an affair with the shopkeepers wife and I think that Burcannius found out. That's why he up and left. You know how violent those soldiers can get. I think that Ahtehe actually complained at the principia that she was being bothered by one of the soldiers." A Shop You are standing outside the shop of Burcanius. It is shuttered and closed. You put an eye to a crack in the shutters. It is dark inside, but you can just make out what look like beams of wood on the floor. Your heart begins to race ! From below one of the beams you can see a boot sticking out. A hand grasps you by the shoulder. It is a soldier. He looks familiar. He says "Slaves running errands, should do so and not keep their masters waiting." The Tannery This is not a pleasant place to visit. There are pools or uring here, in which leather is soaked and treated. There is one old man here. You ask him about Burcanius. He spits on the ground and says, "Did a bunk. Him and his wife. Owed me money they did. And many others. Nothing in the shop worth taking for compensation." A Butchers Shop The butcher's shop is open to the street. On a stone slab, which acts as a counter, the butcher is carving up a dead pig. You ask him about Burcanius and his wife. He says, "Yes, strange that was. I've heard the rumours about why he left in such a hurry. He always seemed like a decent enough man to me. Still, his departure suits me. I owed him money and it looks as if he will not be aroud to get paid. And I still have the meat and wine he ordered, paid for and did not collect." The Barracks The rooms in the barracks sleep 8 soldiers. They are partitioned for some kind of privacy. At the end of the block is an oven where soldiers cook their food allowance. There are 2 soldiers sitting beside the oven. They do not realise that Šyou have not come in. You can hear some of what they say. "What if anybody remembers her complaint ?" "What if they connect her disappearance with it ?" "Calm down. I've taken care of everything." "Yes, and it cost enough to silence Romulus and his sword." Via Princeps You are standing in the Via Princeps, the main street that runs north to south through the fort. It is very busy, with soldiers and tradesmen hurrying about. You see a man that you know. He is a local farmer, with cattle for sale. He knows the shopkeeper that you are looking for and says, "I have not seen him recently. I did see his wife a few days ago at the HQ building, complaining about something." The Headquarters Building You are standing in the main hall of the HQ building. At the far end of the hall, a clerk is sitting working at a desk in an office. He is counting the money that is to be deposited in the strogroom, under the GARRISON SHRINES. You go over to his desk and talk to him. "You look very busy, my friend." "Yes, overworked and underpaid", he replies. You say, "You should be like Romulus if you want to add to your pay. I hear that he had some luck at the dice." The clerk says angrily, "Don't mention that fool Romulus to me ! It's because of him that I am still here working. He broke his sword whilst at practice on the training ground. Bassus brought one half of the sword to me as proof and reported the incident. The only problem is that Bassus did not see the accident happen and I cannot find anyone from his contubernium who was a witness to the breakage. If it were up to me I would charge Romulus with malicious damage and not put it down to an accident." The Commander's House You are standing in the kitchen. Greca is preparing stuffed dormice at a table, whilst Pervica is tending to the oven. Five empty AMPHORA stand against the wall. Greca says to you, "That lazy shopkeeper Burcanius. He promised to be here this morning to refill them. The commanders wife from Vindolanda is coming to dinner and will need something to drink. The shop is near the tanner's, in the vicus. If you are down there, find out what has happened." The Latrine You visit the latrine and take a seat next to a soldier who has been visiting a friend on the wards. You mention to him that you are on your way to visit the shopkeeper Burcanius. "You'll find yourself with a wasted journey," he says. "I hear that he and his wife Ahtehe left the village about 5 days ago - in a hurry. Rumour has it that they had a large amount of unpaid bills - business was not doing so well - so they up and left." The Operating Room The surgeon is performing a minor operation on the arm of a soldier. The surgeon says to his patient, "Hold still you stupid man, or it will hurt even more.....is this what I am reduced to...healing soldiers who hurt themselves on the practice ground.." You ask the surgeon what he means and he replies, "Only last week a soldier from the contubernium of Bassus came here with an arm wound that he got on the practice ground. These men do more harm to themselves than the barbarians." You ask the surgeon if he is talking about a soldier called Romulus. "Oh, no. Not him ! The only thing I would ever treat him for would be drunkeness. The soldier with the arm wound was in the same contubernium as him. I think that his name was Similis, or something like that. He was brought in here by a friend." You ask the surgeon if he can remember when this incident happened and he says about 5 or 6 days ago.