VOTUM, was a temporary artwork by the Trust’s 2025 artist-in-residence, David Appleyard

If you'd like to own one of the VOTUM shields visit our online shop

Inspired by Vindolanda’s collection of ancient protective artefacts and Roman symbols, artist David Appleyard created five large-scale, outdoor installations and a new film work, ‘A signal to the gods’ to reimagine the Roman votive gesture in response to modern climate issues. 

Constructed from mirrored interlocking shields and inscribed across the archaeological site, each installations reflective surface mirrored the impressive Northumberland sky and provided a new perspective on ancient Vindolanda. 

Developed during David Appleyard’s residency with the Vindolanda Trust, VOTUM explores how talismans and protective symbols have formed a shared language of hope and resilience that transcends past and present. VOTUM is both warning and offering: a signal to the gods, and a contemporary act of resistance. 

The film, ‘A signal to the gods’ was made in collaboration with 28 dedicated volunteers and a wider creative team including filmmakers, Adventure Alliance Films; composer, Jamie Squire; and Choreographer, Lizzie Klotz. The film documents participants working together in an act of camaraderie and collective resilience and invites viewers to consider how we use symbols—then and now—to defend, declare, and demand change. By gathering the shields in formation, the participants engage in a devotional act of protection and shared hope for the future. 

Would you like to own a piece of the exhibition? The individual mirrored "shields" that made the giant symbols are now available to be purchased. 100% of the money raised from the sale of shields is going back into the creative arts programme at the Vindolanda Trust. Find them in our Vindolanda Museum shop and online.

VOTUM has been generously supported by funding from the John Ellerman Foundation, Arts Council England and Newcastle University.