‘Mouse’ hints at Roman pranks

A strip of leather resembling a mouse, found at the Northumberland site of the ancient Roman fort of Vindolanda, may have been used to play practical jokes on unsuspecting victims. That’s one of the suggestions made by researchers at the fort’s museum, who believe that the 5in-long artefact would have passed as the real thing in dimly lit rooms. Another theory is that the object, which dates from AD|105–130, and had gone unnoticed since its discovery in 1993, was used as a children’s toy.