Wax tablet with BRIT PROV brand - based on an original find!
This antique wax tablet is based on a find! The wax tablet with the BRIT PROV stamp was found near the River Walbrook near London. It was the official government stamp, which was affixed to official documents.
The BRIT PROV stamp
The outside of the antique wax tablet is marked with a circular seal. It reads PROC AVG DEDERVNT BRIT PROV: The imperial procurator of the province of Britain has issued this document. A procurator represented the personal interests of the Roman emperor in each province. The provincial government and procurators controlled state expenditure and the collection of taxes. Unfortunately, the text of the letter or document written on the original wax filling of the recessed inner surfaces of the ancient wax tablet was no longer legible.
- Original in the British Museum, London
- Double wax tablet a 14x9 cm
- Made of solid beech wood
- Includes soft cotton bag for storage
- Dating: 1st or 2nd century AD.
The eventful history of the Romans handed down in wax tablets
Wax tablets and the matching writing instrument, the stylus, were considered standard business equipment in antiquity, and not just by procurators! Anyone who had to take notes or write letters, for example, always had a wax tablet - usually even double-bound wax tablets within reach. Due to their advantages over papyrus or parchment - and also because they were cheaper and more durable - wax tablets established themselves as the ideal writing surface for simple notes or school exercises. The eventful history of the Roman Empire would probably have disappeared into obscurity if wax tablets that have survived to this day did not bear witness to its culture. The use of wax tablets dates back to the 5th century BC.
Wax tablets - a success story
Even today, using a wax tablet with a stylus is a real writing experience! This is why they are experiencing a renaissance thanks to people with a sense for the extraordinary. Lovers of ancient cultures in particular still like to use the unusual duo of wax tablet and stylus. Not only does it feel great, it also looks decorative! And antique wax tablets have a very clear advantage: nothing on the wax writing tablet is made to last forever!
Roman wax tablet made of beech wood in a soft cotton bag
This Roman wax tablet (lat. diptychon, tabula ceratae) is a beeswax-coated tablet made of the finest beech wood. The wax tablets were used until the Middle Ages and were written on with a stylus (lat. stilus) by scratching the letters into the wax layer. Wax tablet tabula ceratae is the name given to the Roman wax tablet books that have been found in large numbers. The very frequently used diptych was bound together with leather straps to form a wax tablet book. The writeable areas are filled with red beeswax and protected by folding up the wax tablet.
Tabula Rasa - double wax tablet clears the table!
In Roman times, the wax tablet was used as a writing material for official correspondence as well as for private use. They were used for records that did not have to be permanent, such as invoices, letters or notes. The texts on the wax tablet could be revised at any time or smoothed out with the back of the stylus. Incidentally, the term tabula rasa is derived from smoothing the wax layer with the back of the stylus and means: to clean the board - to clear the slate!
Forum Traiani ® registered trademark
