Tablets covered in beeswax, in which writing was traced by means of a stylus, are known to be in use since Roman times. The stylus has a sharp point at one end to scratch the marks in the wax, its other end is often flat, spatula-shaped, to smooth the wax again, rubbing out the marks, ready for new writing. These flat ends are found not only in Roman but also in medieval times, while rounded ends do occur, but only in Antiquity. Archaeological finds of writing styluses include examples made of bone and of bronze.

This bone stylus is a copy of bronze original, with a spatula at the top end and incised line decorations.

dimensions: 95 mm, spatula 15 mm

provenance: South Shields Roman Fort (UK)