A unique Roman stylus, with the most elaborate and expressive inscription of its kind is set to go on display for the first time in a new exhibition at the Ashmolean: Last Supper in Pompeii.
It was discovered by MOLA archaeologists during excavations for financial technology and information company Bloomberg’s European headquarters in London, on the bank of the river Walbrook – a now lost tributary of the Thames. The iron stylus – used to write on wax-filled wooden writing tablets – dates to around AD 70, just a few decades after Roman London was founded.
The Bloomberg dig uncovered more than 14,000 artefacts revealing what life was like for the first Londoners, including the first written reference to the name of the city. 600 of the finds are now on display at London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE.
Of over 200 styluses recovered from the site, only one was found to have an inscription. Inscribed styluses are exceptionally rare: archaeologists have found only a handful of examples from across the whole Roman Empire to date, and the Bloomberg inscription is the finest, unparalleled in the length, poetry and humour of its inscription.
