Stylus for Wax Tablets, Iron

Writing stylus for Wax Tablets, Iron

Simple, extremely stable writing stylus for wax tablets made of iron. Length approx. 12cm. Writing pens in this unspecific form were in use from antiquity until the Middle Ages.

The stilus or stylus was a versatile writing instrument with which characters were scratched into wax tablets, but also onto slate slabs or pottery shards. Depending on the status of the owner, styli were made of the simplest materials such as wood or bone, while more valuable examples were made of metal or even ivory. The pointed side was used for writing, the flat plate at the back was used on wax tablets for smoothing the writing, i.e. for "erasing".