Page 26 - Pompeii n. 12 - The world of money at Pompeii

English version

As papyrus, considerably more expensive, was usually reserved for literary works, wax
tablets constituted the most common writing medium for the most varied uses. They were
made out of a framed wooden support coated with wax that was engraved with a special
pointed tool, the stylus, which had a flat side used to delete the text already written and re-
use the tablet.
Usually in groups of two or three linked together, the tablets would be closed like the
pages of a book and sealed with the mark or the name of the person who wrote them as
proof of authenticity, if they were to be sent as a message. If they were to be used as
deeds, the procedure was more complex, requiring the signatures of various witnesses
before sealing.
The wax tablets discovered in Caecilius Iucundus's archive contained the Deeds
pertaining to financial transactions performed between 52 and 62 AD regarding the
purchase and sale of securities and real estate assets, animals and slaves, and also the
collection of rents, loans secured by merchandise, and taxes (on behalf of the colony).
Another rich archive belonging to the Sulpici family was found in a building outside the
town, at Murecine, on the river Sarno.

NAPLES, NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM. Wall painting with writing instruments
(waxed tablets, ink pot with stilus, papyrus scroll). From Pompeii, House of Julia
Felix. Inv. 8598. ©SSBAPES.

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