Beth Tondreau | COMD1127—D035 | Fall 2023

Evangeline_Felder_TT_History_08312023

I found it interesting that students in ancient Rome wrote using wax tablets. I wonder if they were able to re-use the wax through melting and repouring the wax? and since they used the tablets before books were created in the way they are now (though flipping the pages) did they use just on tablet not bound in anyway like loose pieces of paper? I’m also surprised that we even know about wax tablets as I would feel like they would be destroyed through the passage of time melting and cracking over time.

1 Comment

  1. Beth (Mary-Elizabeth) Tondreau

    You’ve made smart observations, Evangeline. As I understand it, the wooden frames were bound in a way. It is amazing that any tablets using wax survived at all. The wax didn’t survive, but the incisions on the wood did.

    Here’s a bit of info about Roman tablets found in London in case you want to fuss with logging onto hyperallergenic.

    https://hyperallergic.com/303860/ancient-roman-waxed-writing-tablets-unearthed-in-central-london/

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