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slaves and their descendants. On the side of the altar a relief shows
two men in front of a shop display with various tools including
wax spatulas, cases with styli and pens and possible penknives. In
the case of the penknives and spatulas their association with styli
here has been crucial for the interpretation of respective finds as
writing implements (Gaitzsch 1984; Božič 2001c).
Other important iconographic evidence includes wall paintings,
for example from Pompeii. Such depictions often show more detail
than stone reliefs. They feature women (and sometimes men) in
contemplative poses with stylus and wax tablets or still lifes with
various writing implements (Meyer 2009).
The evidence of late Roman or post-Roman codices is also of interest.
They often contain miniatures showing a priest or a scholar who
is writing, often surrounded by writing material, books and the
associated furniture. Some of these depictions seem to be closely
related to the Roman tradition. A famous example is the Codex
Amiatinus, a 7th/8th century copy of Cassiodorus’ Codex Grandior
showing Esra with inkpen, stylus, wax spatula, compasses or
dividers and an inkwell (Merten 1987).
Finally, the evidence of Roman authors sheds light on the (not
Fig. 14: Wall painting from the house of Terentius Neo in Pompeii unambiguous) terminology but also the use of certain materials. Pliny
(Italy), so-called baker and his wife, 1st century CE. Museo in his Natural History, for example, mentions writing equipment as
Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, inv. 9058. By permission of the products made of various materials and describes the production of
Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo – Museo ink and papyrus. The correspondence of Cicero provides comments
Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Photo by Giorgio Albano. on the writing materials he used and his personal library. Scenes of
letter-writing can be found throughout Roman literature and Roman
monuments feature depictions of writing equipment, particularly poets such as Martial, Ovid and Catullus, for example, comment on
from the areas of Phrygia, Noricum, the Germanies and Gaul. the process of writing and publishing. Texts about education are
They refer to the profession of the deceased, allude to intellect and also relevant. Quintilian, a professor of rhetoric in late 1st century
scholarliness, or, more frequently, to official, legal or financial roles CE Rome, wrote a book on the education of a rhetor, the Institutio
of the local elites (Eckardt 2018, 139–153, also see Boeselager 1989). oratoria, that includes comments on the pros and cons of various
writing materials (see relevant excerpts from all these texts in the
One particularly important funerary monument is that of L. Cornelius
Atimetus in the Vatican Museum (fig. 1), which he had made for Literary Evidence).
himself, his freed slave L. Cornelius Epaphra and his other freed
