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Generally, styli consist of a point, a shaft (sometimes with collar) made of other metals were cast or made from a thin sheet rolled
and an eraser. They are on average around 11–12 cm long and rarely into a tube. An iron or steel point was sometimes stuck onto their
longer than 15 cm. tip but is usually lost. Metal styli can have intricate decoration,
for example mouldings or inlays, and they can be inscribed with
There is great variety in design and typologies and their chronologies erotic or witty messages. Bone styli were carved and then turned
vary depending on the region (see the typologies in Schaltenbrand and often appear chunky in comparison to the dainty metal ones. In
Obrecht 2012 and Manning 1985). Iron styli are usually forged in metal styli, the eraser is often simply a wider, flattened or spatula-
one piece and are round, square or polygonal in section. Shafts
shaped continuation of the shaft, but again there are more elaborate
shapes such as dolphins. Bone styli often have rounded or olive-
shaped erasers. Both metal and bone implements were sharpened
when the point had worn down (Schaltenbrand Obrecht 2012, 78).
The identification of styli is often difficult. Those made from
bone are close in shape to other bone objects such as spindles,
hairpins and needles and have therefore been misinterpreted or
gone unnoticed (Schaltenbrand Obrecht 2012, 53–66, 88–89).
Those in iron are often so heavily corroded that x-rays are needed
to reveal the structure underneath the corrosion. This can help to
tell them apart from other pointed objects such as nails or tools
that were not primarily used for writing but perhaps for various
purposes in craft and trade (Schaltenbrand Obrecht 2012, 79–81),
such as tracing for woodwork decorations or for making marks to
help with the assembly of furniture.
Styli are found across the empire, most frequently in urban and
military settlements. The largest find groups are from modern
Switzerland where the Roman colonies Augusta Raurica and Aventicum
and the legionary camp at Vindonissa have yielded roughly 1200,
620 and 560 styli respectively. These are styli that were lost and
ended up in the ground along streets and in commercial or domestic
buildings, or, in the case of Vindonissa, in the rubbish dump outside
the legionary camp. The largest number of bone styli (more than
200) was found in the settlement on the Magdalensberg (Austria,
Fig. 19: Copper-alloy stylus from Augusta Raurica (Switzerland) Gostenčnik 1996). Surveys of Roman Britain have highlighted
with inscription Amica / dulcis / lasciva / Venus (‘My sweet finds on numerous rural sites (Hanson and Conolly 2002; Smith
girlfriend is a playful Venus’), late 2nd/early 3rd century CE. From et al. 2018, 69–77). Individual styli are also found as grave goods
Schaltenbrand Obrecht 2012, 69 fig. 62. © Augusta Raurica.
throughout the empire.
