Wax Tablet & Stylus
During excavations at the Roman fort at Vindolanda, Hadrian's Wall, archaeologists uncovered some well preserved wax tablets in waterlogged ground. The tablets were made from a non-native wood and originally contained beeswax - which has long since disappeared. The writer would use the stylus to inscribe the surface of the wax with whatever message he wished to relay. He could then reuse the tablet for other messages by warming the wax up and using the flat end of the stylus to erase his previous work. Tablets were portable and versatile and were commonly used in schools of the period. They remained in use until the Middle Ages when paper became much more common. The tablets are a great hands-on item for children learning about the Romans but the stylus is quite pointy and requires supervision when used.