For Romans being
literate was an essential part of the Roman education. A basic grasp of
literacy was essential for any Roman citizen to participate in business and
citizen life. We have many items from the collection at the Baths that
highlight this:
·
Imitation Samian ware
which shows a literate potter’s stamp – this shows that some of the craftsmen
were literate and they used literacy as a means of identification on their
products.
·
A fragment of an iron
stylus, which was discovered at Lansdown. This highlights to us that in the
areas surrounding Bath there was a high level of literacy.
·
Fragments from a
Samian jar/ink pot. This would have been used when writing on wooden tablets or
papyrus.
·
A fragment of a
public inscription that was cut into white marble found in the Temple precinct.
C
] IB CL
T[
This
might be translated as:
TIBERIUS
CLAUDIUS [SON OF] TIBERIUS
Finally and some might say
most importantly, the curse tablets embody through literacy the essential
humanity of the inhabitants of Aquae Sulis and suggest to us that literacy may
be more wide spread than we had initially assumed. We can see from the tablets
that the inhabitants of Aquae Sulis used their literacy as a means of
communicating with the Goddess Sulis Minerva. One of the Curse tablets, that I
had on display from the collection, had inscribed upon it a list of names of
the suspected thieves.
As part of the activity both
adults and children alike were able to have a go at writing their own name in
Latin, both on a replica wooden writing tablet and also on a piece of paper
which they could take home!
Alice Marsh, Student
Placement
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